Evan Tales

Best Buds

2011-11-13T13:49:00.003-05:00

I love having a younger brother! Now that Caleb is getting bigger, we are having so much fun playing together. Guess who loves to play with my Cars monster trucks? Yep!I was having a "picnic" on a blanket in the dining room. Caleb came to join me and even stole a grape!Recently we moved my GeoTrax trains upstairs from the basement playroom. Caleb is old enough now to play with them. We built 3 tracks and had lots of fun with them. Checking things out...So intently playing... Next up on the couch stage...the bouncy brothers! We love to take all the cushions off the couch and bounce up and down. Add in a little musical guitar and we are ready to take on the music scene!Whoohoo!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:11:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween! I had a fun time at Halloween this year. We carved pumpkins, decorated a gingerbread spooky mansion, and of course, went trick-or-treating. Here I am checking out the insides of our jack-o-lantern...Hanging out with Daddy... I picked out the Moonlit Cat design. Looks pretty good!

We also decorated a gingerbread spooky mansion. It was so much fun! Here I am adding gumdrops to the house...Putting on the finishing touches... Awesome, huh?! Time to trick-or-treat! I was a fireman this year and my little brother, Caleb, was Mickey Mouse. Grandma visited this weekend and dressed up as a witch on Halloween. She was so nice to hand out candy at our house while we trick-or-treated.Ready to go!

After we were done collecting candy, I sat on the front porch and handed out candy with Grandma and Daddy. Well, after I ate some candy of my own!

Halloween is so much fun!

First snow

2010-11-06T14:35:00.000-04:00

Yes! It snowed for the first time this season! I was very excited when I looked out the window. Snow!

I was definitely eager to get out and play! Daddy was starting the base of our snowman...

And I helped him...

Wow! I love snow! Look at the pure joy on my face!

Daisy loves it too! Here she is waiting for the snowball...

Splat! She "catches" the snowball!

Our street was covered in snow...

Here is the first glimpse of our snowman...

Wait! We need some finishing touches like a hat or helmet...

And a tail!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T23:05:00.004-04:00

Boo! Happy Halloween! I really enjoyed Halloween this year! We started the day by decorating my pumpkin with Mr. Potato-Head dressed up as a pirate. Argh! Then Daddy carved our pumpkin, "Fangs".

They look pretty good, huh?

I was definitely ready to go trick-or-treating! Do you think we'll fill up both our pumpkins with candy?

Elmo's ready to go!

Got to get a picture with my brother first...

Here we go! I had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. Everyone loved my costume and I thought it was neat seeing all of the different jack-o-lanterns our neighbors had. I also, of course, loved getting tons of candy!

My new watch

2010-10-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

I got a new watch today! I have been asking Mommy for a watch as some of my friends in preschool wear them. I wanted a Lightening McQueen watch - he's from the movie Cars. We found one we liked!

What do you think? I know, the picture is a bit blurry...maybe you can make out the face...

Cozy fire!

2010-10-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's been kind of cold lately, so Daddy built a fire in our fireplace. It was fun watching the flames grow! We were all bundled around the fire enjoying the warmth, although Daisy was a little scared to get too close!Happy Winter!

Hanging out

2010-10-07T16:44:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of me being goofy and hanging out. What?! Did I do something? I love tattoos...removable ones that is! Here I am showing off my pumpkin tattoo... What's up?! Just hangin' out with my bro...

First day of preschool!

2010-09-07T16:28:00.003-04:00

Today was my first day of preschool! I attend a preschool really close to our house that many of our neighbors go to. I go 3 days a week for a few hours each day. I'm ready and really excited! Me and my Elmo backpack... Me in front of our house...Mommy is going to take a picture like this every year to see how tall I'm growing! Can I go to school now? I really enjoyed my first day at school. I painted, drew, played with cars and blocks, listened during storytime, and explored the Nature Nook outside with my classmates. School is fun!

Sprinkler Fun

2010-08-29T22:00:00.002-04:00

It was a hot day today and Daddy was watering our backyard after planting grass seed. I really wanted to touch the water coming out of the sprinkler, but what I really wanted was to change into my swim trunks and play in the water! This is fun!

Uh oh, here it comes!

It got me!

I moved!

2010-08-11T14:31:00.005-04:00

Big news! We moved to the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Daddy accepted an assistant professor position at Case Western Reserve University, so we are settling down in the midwest. Mommy and Daddy bought this beautiful, blue house in Shaker Heights... Do you like it? I certainly do! We have an old tree in the backyard and I wasted no time making myself at home digging in the dirt!

At first I had to make it to my new house in the move. Daisy certainly was curious as to what was in this box...

What was in it? Well, me, of course! I made it!

I have a lot of fun with the moving boxes. I love playing in them, hiding from Mommy and Daisy. Phew! This unpacking stuff is hard work!

Home sweet home. I am enjoying a yummy donut from a great local donut shop. Yummmmmmm...

Splish-splash

2010-07-05T18:36:00.005-04:00

I love swimming in the pool! I have gone a few times this year with Mommy and really have fun splashing around. I think it's funny when I splash Mommy and get her wet. Sometimes I take my bucket, fill it with water, and dump it on her head. Ha, ha, ha!Here I am swimming around in the small pool... Using a kickboard... So many toy choices, so little time! Ready to throw the ball at Mommy and jump in the pool! I'm going to get you! (He did too!)

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:37:00.007-04:00

Happy 4th of July! This year we walked to the local fireworks with our neighbors. I was really excited as I really like playing with their son, Ryan, and his cousin, Morgan. Once we got to the field and laid out our blankets, I was ready to play! Here are Morgan and I playing Boom Ball...

The fireworks are starting! I enjoyed seeing them but got a little scared toward the end. Although when they were over, I wanted to see more and declared, "I like fireworks!"

I was attached to Morgan's hip the whole night. I really like her!

Here are me and my little brother after we got home...

What a great 4th!

Baby Elmo

2010-06-24T05:11:00.003-04:00

Mommy has baby Caleb to take care of, and I have baby Elmo to take care of! I am learning a lot from watching my little brother grow. Uh oh...baby Elmo is fussing in his swing. He needs his pacifier...

Not working...hmmm...maybe he needs fed...

Both sides will do better...

Time to burp baby Elmo...

There! He's all better!

Art projects

2010-06-24T04:45:00.005-04:00

I love art projects...I do one almost every day. Right now I really enjoy working with glue. Here I am attaching different colored paper in layers to my base paper with a glue stick...Photography is also art, right? I love to take Mommy and Daddy's camera and snap photos on my own...

Here is my puppy (*taken by Evan*)...My little brother (*taken by Evan*)...My glue stick! (*taken by Evan*)

My art supplies (*taken by Evan*)...

Music can be classified as art also. Here I am with Caleb under his playmat turning the music on for him...

Take me out to the ballgame!

2010-06-07T16:08:00.005-04:00

Today we went to see the Cincinnati Reds play baseball against the Washington Nationals at the new Nationals Park in DC. Mommy and Daddy are Reds fans, so I rooted for them as well. To get to the game, we took the Metro train. I love trains! It was neat to see the world fly by so fast when the train was above ground...Warming up...Cheesing it up with Daddy...Nationals Park...The game went into extra innings but I had a lot of energy to get out! I was spinning around in the concourse and throwing my hat. People thought I was silly...Hamming it up on the train back home after the Reds WON!Cute stuff!

Fun times...

2010-05-27T10:56:00.009-04:00

In the past month, I've had lots of fun! I've enjoyed the company of many visitors, taken a few roadtrips, and learned a bit more about my little brother as well. One thing that I really enjoy is my daily art project. I like to be creative and learn new things. Here I am tracing my hand...Working hard...What do you think?!Boo! I see you! Here I am being silly while working with foam stickers...Dancing at our hotel in Cleveland... Summer means time for bubbles! I love my little brother... Who wants a cookie? Me, me, me, me! Playing the drums with Daddy... I love nature! Here I am climbing a fallen tree at Roosevelt Island... Taking a hike with a stick... The lizard we found at Roosevelt Island... Posing with Aunt Wendy (aka "Aunt Neenee")... Hugs! Daddy, Caleb, and I are "sleeping"!We're going to be great friends...Ahhh, the love of brothers...

My grandparents visited...

2010-04-27T14:23:00.004-04:00

Since my baby brother has arrived, I have been able to spend time with my grandparents. I have really enjoyed all of the attention and love to race my cars! Here I am with Grandpa and Grandma, Daisy, and Caleb...Cheesin' it up with Grandma...Grandma brought me foam stickers to use with my artwork. Here we are making a masterpiece...It's been lots of fun having my family visit. Can you come again soon?

I'm a big brother!

2010-04-11T13:18:00.009-04:00

On April 6, I became a big brother! My little brother, Caleb James, was born at 2:17 am.Grandma and Grandpa were staying with me and Daisy at the house and took me to the hospital to meet my little brother. I brought him a stuffed Elmo and a sticker. I put the sticker on his shirt!Mommy and Daddy bought me a "Big Brother Present". It was fun to open and play with it!I can see you little brother... When Mommy and Daddy brought Caleb home, I was very eager to help out! I wanted to get him out of his carseat...

