Second Birthday Party

Yesterday Evelyn and Julian had a joint birthday party.  They are 3 days apart and have many of the same friends so it just made sense to combine forces.  Little did I know when I agreed to do this, Ann is an amazing party planner.  To go with our zoo theme, she had wooden signs up that said, "aquarium" by the baby pool, "rainforest" by the water table, "monkey house" by the playground, etc.  

Her sister, who teaches science experiments to kids for a living was in town and made adorable oceans in a bottle with the kids and let them touch starfish and sea sponges.  

Maic and I made animal tails to pin onto the kids (and some of the adults), and we hung some of Evelyn's stuffed animals in the trees.  

We had brats and burgers and mac and cheese, sweet and salty snacks, salads, and some amazing animal cupcakes.  And everyone who said they were going to come came!  Always struggling to understand the boundaries between work and friendship, we decided to invite anyone who has babysat for Evelyn and their families.  That included several people from the church without having to invite the entire congregation.  I think it was a good line to draw.  

Evelyn was very into the concept of presents, and Julian couldn't have cared less.  I think she would have opened all of his if he let her.  She got a lot of great presents, and among them was this tea party set from Ann, which she supplemented with some amazing handmade felt cookies and cupcakes and embroidered napkins.  They are so beautiful and she loves playing with the whole set already!  I didn't get pictures of all of the presents she got, but I did take a few.  

Erin (and Casey) made this great magnetic bear and clothing/accessory set for both her and Julian

She got a new hedgehog family to go in her beautiful hand-me-down dollhouse

And Maic and I had a great time making a board book for Julian that is about Shakespeare as a child.  Maic wrote and illustrated the book, and I constructed it into a board book by using a different board book, cardstock paper, and duct tape.  It turned out so cool! I apparently never got a finished picture of it, but I will look into doing that!

Evelyn was not sure of the candles.  She is definitely a "rule-follower" and she was very disappointed that we would put something "hot" by her.  While Julian was clapping and excited, Evelyn was going, "Hot, Mommy.  Hot."  You can see the disapproval in her face.  She did not blow out her candles, but she did eat the frosting with her hands.

Overall it was just an amazing day.  I was completely exhausted by the end of it and got rather grumpy around 8:30.  As much as I'm aware that I need to take it easy at 9 months pregnant, it is very hard for me to stay sitting when there is stuff to be done and people to converse with, so I was up-down-up-down all day.  I am definitely sore today! 

I just cannot express how blessed we are to have found Julian and his family.  They have come into our lives at such a perfect time and we look forward to so many more amazing birthdays together.  Happy TWO, you two!  

Weekend Love Songs

When we lived in St. Louis, it was so easy to jump in the car and go to a museum or a zoo or some  event that was geared towards young families.  Here, I find that it's not so easy.  Ripon is a good family town, but it's still small.  And when something's small it doesn't have quite as many opportunities.  That's just the way things go.  

It's hardest to find things to do during the winter, because we can't just go to the park down the street or play for a long time in the backyard (plus I hate-- nay, I detest being cold).  So when we reached this weekend and I was feeling a particularly large amount of Cabin Fever I was determined to find something to do other than sit around.  So yesterday we went to the Zoo in Madison.  It's about an hour and a half away, but it worked out well because I was able to visit a church member in rehab as well.  

The zoo was practically empty because nobody goes to the zoo in the winter, but there are plenty of places to go indoors at the zoo, so that's what we did!  And it was a blast. 

There were little jumpy quails in there.  

She loves alligators.  They say, "HHHAAAA-UMP" with a chomping gesture.

Curious little guy. 

This guy didn't mind being outdoors.  

Neither did Evelyn mind being outdoors if it meant seeing a bear walk around!

Then this morning, we did stay inside but we got a great pots and pans band going with Julian.  They loved making lots of noise!  Good kids! 

Alright guys, winter is LONG!  Get out and do something.  Or stay in and do something.  Just get goin' on the memory making, because even if winter is long, life is short!  

Keeping Mama Humble

Days have been good lately, as Evelyn has teamed up with another toddler-fellow, Julian.  Julian is three days older than her, and quite a bit more adventurous and jolly.  I'm not saying Evelyn isn't a happy baby, but she is and always has had a very serious soul.  She can be silly with the best of them, but she didn't crack a smile until she was probably three months old, and we still have to make a pretty good effort to get a good chuckle out of her.  She can most often be found analyzing-- a book, a puzzle, a stuffed animal, a piece of furniture-- poking and examining.  Julian is a go-getter-- sitting on the coffee table within seconds of entering a house, attempting to drink out of two sippy cups at the same time while playing the toy piano.  

I loved Julian's mom's description comparing the two to Downton Abbey characters-- Evelyn is the Dowager Countess and Julian is the American cousin.  I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of them yet to put on the blog.  I will at some point.  Julian has thick, long hair with big round rosy cheeks, and always, except at nap time, a big smile!  

Here is Evelyn just before going to Julian's for the first time.  All ready with her purse and her horse, wearing her Hilary Clinton power suit.  

She loves Mommy's scarf fashion.  She fits in really well with the Ripon College crowd.  

Lately, we haven't been great about getting out and doing things together as a family, besides going shopping at Target and Pick N Save, so tomorrow we're excited to be making our first journey down to Madison, WI.  A church member is in rehab down there and I've wanted to go to the zoo for a long time, so we are going to spend tomorrow in Madison killing two birds with one stone (is there a less violent expression I can use?)  I can't wait for her to see the animals in real life.  We used to go to the St. Louis Zoo all the time because it was close and free, but we moved before she really reached an age of understanding and being excited to see the animals.  Now, she knows about 20 animal sounds (she's seriously obsessed with learning them.  She even knows lizard, rhinoceros, and penguins.  Three sounds I was quite unsure of before she told me.)

I have to be honest, here.  It's good to catch you all up on my blog and let you know what's going on in our lives over here, but the true reason that I wrote this blog entry was to share these photos of Evelyn wearing Hello Kitty slippers and a diaper.  

She keeps me humble, you know.  When I think my job and all the errands I have to run are SOO important and the world would collapse without me, this little girl comes running into the room all excited because she's wearing cats on her feet.  And then I remember... Oh yeah, that's what life is for-- loving and living and laughing.  

Good girl.