All about Aevan

 Little Lady Aevan, my sweet little niece.  Love this little girl.  I love seeing her, but because she lives 6 hours away, I don't get to see her as often as I would like.  Last weekend, we all piled in the car and drove the 6 hour, wait no - with 2 kids, it was more like 8 hours to Chicago to visit her and her mommy and daddy.  Upon arriving, I was blown away with how much she has grown.  I can't really say that she looked huge, because although 3 months his senior, Aevan is slightly smaller then her cousin Wes.  However, this petite little lady has earned the nickname I gave her the day she was born, "tiny but mighty."  She is such a cutie who still seems to be the spitting image of her father.  Although her individual features can be drawn back to my sister, she simply screams daddy when you look at her.  With her strawberry hair and hazel eyes, she is so cute it is hard to look away.  I may be a little biased, but I can't get enough of this little lady.

At first, she was quite confused with the house guests.  She just seemed to be overwhelmed with the visitors while watching with disbelief.  So happy to play with Wes, and even happier to watch older cousin Mallory dance around her house like she owned the place.  Every time Aevan came down the stairs with mommy (whether after a diaper change, or in the morning to start her day) she would gasp when she saw us there and begin clapping and smiling as if to applaud that we were still around.  Such a nice welcoming every time she came down the stairs :)

More pictures from Chicago to come, but here are some of my favorites of little Aevan.

Super Hero Berry Picker

On one of the first unexpected spring-like days of March, Mallory, Wes, & I ran out the front door as fast as we could, eager to play in the sun.  Wes and I set up shop by the big oak tree, sprawled out on a blanket with plenty of toys.  Mallory, on the other hand, had no interest in laying on a blanket.  She immediately darted into the yard with a basket, determined to "pick berries" like Princess Aurora.  I wasn't sure what berries were to be found in our yard, but just in case I was sure to explain that she should never put anything in her mouth.  She agreed and sauntered off.  She came back with a basket full of buds from one of our little trees (poor tree).  She was quite excited and wanted me to take a picture of them.  The next fun game was to be bat girl as her shirt portrayed.  She began running and jumping in the air, defeating the evil villains.  Wes and I watched in astonishment from the sidelines and cheered her on.  It was such a nice surprise.  I am not complaining about the early spring - just dreading a super hot summer that I am convinced is on it's way. Must enjoy the cool breeze now while I can....  Happy Early Spring everyone!

My Boys :)

Sister & Brother

The other day when Mallory looked my way and said "Mommy?  Can I hold Wes-a-ley?" I took advantage and said "Oh, yes...that's a GREAT idea, and I will take pictures while you hold him, ok?"  You can imagine my surprise when I heard an enthusiastic "YES!!!" in response.  I quickly grabbed my camera, gently placed Wesley in her arms and snapped like crazy.  Of all the pictures (and believe me there was A LOT) I was able to get a really great one (last one below) that I was so happy about.  And even though there was just one that I consider what I wanted, the many other ones were quite entertaining as well.  Here are a select few that caught my eye...

First Stab at Cereal

 I can't wrap my head around how quickly time is moving lately.  The older I get, the quicker time moves.  Why is that?  I remember being little and wanting time to move quickly, wanting to grow up.  Now that I am older, I want things to slow down, I want time to creep by, but it doesn't...it flies by so quickly, I feel if I were to blink, I may miss it.  I turned around and suddenly Wes is ready to start the transition to solid foods.     Wasn't he just born yesterday?  **sigh**

So, we mixed the whole wheat oatmeal with his formula (trying to start things off right...) and he gobbled it down very well for his first attempt.  I was quite amazed actually.  I was later told that kids that have to take medicine are typically better at eating with a spoon, because they are used to sucking the medicine out of the dropper.  It makes sense, because each bite he slurped in a sucking motion.  It was quite cute really.  However, when it was time to stop, he let us know!!  Overall, he did better then his sister, seen here.

Since this first attempt, he got a stomach bug and stopped eating cereal all together.  However, we added some mashed up banana's to it and now he is back to eating like a champ.  I find myself at the store contemplating new things to try; pears, peaches, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes?  Then I take a step back and realize that I am not ready for him to grow this quickly!!!  I know it is such a cliche, but it is true...these kids grow up way too fast.  :(