Here I am snaping the buckle shut on the bouncy seat...

Holding Caleb for the first time...

I love holding him!

Our first photo as a family of 5...

I even got a "Big Brother" sticker!I am really in love with Caleb...Caleb...when can you play with me?!Check out my brother's blog (Caleb's Clubhouse) at www.calebsclub.blogspot.com.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T22:46:00.006-04:00

Easter was a lot of fun this year! The night before Easter, I hid my basket for the Easter bunny to find. When I woke up in the morning, I noticed that he found it and was filled with all sorts of goodies!I like it when the Easter bunny stops by! When we were at church, I made the Lamb of God in "children's church"...

Do you like it?Next I did an Easter egg hunt...Thomas was hiding some eggs!

Some were even hidden outside...

Check out all of my eggs!

It's fun to see what is inside each egg...

I got lots of candy and money!

We also colored Easter eggs with Grandma and Grandpa. Here I am posing with Grandma...

Putting stickers on the eggs...I love stickers!

Learning how the color sticks to the eggs...

I can do it all by myself!

Check out the yummy sucker the Easter bunny put in my basket!

Happy Easter everyone!

DC Cherry Blossoms

2010-04-01T22:06:00.005-04:00

We went to see the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC this year. The blossoms were at peak and very beautiful! We went walking a lot and I was exhausted. Luckily I could catch a ride on Daddy's shoulders!

Here is a view of the Washington Monument through the flowers...The Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial...Mommy and Daddy... Family photo!Here are Grandma and Grandpa...they were able to see the blossoms in person this year!

Phew! I'm tired! I am resting at the FDR Memorial with a beautiful tulip tree behind me.

Spring sure was gorgeous this year!

Blizzards of 2010

2010-02-09T02:14:00.008-05:00

We got a lot of snow in February...in fact, we got so much snow it broke records in the DC area. In the first storm we received 27+ inches of snow! Here is the view out our front door when it just started... The drifts by the front door...The front view with TONS more snow... Daisy wasn't sure she wanted to go outside...Can you see Mommy's car? Not very well!

The snow is deeper than my doggie!

I love making snow angels! They're tons of fun!

Here's Daddy trying to dig out...

I'm trying to help too!

Snowball fight!

I had lots of fun in the snow. Here I am climbing on the snow to get to the playground but I didn't make it too far without needing help from Mommy and Daddy...

Camping out in the dark and cold house...we lost power for a long time and it was freezing!

A few days after this snowstorm, we got another 10+ inches dumped on us! We didn't know where to put all of the snow! Here is a view of our quiet street...

There is so much snow that you cannot go swinging!

Daddy tried though!

I went down the slide...fun!

Of course I had to make snow angels!Here's our makeshift snowman...the snow was very hard and icy, but we made it work!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Evan!

2010-01-22T21:58:00.004-05:00

It's my 3rd birthday and I'm ready to play! I had a fun birthday. I got to stay in my PJs all day, open presents, and eat cake! Here I am hanging out in a new Lightening McQueen tent I got for my birthday...

Ready for cake!

My cake, just as I asked for it...

Cheese...

Make a wish...

It's so yummy...

On my birthday, I made an art project with Daddy...

Pretty neat cat, huh?!

I also went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with Mommy and Daddy for my birthday. I loved seeing all of the fish...

Looking at a "Nemo" fish...

Ooohhhh...a shark...

We also went to a dolphin show. It was neat to see the dolphins jump in the air...

Intently watching...

Wheeeee!Thank you everyone who made my birthday so special!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T21:47:00.016-05:00

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year! I talk about it all the time. This Christmas I was very eager to help decorate for the season...Umgh...this is a big tin......Whatcha' think? Do I dress up well?!Hugging the tree...It's beautiful!I helped put these candy canes on the tree!

My handiwork decorating the tree...

We were back in Fort Wayne, Indiana, around Christmas this year. They have a huge Santa in his sleigh with reindeer lit up downtown. It's been around since before my mommy and daddy were born. Here is my reaction to it...

Santa...

His reindeer...

Daisy and I had fun posing for our Christmas card photo...

Cheese!

The night before we were supposed to drive to the Midwest for Christmas, it decided to snow A LOT in Maryland.

We got so much snow, we were delayed leaving the area for a day.

Here is Daisy trying to make a path out back...

The snow is taller than she is!

Well, we made it back to Indiana and Michigan. Celebrating Christmas with Grandpa and Nana, I, along with my cousins, decorated the tree...

Grandpa helped me climb up and slide down a pole in his basement!

Ready to play in the snow!

Family photo in the snow...

I love to make snow angels!

Back in Indiana I had fun playing with my cousin, Keira...

Here I am with my cousins: Isaac, Clayton, Nadiya, and Arianna...

Putting out the cookies and chocolate milk for Santa...

Santa came! Opening presents from him in Indiana...

Santa also came to our home in Maryland! Here is Daisy in front of the tree...

I love opening presents!

I received a lot of art supplies for Christmas...it's fun creating things...I love painting also...Check me out in my Lightening McQueen slippers...Being silly on New Year's Eve...Cheesin' it up!Daisy got to wear my Cat in the Hat hat also! Silly girl!The last thing we did for the holiday season was to drive through the Winter Lights display at the state park nearby... Ooohhh...

Ahhh...

Here is one tunnel of lights we drove through...

I really enjoyed seeing the lights!

Catchin' up...

2009-11-29T08:59:00.009-05:00

Here is a glimpse of what I've been doing the past month:

I LOVE to help Mommy bake anything and everything in the kitchen. I pull up a chair and dump ingredients into the bowls, turn on the mixer, and even help frost cookies! Here I am frosing some bat cookies for Halloween...Can you tell which ones are mine?I really love to play games with Mommy and Daddy like Ring Around the Rosie, running and chasing games, catch, and Hide and Seek. Here are Daddy and me hiding from Mommy...Next up was Halloween...unfortunately both me and Daddy were hit with the H1N1 flu virus. I was laid up in bed for a few days with a high fever. At least I had great company!Having H1N1 meant that I could not go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood as I was really sick on Halloween Eve. So I could only trick-or-treat in our house.

Trick or treat!

Cute puppy dog!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here I am helping to make stuffing for the turkey...

Daisy could not wait for the turkey to come out of the oven!

When Aunt Wendy was in town for Thanksgiving, we went to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Here they have a lot of huge airplanes, fighter jets, helicopters, etc. Wow! They are high!

This is what I was looking at...

Neat, huh?!

Here are Aunt Wendy, me, and Daddy...

Aunt Wendy, me, and Mommy...

The Enola Gay...

Looking at an Air France Concorde...

Daddy showing me some airplanes...Top Gun is a favorite movie of both my mommy and daddy. Here is an airplane like those in the movie...I really had fun looking at all the aircraft!

Pumpkin Festival!

2009-10-28T07:27:00.012-04:00

We went to the Pumpkin Festival at a local orchard this year. The weather was perfect...sunny but a bit cool. Here are Evan and Daddy checking out the pumpkin chunker. It hit the tractor when we were watching!
Daddy and Evan in the corn maze...Mommy and Evan in the corn maze...Cheesin' it!Chasing Evan throught the corn maze. This was his favorite thing at the festival...Can you see me?Casper the friendly ghost...Daddy and Evan on the hayride to the pumpkin fields...Having fun!Is this the pumpkin for us?Daddy's saying, "Better come over here..."Check out what jumped on Evan's head!I like pumpkins!Maybe this one?!It was hard to choose!OK, this one!Got it!How tall this fall? He's growing like a weed!Loves the trains...

And our family is growing...

2009-10-21T14:33:00.005-04:00

The Mears family is growing!

This is the real reason I haven't been updating this blog like I am supposed to. All-day-sickness (aka nausea and vomiting) have taken over my life all of August and September. I'm still not 100% by any means. So I apologize for neglecting Evan's blog! Evan is going to be a big brother! His little sister or brother is due April 6, 2010. In the ultrasound picture taken above, the baby is about 9 weeks along.

Here are some more pictures from another ultrasound taken on September 24 (around 12 weeks). Profile picture...Check out the foot...Face...Another profile picture...
We find out whether the baby will be a boy or girl on November 2. I've asked Evan if he wants a baby brother or sister and he's says, "Sister!". Then I say, "a girl or boy?" and he says, "boy!". So he doesn't really know what he wants. But he is aware that there is a baby in Mommy's belly. It makes me tear up when he kisses my belly ("the baby"). Too sweet!

Artwork update...

2009-08-29T01:07:00.003-04:00

Here are some more examples of Evan's beautiful artwork from his Two for Two's class. These are boots...Then we had a pirate theme... Argh! If I'm not mistaken, this theme was dinosaurs and these are dinosaur eggs... Dinosaur eggs...

Jellyfish! Evan loves his jellyfish...We're taking this session off as Evan wasn't sure he wanted to continue with Romp 'n Roll. We'll see if he wants to do the winter session.

Daisy's lucky number = 14

2009-07-27T22:01:00.003-04:00

We finally know what Daisy girl is allergic to...14 different inhaled allergens! We took Daisy to a doggie dermatologist today to figure out why she keeps getting skin allergies. They did an intradermal (just into the skin) allergy test on her and injected 60 different allergens. 14 plus a control came back positive! Healthy, non-allergic dogs usually have 1-2 positive results. An allergic dog usually has 8-16 positive results. Yep! We weren't joking about her allergies!
Our poor puppy is allergic to a variety of things like black ants, house flies, tobacco, cat dander (Daddy is thrilled with that result!), 4 different molds, oak trees, 2 different grasses, and 3 different weeds. The dermatologist vet made a cocktail of these different allergens and we started Daisy's lifelong treatment of allergy shots today. We start out giving the shots every other day, then every 7, 14, and maintenance of 21 days. She'll be taking an allergy shot every 21 days the rest of her life. She did really well for her first injection today! Hopefully this will help her tremendously and she won't be itchy or have terrible lesions on her belly anymore.

Toddler Beds!

2009-07-13T22:12:00.008-04:00

It's official...Evan is no longer a baby. He's a big boy! When preparing for our annual summer trip back to Indiana, we realized that Evan was too big for his Pack 'n Play, weight-wise and probably length-wise too. So we searched and searched and found an inflatable toddler mattress with raised sides. Perfect!

We got it this past weekend, inflated it, and Evan jumped on right away. He slept on it every night and did not have any problems.

This prompted Mommy and Daddy to rethink Evan's crib. He wasn't crawling out of it yet; however, he was getting bigger and more grown up. Time for a toddler bed!

When Daddy finished assembling it last night, Evan could not wait to jump right in!

Evan was really excited to have his big boy bed...

Pretty cool, huh?!

After bouncing on his bed a thousand times, Evan finally laid down...

Ready for bed!

Can you tell he was excited?

All smiles!

Finally Evan fell asleep. Here he is snoozing around 11 pm...

Tonight, Daisy decided to join Evan on his bed during storytime. How cute is this?!

Evan loves to read bedtime stories in his big boy bed...

Night night!

Company for breakfast and more artwork

2009-07-07T21:58:00.003-04:00

One morning this past week, Evan had company for breakfast. Brown Bear decided to join Evan and helped eat his cereal. It was really cute seeing him prop Brown Bear up onto the chair. He wasn't satisfied until he was sitting just right.

Evan and Brown Bear...

Art and gym class! The theme was the Olympics and Evan really enjoyed playing with all of the sports equipment during gym class. He definitely loves sports! In art class the children made shoes on grass...

Evan showing us his artwork...

Evan really enjoys making artwork. It's fun to see the different art projects he creates!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T22:30:00.005-04:00

Happy Fourth of July! The Mears family had a good day today. We ate Daddy's BBQ ribs, potato salad, and had strawberry & blueberry shortcakes for dessert. Our 4th of July celebration was complete with the fireworks show in Germantown. We were lucky in that they were shooting off the fireworks at the local soccer sportsplex near our house. We actually rode our bikes around the trails earlier that day and saw where they were set up. So we didn't have to fight with traffic! Love that!

Pretty!

Evan didn't want to get out of his stroller, so he watched them in there...

Once we figured out where the better seats were to see the fireworks, we had a great view...

Evan did really well for his first fireworks show. He wasn't scared and was intrigued by the colors and lights...

Boom!Evan said he was going to catch the fireworks. He sure tried!

He really liked them; however, Evan was pretty tired. He fell asleep...

Once they were over, Evan asked if he could see more fireworks. He's been talking about them ever since!

Gravelly Point

2009-07-03T15:51:00.004-04:00

When Daddy flew back from New Hampshire this afternoon, Mommy thought it would be nice to have a picnic at Gravelly Point and see the planes take off from Reagan National Airport. Gravelly Point is right next to the airport and when the planes take off, they go right over this park. Lots of people have picnics there and enjoy the planes swooping into the sky.

Here was Evan waiting for Daddy in the cell phone waiting lot...

Eating lunch...

Here comes a plane...

I see it!

You can see the plane coming off the runway...

Just into the air...

There it goes...

And away it flies...

Sometimes this was Evan's reaction when the planes were just overhead (they were really close, big, and loud!)...

All in all Evan (and Mommy and Daddy) thought this was really neat. Evan kept asking to go back and see more planes!

Run, run, run with some artwork thrown in

2009-06-30T21:24:00.009-04:00

Time seems to be flying by fast, just like Evan flies by when he's running around and around and around the kitchen island... These pictures were taken a few weeks ago. One night Evan had tons of energy and was running around the kitchen.Boy, running in circles can make a kid tired! What an adorable face! Having a blast!
What tends to happen when Evan is running around the island is that Daisy joins in the fun. She loves to chase Evan and barks in amusement... Daisy girl...Evan also loves to make faces at Daddy or Mommy. He'll bring his face down really low... And then his eyes, face, and eyebrows up really high... Besides running around and making faces, Evan has really been enjoying his art/gym class on Tuesday evenings. Last Tuesday, June 23, Evan made a rocket... He was so proud of the rocket, he put it on the refrigerator right away... This past week, June 30, Evan made fireworks (complete with stars!)... He loves art class and making projects! Of course, not all of the stars stayed on the artwork when we came home! Evan did put them back on eventually!
Proud little man...

Two for 2's

2009-06-17T10:35:00.003-04:00

Evan has been going to his "gym", Romp n' Roll, for a while now. He loves it! For the summer session we had originally kept him in the same class he was doing before, Tumble Tunes. Basically it was a gym class with lots of music intermixed. Well, this session a lot of the children from his Tumble Tunes class moved to Two for 2's. It's a combo of art and gym. We decided to try it out and possibly switch him if Evan did well. The first class was last night and Evan had a blast! We were concerned with the "structure" of art class but he loved it! He was so thrilled to paint. Last night the children got to paint art smocks. They picked out their smock colors themselves and painted them with different brushes, sponges, and stamps. After art class they went into the gym and burned off some energy. A great class! We cannot wait to see what Evan will make next week!

Thomas the Tank Engine

2009-06-13T22:49:00.012-04:00

This past weekend we headed to Lancaster County, PA, to visit the Strasburg Rail Road. Sounds like fun, huh? The true reason we went to Strasburg was because Thomas the Tank Engine was there! We kept telling Evan that he was going to see the "real" Thomas and he was definitely looking forward to it!

Here are Evan and Daddy by the trains...

Evan was saying, "There's Thomas!" There he is! Thomas... Evan could not take his eyes off of him! Next we saw Sir Topham Hat. Evan wasn't too thrilled to see him. There's Thomas again! Daddy and Evan watching Thomas pull away... Here is a big train engine that pulled into the station... Neat, huh?! Next we were able to take a train ride on Thomas! Here is an adorable picture of Daddy on the Thomas Train... Mommy trying to get Evan to look at the camera...Relaxing on the train... Hmmm...what's out here? Soooo cute! Mommy and Evan on the Thomas Train... Evan looking out the window... He really enjoyed the train ride! Looking out the window at a Lancaster Co. farm... "There's a school bus!" Watching an Amish farmer work the field with his horses... Here was another train we rode in Strasburg... It was really big! Ha!

Strawberry Time!

2009-06-07T21:11:00.004-04:00

It's strawberry time here in Maryland! We have a local orchard (Butler's Orchard) that has pick-your-own fruit and the Mears family headed out last weekend to get some strawberries. It was fun! I had forgotten my camera then, so I made sure to bring it this past weekend when we picked some more.

Here is Evan picking strawberries... Such a great helper! Check out his bucket... Are these good? This one looks yummy...Evan was such a great helper! He loved picking the berries. You want me to pick how many more? Helping Daddy... No, Daddy, over there! Walking over the berry plants... Helping Mommy... Evan would take some berries that Mommy picked and dump them into the big container that Daddy was carrying. He had fun!

Fun at the zoo!

2009-05-24T21:52:00.004-04:00

We went to the National Zoo today for the first time in the 2009 season. Evan loved it! The best part was that Evan would recognize the animals and name them. He certainly is growing up! We started out by seeing Happy the Hippo. Apparently, he is leaving the National Zoo for another zoo sometime this year.Evan got a bird's eye view sitting on top of Daddy's shoulders...Next we saw the elephants! Onto the Big Cats display. Evan kept asking for the big cats! When we were walking up to the lions, we heard some growling and roars, but didn't know if it was a sound effect or what. The lion was, indeed, making loud sounds and it was really neat! Even a little rain shower could not keep us away!

Next was the tigers! Remember from last year how Evan would peek through the holes and look at the tigers...

He's a bit bigger this year...

The tiger (this one roared and growled as well - so cool!)... Checking out the seals and pelicans with Daddy...

Evan said this one "fell down!"

This seal jumped in the water and was letting the pelicans nip at his tail!After a long, hot and damp day, nothing's better than a yummy ice cream cone!

The Natural

2009-05-22T21:42:00.004-04:00

Evan's a natural at T-ball! We got him this t-ball set last night and he LOVES it! Perfect for a fun summer! Evan putting the ball on the tee...Planning the hit... The bat makes perfect contact... And away it goes! The smile of a genius!Daisy was having a blast chasing all the balls...We also got Evan a baseball mitt and ball. He's ready for summer!Got it!

Cute Daisy Mae

2009-05-08T07:14:00.002-04:00

A blog dedicated to our first baby, Daisy Mae! She was playing in the extra bedroom one night while Daddy and Evan were looking online and I could not pass up these cute photos. What a sweet face!

Daisy has also been a trooper with me while I'm running outside. Most of the time she is hopping and bounding right beside me or even pushing me a bit by running ahead of me. She's a good exercise partner!

Regarding Evan, not much new to report. When the weather is nice, he loves to be outside 24/7! He rides his bike, takes Daisy for a walk, plays at the playground across the street, plays with the other neighborhood kids, makes bubbles, and draws everywhere with his chalk. This summer will be lots of fun!

Play-doh

2009-05-04T14:05:00.006-04:00

The Easter bunny brought Evan some Play-doh and now he loves to create masterpieces all the time! Here is Evan making a lobster from the cut-out...All I kept thinking about is how well he did - he can help at Christmas with the cookie cutters!Molding the Play-doh...Rolling it out...Daddy and Evan were creating lots of fun things...OK, just to embarrass him when he gets bigger, here is Evan in just a diaper and Elmo slippers! He would not take these slippers off but was running around the house one evening and was definitely working up a sweat. Off come the clothes, but the slippers stayed on. He wanted to make sure the camera saw all of Elmo's face... Evan and Elmo...

Sherwood Gardens

2009-04-23T15:13:00.005-04:00

The Mears family took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend and ventured to Baltimore, MD, to see the tulips at Sherwood Gardens. Here is a brief history of the gardens courtesy of their website:

"During the 1800s the property on which the Sherwood Gardens is located was part of the Guilford estate of A. S. Abell, founder of The Baltimore Sun. The site of the gardens was a pond, which was filled in when the area was developed for housing in 1912. Sherwood Gardens was created in the 1920's by John W. Sherwood, local petroleum pioneer and conservationist. Begun as a hobby, and planted by Mr. Sherwood with tulips that he imported from the Netherlands, the gardens have become known as the most famous tulip garden in North America."

Well, of course, Mommy is a tulip lover so this was a good opportunity to visit Sherwood again. Evan was really excited to see the tulips...Another bit of information from the website: "Approximately 80,000 tulip bulbs are planted annually along with other spring flowering bulbs. Dogwoods, flowering cherries, wisteria and magnolias bloom throughout the garden. "Mommy and Evan sat down to enjoy some flowers...Love 'em!Check these out - they have fringed edges!Funky star shaped tulips...Pretty!Evan checking out the tulips...Hey! I'm in a tree!Walking down a sidewalk, Evan saw ants. He was facinated! Happy Spring!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T15:13:00.006-04:00

Happy Easter from the Mears family! We had a great weekend as Wendy was in town - always such fun! We woke up and the Easter Bunny had visited. Evan was really excited and went running to his basket.Thrilled to get a Percy bubble whistle (another train in the Thomas the Tank Engine series)...Checking out his new PlayDoh toys with Daisy...Did I miss anything?After church, Evan and Aunt Wendy (aka Tia Neenee) played with a sticker book and worked on his Spanish...Time to go hunting!For eggs, of course! He had a blast finding the eggs scattered around. The Easter Bunny hid them by all his toys, on the train, everywhere!Evan was really fast in finding the eggs...Always looking for another egg...Daisy was helping too!Any under here?OK, this was funny. Evan could NOT find this egg for the life of him! Daddy gave him hints and he still could not find it. He even picked up the puppy dog, gave him a hug... And the egg was still there! Finally Evan saw it and we had a good laugh!Now we get to open them!Evan had all his bowls and was collecting his goodies...I got lots of stuff, huh? (as I have treats in my mouth!)

Cherry Blossoms

2009-04-10T15:50:00.006-04:00

Cherry Blossom time in the DC region! This year we opted to go to our favorite neighborhood in Bethesda, called Kenwood. It was really pretty! Daddy lifted Evan for a closer look of the flowers...Evan found a rock to sit on...too cute!

Beautiful!

Chillin' on the bench enjoying the blossoms...Run, run, run, run, run!Don't you wish you had this scenery in your neighborhood? We do...

Hi! I'm in a tree!Flowering trees...

Pretty little yellow flowers growing on the ground...

Mmmm...smell pretty...

2009 picture in the blossoms...A bit different than his 2008 picture...

How about his 2007 picture...Relaxing...

Family photo...

Yawn...I'm sleepy. I'll take a nap here in the park...

After we walked around the blossoms for a while, Mommy and Daddy took me to the neighborhood park. I played a lot on the slide, a pretend firetruck, and rode on the swing a little...

Hey! Here is me swinging last year. I have grown a lot! Bye, bye!

Nope!

2009-04-09T12:10:00.005-04:00

Ahhh, Evan's latest word is, "Nope!" It's really cute because he picked it up from Daddy this past weekend when Mommy was at Girls' Weekend in Hershey, PA. Daddy would say, "nope," and Evan would follow.

He's also counting in Spanish on his own. Sometimes it's 1,2,3, etc. in English, and other times it's uno, dos, tres, etc. in Spanish. Smart kid!

Evan has a book called Here Are My Hands and I love reading the book to him at bedtime. This week he was "reading" to himself and doing the arm motions along with the book. "Here is my elbow, my arm and my chin" (doing the chin part!)..."Here is my skin that bundles me in"...And here is my skin again...Cute kid! This is Easter weekend so I'm sure I'll have tons of fun pictures to post later. Happy Easter!

Devo Evan

2009-03-30T11:34:00.002-04:00

Evan is doing a throw-back to the 80s...Devo! Nothing like putting a bucket on your head and running around the house!

Check me out!

Groovy dude!

Goofy times

2009-03-22T22:21:00.003-04:00

One day I was trying to get some fun pictures of Evan, this is what first turned out...

So serious! Anyway, once I told him to be silly and smile, etc., this is the funny face he gave me...Then he went to my right...Am I being goofy enough for you Mama?How about now? Am I close enough?

Ha, ha, this is fun!

Silly boy! He sure makes us laugh often!

One night we had waffles for dinner and Evan loved it! We just gave him a whole waffle (sans butter and syrup) and let him at it. It was bigger than his head!

Yummy! More goofy pictures to follow!

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

2009-03-13T12:46:00.002-04:00

Our first "child", Daisy Dixie Mae Mears, turns 9 years young today! Happy Birthday, Daisy! You're the best puppy anyone could ever have!

Random Thursday

2009-03-13T07:10:00.005-04:00

Here are some random pictures from last night. Daddy was working on his new work laptop, so Evan pulled his out and was "working" too!

Then Evan wanted to hug Elmo...

Next was peek-a-boo! Daisy found him!

Where did he go?

Ahhh, he's peeking!

Peek-a-boo!

First hike of 2009

2009-03-09T11:40:00.004-04:00

This weekend was a complete change from last weekend. No more snow! It was in the mid 70's every day, so we definitely took advantage of the warm weather. On Saturday, the Mears family headed to Black Hill regional park for our first hike of 2009. We had a great time! The ground was a little muddy from all the snow that had melted during the week, but that made it even more fun! Here is Evan walking down a trail...Evan said it was his turn to hold Daisy's leash, so we let him.They did pretty well except both liked to walk off the trail in the leaves or into the biggest mud puddles, and sometimes Daisy walked a little too fast for Evan to keep up!Evan really enjoyed being in charge of Daisy and her leash. It was cute!

Eventually, Daddy took over the reins for Daisy and she got to get her feet wet in the stream. She loves to paddle in the water and search around...

Evan was such a trooper on this hike. He's a big boy now and wanted to walk all the time. Daddy convinced him to take a break and get a ride on his shoulders. He had fun messing with Daddy's sunglasses...

All in all it was a great day at the park! The first of many hikes to come!

Snow Day!

2009-03-02T12:25:00.006-05:00

Today, Mommy took a snow day and stayed home with Evan. We got a lot of snow! Around lunchtime, we saw a group of deer outside in the back...Now it was our time to play! Evan was very eager to go outside...We started off by walking around in the snow. It was lots of fun!Here are Mommy and Evan ready to play! Daisy and Evan liked to walk around in the snow...It's really deep for a 2-year old!Even though Daisy is a "southern dog", she loves the snow! Ready for a snowball...Smash! The snowball exploded all over her! Evan really tried to make his own snowballs. Daisy is helping...Got one for me? Huh?! Huh?! Huh?!

Evan saw his slide covered in snow and wanted to uncover it. Once we did that, he was eager to climb up and go for a slide.

On my way!

Boom! That was lots of fun!The last time he went down the slide, Evan dug his feet into the snow and landed on his belly. Mommy kept laughing at him...no worries, he wasn't hurt at all and she brushed the snow off his face/hat.Brrr...the snow is cold on my face!

It was cold and Mommy forgot to put Daisy's coat on. She kept shivering, so on occasion, she had to go back in the house to thaw out. Evan really wanted Daisy to play...what do you think...does Daisy want to come outside too?

Snow angels! Mommy was making a snow angel and Evan was quite curious. Mommy helped Evan make his own angel and it was really precious!Here is Evan's (left) and Mommy's (right)...

Once inside, we bundled up with blankets (and Mommy with hot chocolate - Evan did not want to try it). We had a great time in the snow!

An Artsy Sunday

2009-03-01T21:53:00.003-05:00

Today, I promised Evan he could use his fingerpaints for the first time. He was very excited! We would take turns painting on his paper. First it was "my turn" and then it was "Mama's turn". It was really precious creating his first masterpiece together...Beautiful, isn't it?! After Evan was satisfied with his painting, he nicely put the jars back in the case. Such a good boy!Next, Evan wanted to color with his crayons. We had bought him some huge coloring papers with Pooh and friends. Here he is intently coloring...All done! A wonderful Sunday filled with art!

Toddler Model

2009-02-25T15:08:00.005-05:00

Evan put on these footed PJs last night and they looked really adorable on him! He filled them out pretty well and I kept saying that he looked like he was a child of the past...he only needed the "trap door" on his bottom! He proceeded to strike a couple of nonchalant poses like a model...

Just chillin' here with my foot up...so cool...

Then I turned the viewfinder around on the camera so Evan could see himself. He kept rocking back ...and forth...and back... and forth. It was pretty cute!

He did it!

2009-02-22T15:42:00.005-05:00

This morning Evan woke up, decided to take off his pants and diaper, and was saying , "uh-oh" and standing in bed. Oops...he had an accident. So Daddy asked Evan if he wanted to sit on his potty. He did. Guess what...he went in his potty!!!! This is the first time he went in there! Evan loves to sit on it but has never grasped the concept of actually doing anything on the potty. YEAH! Such a big boy!

Here are a few pictures of Mommy and Evan taken on Saturday...

He wanted to put his head against mine...

An apple a day...

2009-02-19T11:26:00.005-05:00

Last night Evan opened the refrigerator (yes, he can do this on his own now!) and wanted something to eat. I showed him the apples and he was really excited. He started taking a bite without even taking the sticker off or washing it. After Mommy got it ready, Evan had a ball! He'd bite right into the apple and juices were dripping from his chin. He loved it! He actually ate quite a bit of the apple and then got distracted by his toys. Mmmm....

Daddy was surprised and pleased to see Evan digging into the apple when he got home from work. Ahhh, our little boy is definitely growing up fast! (Check out those raised eyebrows - ha!)

Fifth Disease

2009-02-16T13:24:00.004-05:00

This weekend we noticed that Evan was getting a rash on his face, upper torso, and arms. He certainly wasn't feeling the greatest yesterday as he was cranky and just wasn't his happy self! Daycare was closed today for President's Day so Mommy was staying home with Evan anyway. He woke up with the rash still on his chest so Mommy called his pediatrician. The diagnosis - Fifth Disease! It's a viral infection that isn't contagious once he gets the rash. But it was contagious about a week ago when he didn't really have symptoms. Fun, huh? It's not serious when healthy children/adults get it, so we don't have much to worry about. The rash should go away within 1-6 weeks. The good news is that once someone has Fifth Disease, they're immune to it for life, so Evan should not get it again. We have learned a lot about so many different illnesses since we became parents!

Curious Daisy

2009-02-13T12:56:00.003-05:00

Last week when Jason was practicing his seminar talk one evening, Daisy was laying on the bed listening. She really got into what Daddy was saying! It was really cute. I tell you, we have one of the smartest doggies in the world. She now knows all about the science that Daddy works on!

Angel, 1999-2009

2009-02-07T22:57:00.005-05:00

Our last surviving fish, Angel, an angelfish (see example above) passed away this evening. She had a long and full life. We got Angel first with a few tetras and other fish (Darryl, Darryl, and Norm) in Birmingham, AL, in 1999. She made the move to Atlanta with us, and then to Rockville, and finally here in Germantown. For the past 2 weeks she had been feeling sick and just wasn't acting herself. She joined her fellow tankmates in heaven tonight after 10 great years with the Mears family. Rest in peace Angel.

Brilliant child!

2009-02-02T22:21:00.005-05:00

Just an update on Evan...he's doing great! It seems like he has learned so much and is surprising Mommy and Daddy every day. On Monday evening, Evan was playing with the Leap Fridge Alphabet and shocked Mommy. He picked up a letter and said, "G", then another, "O", then another, "L", etc. This went on and on in random order for 15 or so letters! I was amazed. Evan does know his alphabet song (if you've ridden in the car you've heard it), but knowing the individual letters out of sequence, wow!

Then, I was drinking water out of a plastic cup with the IU logo on it. Evan looked at the cup and said, "Mama, IU!" YEAH! We're definitely raising him right!

Evan definely loves his stuffed animals. It has become routine now at bedtime, after the lights are out, he needs at least 4-5 stuffed animals to fall asleep. When he wakes up, the stuffed animal fairy has put all but one away. Well, one morning over the weekend I went into his room to get him out of his crib, Evan wanted every stuffed animal he had in his room. I obliged - hey it was the weekend and we had nowhere to get in a hurry! Ahhh, I think I'll lay down... Perhaps on my belly?

This past weekend, we also tried out a children's play gym called Romp 'n Roll. We've been wanting to do this with Evan for a while and it would give him a chance to interact with more children of different ages. For the most part he had a blast! They take all the kids and parents into a small room at first and read a story and sing a song. Then they open the curtin and a huge room is filled with fun gym stuff. Here is an example picture of what it looks like... The kids do different obstacles courses and activities and blow off lots of steam. Evan had a blast during this portion. The little room to listen to a story and song, not so much right now, but the gym? He loved it!

Tub fun and 2-year check up

2009-01-26T15:17:00.004-05:00

Evan had his 2-year old check up with his pediatrician today. He's a healthy, growing boy! He weighs 29 pounds, 3 ounces (70th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (75th percentile). Everything the doctor or nurse asked if he did, we said, "yes". Totally on track! Yah!
Last night we had some fun in the tub. Well, this wasn't just last night, but every time Evan takes a bath. He loves to splash around and get Mommy and Daisy wet!

How cute is this face?

Evan turns 2!

2009-01-22T22:39:00.007-05:00

Evan had a wonderful 2nd birthday. He woke up and ventured downstairs to get some milk. When he went into the kitchen, he looked up at the island and just stared in amazement. "Choo-choo train" is what he exclaimed! Mommy got his expression on video, so we'll post that soon. It was priceless! Mommy spent the whole day with him and Evan was in a great mood. That evening, we started opening presents, and as we learned later, this would take all night! The theme of Evan's 2nd birthday was definitely Elmo, trains, and automobiles. All things he really loves! He got an Elmo backpack and started putting all his treasures in it... Daisy was helping him open this clothing box...Oops, look where the clothing box is now (it's sitting up behind him, unopened!)...Evan really loved to rip the paper and throw it everywhere. That was the most fun!

Here he is sitting on a pillow that Grandma made him...
Time for cake! Blowing out the candles...Evan went straight for the smokestack on the engine!Diggin' in...it's yummy!Cutie pie!...Check out my new backpack. Don't I look like such a big boy?!

Gotta keep eating my cake!All in all it was a wonderful birthday for Evan. He had a great time! Happy 2nd Birthday, Evan! Mommy, Daddy, and Daisy really love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Evan!

2009-01-22T01:58:00.004-05:00

A sneak peak of Evan's birthday cake this year...Here's the engine...

Car with logs...

Car with coal...

Party caboose!

We just know he's going to love it! Over 4 hours of decorating it...phew! Mommy and Daddy are heading to bed. Night!

Evan's new potty

2009-01-18T18:16:00.003-05:00

Evan has a new potty! For a while now, he's been VERY interested in what Mommy & Daddy do when they are in the bathroom. More recently, Evan's been telling us when he has gone "poo-poo" in his diaper. So now was as good of a time as any to get Evan his first potty!

He tried it out (clothed of course) in the living room...Hmmm, let me get comfortable and do some computer work while on here...Daisy girl was very intrigued by a new puzzle Evan got...Ahhh, Evan is not a baby anymore, huh? Such a big boy!

Mears Family Christmas

2009-01-11T16:10:00.005-05:00

Christmas at the Mears household was celebrated last weekend. It was great! We woke up and ventured downstairs to see what was under the tree. Evan was quite pleased...I wonder what this could be?

Santa wrapped this gift because he knew how much Evan loved to unwrap presents. He could not just leave this gift under the tree unwrapped! Here is Evan tearing into his gift...Evan was so excited he got a bike from Santa that he didn't even finish unwrapping it before jumping on...Checking out what is under the tree...

Here is Evan playing with a clock puzzle that Mommy and Daddy got him...On my bike with my Bears football...ready to go! Santa brought stickers in my stocking. I put this one on the tree...Cutie pie! Don't you just want to give him kisses all over his sweet face?!We took our Christmas decorations down this weekend. Evan had a blast helping us undecorate the tree. He'd get very excited and run from the tree to the table where we were putting the ornaments. I have to wait how long until Christmas again?...

Midwest Christmas Highlights

2008-12-31T13:06:00.009-05:00

Welcome to Christmas in the Midwest! We started our celebration in Michigan visiting Grandpa and Nana. Here is Evan "working" on his Handy Manny Radio with Daddy...

Evan's cousin, Nadiya, was being goofy putting many grapes in her mouth!

At Grandpa and Grandma's house in Indiana, Evan was eyeing the stack of packages...

Oooh, this one's mine - it has Elmo on the paper!

Rockin' the tunes on his guitar with Daddy...
Evan was very excited to get his GeoTrax trains!

Playing with blocks with his cousins...

Cousin Keira and Evan just stared at each other. It was very cute! Finally she gave him his package!Here are more of Evan's cousins at Grandma's house (Isaac, Clayton, Arianna, and Nadiya)...Evan got a Band in a Box and was eager to pay with the maracas... Relaxing with Mommy...Evan was tired!But never too tired to play with Thomas!Stockings were meant to be worn, right?!

Phew! This exhausted little boy is resting up while Santa flys through the night sky...It Christmas morning and I'm ready to go! Did Santa come last night?He did! Let me see what Santa put in my stocking...

Peeking...Daisy was excited to see what Santa brought her...She was a very good girl...

Ooohhh...look what Santa brought Evan...

I think he likes it!

Eating cookies on Christmas morning while opening presents...a Mears tradition!

Evan got lots of GeoTrax this Christmas and LOVES them! Here he is playing with part of one set at Grandma and Grandpa's...

"Make it go" as Evan would say!

Later that evening we ventured to two more Christmas celebrations. Here is Evan (far right) with all of his cousins and second cousins and Great-Grandma Catherine in the middle...

We had a wonderful trip home to see everyone for the holidays. Our visits always seem too short but filled with lots of fun!

White winter wonderland

2008-12-31T07:02:00.006-05:00

At the beginning of our trip back to the midwest for the holidays, we ventured up to Michigan to visit Grandpa and Nana. They had lots of snow to play in and it was definitely a white winter wonderland! They had about 3 feet of base snow and it snowed every day we were there. No joke!Let's play in the snow! Evan was not too thrilled to be dressed up like Randy ("A Christmas Story" - my favorite Christmas movie!)...Evan wasn't very happy at first with the snow. He wanted to be held all the time. Here he is with Aunt Wendy...Daddy was enjoying the snow also. He was trying to get a sledding path in the yard, but the snow was too deep. We ended up sledding down the driveway!Yep! Evan went sledding. Here is his first run with Clayton (see the smile on Evan's face?!)...Hanging out with Mommy...All bundled up...what a beautiful face...

Check out the rosy cheeks!

Evan eventually liked the snow. He started playing in it...

Trying to make snowballs...

Taking a walk in the winter wonderland...Clayton, Uncle Jim, and Daddy were working on digging a trench and tunnels near the road. The snow was even DEEPER out there because of the snow plows. Here is Clayton in one of the trenches...it's almost as tall as he is. Pretty deep snow, huh?To cap the day outside, Evan and Mommy went sledding a few times. Evan liked sledding if we didn't pile into the snow drifts and tumble over. All in all we had a great time in the snow!

Winter Lights Festival

2008-12-07T06:44:00.007-05:00

Keeping in the holiday spirit, the Mears family ventured to Seneca Creek State Park (basically our backyard) for their Winter Lights Festival. Ever since people started putting up their holiday lights outside, Evan takes note and says, "more lights" or ooohhhs and aaahhhhs. We have a longer car ride home from daycare every night because we're checking out all the lights in our neighborhood. Because of his interest in the lights, we thought this festival would be perferct. It sure was!

It's a 3.5 mile stretch that you drive through. It was pretty amazing...

Here are Evan and Daisy checking out the lights (Daisy didn't like the flash on the camera!)

Snowman family...Santa and his reindeer...Santa's workshop?...
Santa! Ho, ho, ho!A bear and penguin on a snowmobile...Penguins and their igloo...Winter Woods, complete with "running" water...Evan checking it all out...A sailboat on the lake (check out its reflection!)...A fisherman on the lake...Peacock...Jingle bells, jingle bells...This was really cool...the bears putting the star on the tree kept teetering back and forth and back and forth (on purpose, of course)...Patriotic archways near the end...Back at home, Evan was still enamored with our tree...

Phew! This Christmas lights thing is exhausting...

The Winter Lights Festival was really neat! Driving along, hearing Evan say, "oooohhhh!" with the Christmas music in the background...what else could you want!

"Lights!"

2008-12-06T12:02:00.004-05:00

This was one of the happiest years we had decorating our tree. Evan was such a blast and wanted to join in on the action from Day 1. Here he is helping Daddy with the lights...

Once the lights were on the tree, he was amazed and really enjoyed just looking at the lights...Of course, playing in an empty tree box was tons of fun too!On to decorating the tree. Hmmm, is this where this goes?We showed Evan where the ornaments went and how to put them on the tree. He joined right in...After each ornament he put on the tree, Evan would say, "more" and run to the box of ornaments. He loved to say, "snowman", "Santa", "Baby Jesus", "star", etc. Every ornament was such a treat to put on the tree with him. If he could not put the ornament on the tree, he'd point to the branch and say "that one".Such a great helper!

Daisy enjoyed the festivities too...

A snapshot of Evan's awesome docorating ability...yes, the ornaments are right next to each other! Love it!

Da Tree!

2008-12-01T22:45:00.002-05:00

Coming soon...da tree!

Leaves, how fun!

2008-11-30T08:11:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the Mears family and Aunt Wendy (aka "Aunt Neeenee" to Evan) went to Arlington National Cemetary for a visit. The weather was pretty nice as the sun was out most of the time. We really enjoyed our visit! The Mears family at the top of the hill near Arlington House with DC in the background...

When walking though the cemetary, Evan found a big pile of leaves on the side of the road and was quite eager to trek through them...

He had a ball!

Whoa! Look at how deep they are!

They're Back!

2008-11-23T08:53:00.005-05:00

Now that the leaves have fallen in our backyard, we have a much better view of the wildlife. Yesterday morning I looked outside and to my surprise and delight...they're back! Our friends, the deer, were back relaxing behind our townhome. We showed them to Evan and he was thrilled! He lined some of his stuffed animals on the window ledge so they could get a better look as well...Of course, Daisy was eager to see the deer too! Welcome back deer!Now that the frigid cold weather is upon us, we decided to get Evan some slippers. He loves to take his socks off when he's home, and we didn't want his little toes to freeze! So, we bought these hoping Evan would love them and wear them all the time. Yep! We were right! Evan was running around the house like crazy once they were on. Daisy started chasing either Evan or Elmo...not sure which!Daddy got in on the chasing action and Evan had a blast running around the island! He was a constant ball of laughter!

Playing around

2008-11-14T02:32:00.004-05:00

The Mears family was back in Indiana last week for Grandma Mears's funeral. Evan really liked playing with all the "new" toys at his Grandmas houses. Evan found a fun hat - adorable, huh?He helped Grandma put up fall window stickers...Whatcha' think?Despite the circumstances, we had a nice visit home. Just think, we'll be back in a little over a month!

Alphabet Soup

2008-11-07T14:55:00.004-05:00

Toddlers are always creative and last weekend was no exception. I'm not remembering why we gave it to him, but Evan got a plastic mixing bowl and a big plastic spoon. Soon after, he had fun emptying all the magnetic pieces to his LeapFrog fridge farm and alphabet games into the bowl. He would stir it and stir it and stir it. Evan had such a ball with it!Want a piece?Oops! The letters and animals went flying!Having fun mixing the alphabet soup...This kept him busy for hours on end. He had such a blast playing with his soup!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:25:00.007-04:00

Introducing...Yoda!

Evan dressed up as Yoda this year for Halloween. We practiced wearing the "hat" all week so he'd be used to it. We even got out our pumpkin buckets and practiced trick-or-treating around the house, with little cars, puzzle pieces, etc. It all was worth it!

He was ready to go after seeing the children trick-or-treat at our house...

On our way!

Evan's first house was a nice neighbor of ours who is a pediatric nurse. She was all dressed up and had scary music and lots of lit pumpkins on her driveway. Evan was taken aback at first and was scared and shy. But when she gave him a piece of candy in his pumpkin bucket and it made noise, he began to like this trick-or-treating thing!

We ventured around the square to select townhomes and Evan got more and more used to walking up the sidewalks, ringing the doorbells, and looking at the pumpkins. The neighbors would hand a piece of candy to Evan and he would put it in his pumpkin and wave bye-bye! He even told one pumpkin bye! Yoda was a hit! Everyone thought he was adorable. Well, of course!

After Evan's bucket was getting quite full (and Mommy & Daddy were tired), we headed back home. We set up camp in our driveway (something a lot of the people did in our neighborhood - very social!). Yoda handed out candy to the kids walking by. It was really cute! Our old neighbors from the apartments live in our townhome neighborhood now too, so we were talking with her. Evan gave the kids so much candy when we were talking! He would give one piece at a time and kept coming back for more. It was great! Yoda really likes Halloween!

Yoda is contemplating something...perhaps chocolate?!

After we came inside, we relaxed a bit. Evan got to eat his first chocolate. "Yum!" He was a bit wired afterwards and played with Daddy...

And Daisy...

All in all we had a great time trick-or-treating tonight. Evan's, oh, I mean Yoda's Mommy and Daddy were really proud of how well he did! He's such a good boy!

Butler's Orchard, Part 2

2008-10-26T07:21:00.004-04:00

At the Pumpkin Festival at Butler's Orchard, Evan was running around to all these wooden cut-outs and sticking his head through them. We didn't even prompt him to do the flower (above). He was having a blast!

Boo! Did I scare you?

Got Pumpkins? Evan was showing off his pumpkin!Onto the Pumpkin Patch! We took a hayride to the fields and Evan wasn't too thrilled to be sitting on scratchy hay. Eventually he relaxed a bit and enjoyed the ride. Once we got to the pumpkin patch, Evan was off! He went running to every pumpkin and tried to lift them, no matter how large...Exploring the patch...

Mommy, really, do I have to pose for this picture? (Yeah, he looks so thrilled, huh?!)Here is Evan hugging and cuddling on a pumpkin. He was tired as he didn't have his nap yet that day. He does this to pillows at home when he's sleepy. Ooooh, I found one just my size...

Yah! I got it!

Hmh, tryin'...to move...this one...

Evan had a great time at the pumpkin patch. I could of taken pictures with all the pumpkins he played with, picked up, rolled down the hill, etc., but we'd be here all day! Happy pumpkins!

Butler's Orchard, Part 1

2008-10-23T21:01:00.006-04:00

Last weekend we went to Butler's Orchard for the Pumpkin Festival. It was great! The weather was perfect - sunny, cool, and crisp. They had a lot of wooden cut-outs for the kids to pose in and play with. Evan was quite curious about the large pumpkin...

Hmmm, "How Tall This Fall"? Almost 3 feet!

We ventured to the corn maze and had fun walking and exploring in the fields of corn.

What did Daddy find? Evan got a close-up view of Daddy shucking the corn.

Oooh, that was neat, Daddy! (Love this facial expression!)Wow! This corn is tall! (Again, we love this expression!)

Next was an adventure on the potato sack slide. Daddy and Evan waited in a LONG line but it was worth it!

Weee! Evan kept wanting to go on the slide again but he didn't want to wait in line. He tried to cut in line multiple times, but his Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him. So to distract him, we went to the pumpkin chucker and saw pumpkins being shot out of a cannon at a old car and bullseye. One got close and splattered over everything! Evan loves to sit on our shoulders and now he thinks it's fun to lean back... Checking out the pumpkin cannon. (Look where Evan is holding on - Daddy's ears, again!)
Butler's Orchard has a lot of things for little ones to play with and in. Here is Evan walking through a huge pipe. He kept going back and forth and back and forth...They also have a "petting zoo" for the children. Evan saw the 3 little pigs (sleeping here). One of them awoke and came to the fence for some petting. Evan touched the pig and thought it was funny. He saw some chickens and hens (but no petting those guys - they'd peck his fingers off!). So we waved "hi" to them instead! Evan saw some sheep (aka "babas") also. Finally, he got to see two goats up close. How cute is this picture?! More to come later...we took a hayride to the pumpkin fields to pick out our perfect pumpkins! Check back soon!

Green, growing, and great!

2008-10-18T07:59:00.008-04:00

So, as if you haven't heard it already, but Evan is awesome! He really is a sweet and good child with such a gentle heart. We got camera happy last night after work and took some fun, cute, and silly pictures. In this picture, I asked Evan, "Where is your spoon? Can you show me your spoon?" Somedays his spoon is like a security blanket.Someone was getting hungry. Evan does this when he's hungry or tired...Mommy got to snuggle with Evan... He loves these green boots his Aunt Susan gave him. That with his Elmo hat on backwards and he was ready to go! He really wanted to listen to "Melmo" on the stereo, but we stood our ground and kept the Jazz CD playing. Evan really likes Jazz as well. He'll move his body and groove to the beat. It's really adorable!Gotta sit down to adjust my boots... Silly boy! Yah, boots!Taking a piggy-back ride with Daddy...notice where he holds on! Daddy could not see! There we go! We taught Evan to hold onto Daddy's ears for the rides. It was cracking me up!Daddy was carrying Evan's boots up the stairs when it was time for bed. He REALLY wanted his boots and wasn't interested in bedtime!

We're heading to the Pumpkin Festival today. I'm glad we waited until this weekend because it's cool and crisp! Perfect autumn weather. Look for pumpkin pictures shortly!

Toddling around...

2008-10-08T13:40:00.005-04:00

Evan's definitely a toddler. He seems to be into everything now, pushing buttons on the stereo, wanting to turn on and off the lights, etc. He has his moments of "terrible two's" and throws a fit if he doesn't get what he wants. Yeah, that's loads of fun! But for the most part he's a very loving child who gives constant hugs. Evan's tons of fun and we laugh together most nights at his silly antics. Here are some pictures taken one evening prior to bedtime.

Welcome to my room! Let me open the door for you...

Daddy, come here, I'll drag you around by your shirt until you come with me (true story every night for us!)...

I love to read and look at pictures in my books. My vocabulary is growing every day!Whatcha got, Daddy? Here let me touch it...

Evan's always moving around and is very busy. He loves to put all his stuffed animals, pillows, books, Daisy toys, etc. in his crib at night during storytime. Silly guy!

That's all for now. If you try to talk with me over the phone and all I say is, "No," please don't be offended. I like to pretend talk on the phone, but when there's someone on the other end, I don't know what to do! Mommy and Daddy will continue to work with me on that!

Pasta, yum!

2008-09-27T13:52:00.004-04:00

Pasta is such an easy, quick, and inexpensive dinner that seems to always bring a smile to Evan's face. We're not quite sure if it's the taste he loves or playing in it. During this dinner, he refused to wear his bib (yes, we're picking our battles!). So instead of ruining his shirt, we stripped him down and he went topless. Evan took it upon himself to paint himself with pasta sauce. Ooooh, cheesy garlic bread!

"Ah!" (aka - open your mouth and show me what's in there!)...Cutie pie! Here, Mom, I'll give you a better look at my belly painting!
Speaking of picking our battles, here's a glimpse of breakfast this morning...

Rain boots, cup of milk, and a bag of Teddy Grahams. Ahhh, life is good!

Philadelphia in a tropical storm

2008-09-15T12:48:00.007-04:00

Evan, Daddy, and Mommy headed to Philadelphia on September 6, when Tropical Storm Hanna decided to hit the east coast. Believe it or not, it was fun! We had already prepaid for our hotel room, so there was no rescheduling. It was a wise decision. True, we got soaked on Saturday, but it was a really warm day, warm rain, and the wind wasn't chilly at all. The good thing was that a majority of the crowds didn't brave the weather, so the lines to the historic attractions were small, if present at all. Good lesson to learn! And who doesn't love to play in the rain?!

Here are Daddy and Evan walking around the Independence Hall Visitor's Center...

Family photo in front of the Liberty Bell...(yes, Evan's face is funny!)

A toddler wishing he could play in the tropical storm in front of Independence Hall...

Can I, please?

The Assembly Room in Independence Hall, where it all started...Because Evan REALLY wanted to talk during the tour of Independence Hall, Daddy was walking him around the hallway to not disturb the others in the tour. The advantage? He got to see the key that opens the doors!The next morning after breakfast, Evan had a bit of energy and was running around our hotel room being Superboy! Gearing up...Phew! I'm tired!Lunch was a delicious cheesesteak sandwich from Pat's (notice Evan snuck a sip of Root Beer!) Daddy and Mommy both had a sandwich from Pat's...Then went across the street to Geno's...

They compete for the Best Cheesesteak in Philadelphia. We tried both and liked Pat's better. It was the original and is less flashy. Yum!

After lunch we headed back to Independence Hall and the mall to get some outside, sunny pictures. Daddy and Evan in front of Independence Hall...Evan loved running on the grass areas...

Suckers (in line for the Liberty Bell...we literally just walked in the day before in the storm...see, this proves that you should sight-see in the rain!)

We then headed to Franklin Park where there is a fountain, huge sand castle, carousel, playground, etc. Evan really wanted to ride the carousel as he kept pointing to it as we walked by. Sure! He might as well have his first carousel ride in Philadelphia!
Um, after it started going around and around and the horse went up and down, Evan decided he didn't like it so much! He was clinging onto me but I could not unhook him from the horse as it was still moving! Poor kid!

The funny thing was that after he got off the carousel, he kept pointing to it again wanting to ride it. Silly child!

We made it back home safe and sound. All in all we had a great trip to Philadelphia! Once back at home, Evan was up to his old antics climbing on everything...

Ahhh, he sure does keep us busy!

Naked baby in galoshes

2008-09-01T21:29:00.006-04:00

I told you!

Who needs clothes?

Ahhh, such a cutie pie!

Oops, wrong feet!

Evan loves these galoshes. He puts them on daily even when it's not raining outside!

Fun nights with the E-monster

2008-08-30T08:54:00.004-04:00

Some nights when Evan is getting ready for bed, he gets this amazing energy and doesn't act tired. He'll be running all around his room and the upstairs doing anything but getting sleepy. One thing he loves to do is play with his little Nerf basketball set. Someone has to lift him up to reach the basket...

Lining up the shot...

Shooting...

Scores...

Evan will also run into the computer room and want to watch Elmo. Here he is watching Elmo and Grover...

Oscar 1999-2008

2008-08-28T00:19:00.004-04:00

Jason and I just had an impromptu funeral for one of the members of our family. Oscar, our flying fox fish (example image above), passed away this past evening. He had been acting a bit strange the past few weeks, so we were aware that this might happen soon. Oscar had a long life in the Mears family. He endured the move from Birmingham to Atlanta to DC and has been in our family since 1999. Rest in peace.

Awesome Daddy!

2008-08-25T14:50:00.006-04:00

Mommy's birthday was yesterday and my Daddy is awesome! We slept in a tiny bit and he cooked a yummy large breakfast for her. We relaxed and then went to the pool to swim around. I was initially afraid of the kiddie pool but eventually warmed up to it with the help of a beach ball and noonoo (aka "noodle"). A little girl jumped in with us, was throwing the ball around, and playing with the noonoo. It was fun! That's why I look so tired in the picture above.

Then my daddy cooked a huge and fabulous dinner for Mommy and also baked and decorated a cake! He did a great job making her feel special on her birthday. She really enjoyed it. Here's a sticker that I gave my Mommy in her card. Do you like it?!

Love, Evan

Black Hill Regional Park

2008-08-23T22:24:00.007-04:00

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to a nearby county park, Black Hill. It was nice. There is a large lake in the middle of the park that you can rent rowboats, take pontoon boat tours, and go fishing as well. Around the lake are a lot of trails and pavilions that people can rent out for parties and get-togethers. We decided to get back to our pre-baby activities and go hiking again, with Evan and Daisy of course.

Evan did great! We started out on a paved trail and he was trekking up the hill like a pro. He was panting and "running" up it! People that we passed along the way were giggling at Evan and how much fun he was having. He really enjoyed picking up leaves and rocks...We also stopped plenty of times to drink some water.

Evan made sure to stop often and take in his surroundings...

Doing a great job hiking...After a while, the paved trail turned into a dirt trail, and eventually some rocky terrain as well. During some of the hiking, Evan hitched a ride with Daddy...Note Evan's wide-opened mouth...he does that a lot now and it's so funny. It's his version of being surprised!

Daddy and son...

Daisy saw a trail to the lake and was extra eager to jump in...

Mommy giving Evan a lift...Tuckered out Evan...

"Where did ddiosuo sogish go?" (aka Evan slang for, "where did he go?")

Baby blues...

2008-08-20T16:00:00.003-04:00

Ahhh, I love the color of Evan's eyes...He's absolutely adorable, don't you think?

Let's see what's new with Evan...his vocabulary is growing every day. He likes to say "umbrella" and "button" (for belly button - oh and he'll try to look at your belly button too by lifting up your shirt - true! Ask Alyssa!).

He has another tooth coming in. Evan's top right canine is breaking through. The others are soon on their way.

This child loves to make us laugh. Here he is being goofy...
Cutie pie Daisy... She's such a good sport with Evan. They like to chase each other in circles. It's really funny to watch.

Ha! Doesn't this look like he's getting caught doing something wrong?

"Melmo"

2008-08-12T20:03:00.003-04:00

Not too much has been going on in the Mears household lately. We're enjoying the Olympics, especially the swimming events. That men's relay race was awesome! Evan's doing well. He seems to be getting into literally EVERYTHING now!

He knows where the spoons and forks come from, so he always opens the drawer and says, "poon?". His latest craze is Elmo, or "Melmo" as Evan calls him. He loves Elmo very much! We have a couple of Sesame Street CDs and Evan can always pick out Elmo when he's singing. It's cute! Evan also loves to dance to his Elmo radio. He'll put it on the kitchen table, hit the start button, and twirl around and around, dancing! We got it on video last night, so we'll post it soon on here.

Some of Evan's other fun times include taking all of his stuffed animals out of his red wagon and climbing in himself. He'll then pick up every animal off the ground as Mommy or Daddy pushes him back and forth. They always say the next generation is always more technically savvy than the previous...here's proof! Evan loves playing with the computer mouse. Sometimes we put Sesame Street's or Thomas the Train's website up so Evan can click on fun things. At the end of the day, he's usually exhausted. Ahhh, another sweet, sleepy picture of Evan. Good-night!

Happy, healthy, and wise

2008-08-02T21:32:00.003-04:00

Evan had his 18-month check up yesterday and is doing great! He weighs 27 pounds (65th percentile) and is 33.5 inches long (80th percentile). He was the same percentiles for his 12-month, so he's growing proportionally. All of the check-points the doctor asked Evan has been doing for a while now. It seems like he knows more words than expected. His doctor was suprised to hear how many words Evan knows...he had even counted, "two, three" earlier that morning. So he's doing great!

Evan's got 12 teeth in total now. Four top front teeth, four bottom front teeth, and 4 molars (2 on top and 2 on bottom). His cuspids are starting to come through as well. Using all of those teeth, some of Evan's favorite foods are pizza, chicken fingers, pudding, grapes, and blueberries.

He's always into something...his favorite body part on himself (and others) is the belly button. He'll go up to most anyone and lift up their shirt to find the "button". It's really cute. He's also a social butterfly. When out to dinner or at the grocery, he'll always be the friendly one and smile and wave to a lot of people. He always brings a smile to everyone's face.

As the night draws on, here's an adorable picture I got a few nights ago when Evan was deep in sleep...Night, night!

Food fun!

2008-07-28T08:48:00.005-04:00

Evan had little bit of chocolate pudding this past weekend and really loved it! Yes, he did manage to get some in his mouth!

Yum!

Evan loves to sit in a big chair at the kitchen table now. It tends to be a struggle for at least one meal getting him into his high chair. Hmmm...our little boy is all grown up!

Funny face!

Big cutie

2008-07-27T08:48:00.004-04:00

Here are some cute pictures taken of Evan over the past week or two. Not much new is happening in the Mears household. Evan has been really into books lately. Here he is reading his Thomas the Train book wearing his conductor's hat... Evan is saying new words every day. He's also quite tall and getting into everything! Challenging but fun!

Summer Vacation, Part 2

2008-07-21T10:07:00.006-04:00

Next on our vacation, we set out to see Mears, Michigan. Yes, there's a town close to the Silver Lake Dunes called Mears!

It was a cute little town. We hit all the shops...a bakery, cake shop, the market, a gift shop, and ate at a wonderful cafe. Mears, Michigan is great! Here's the main street... Evan in front of Mears Market...

Back in Indiana, Evan got to play with another child his age, Miles, the son of Betsy and John. Betsy lived next door to us throughout childhood. Here is Evan playing in the sprinkler...

Miles cheesing it up for Jason...

Now it's time for cake! Evan's cousin, Isaac, had his 3rd birthday party while we were home. Here is Evan enjoying the cake! He must know that "A Christmas Story" is Mommy's favorite Christmas movie. Yes, he knows how to use a fork and spoon. It's not as much fun that way!Yum!

Isaac got a Power Wheels for his birthday. He loved driving it around.

Evan went for a ride also with his cousin, Clayton, in the driver's seat. Clayton did such a great job driving. Evan had a lot of fun and enjoyed the ride...

Chillin'... Bath time! Grandma's dog, Pepper, loves baths. Well, so does Evan... Love the spiked hair!