Merry Christmas 2009

Evie had a very wonderful Christmas. She loved all her toys (too many to mention in this blog) but off the top of my head she got three playtents, a dozen or so books, several stuffed animals, four puzzles, and a plethora of things that go beep-boop. The video above shows Evie's reaction to her toy car keys. Obviously she loves them!!

Her mouth was wide open with amazement for at least ten minutes. In the back of this picture you'll see the toy microwave Santa brought her. She loves to put all her toy food in there and make her own lunch.

Lastly you'll see this is her playing with her new cell phone that Grammy and Pops got her. We got done unwrapping presents several hours ago and she still hasn't let this thing go. Please note in this video we are only half way done with gifts. Wrapping paper was everywhere!!!

Best of Blake

And for the grand finale for this series of posts, I present the best of Blake. Folks, this is why I love this man. Cracks. Me. Up!

My own personal Viking...

With Mickey at O'Hana...

In Adventureland...

Before: 1 liter of beer (in Epcot's Germany).

After: 1 liter of beer (in Blake) (between that and the three plates of food from the buffet, he was a little full...)

Day Four

On our last day at Disney, we visited the Animal Kingdom, which neither of us had ever been to. This was our favorite of the three parks. Here we are with the Tree of Life in the background. Though it is fake, it is still beautiful and has animals carved into the trunk and roots.

Here I am with Mt. Everest in the background. This was hands down our favorite ride at Disney. A truly awesome roller coaster!

I'm always a fan of the gorillas. Asleep or not, they are just cool!

Ready to see It's Tough to Be a Bug in 3-D! (Don't be jealous of the hotness!)

For our last night at Disney, we went to the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at our resort. The food was great (though after our V&A experience, it paled in comparison) and the show was even better. We especially enjoyed the fired dancer at the end. A-mazing.

Day Three

On Monday, we visited the Magic Kingdom.

We kicked off our day with a ride on Space Mountain, then made our way through the "lands" from there. Best rides were the coasters: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. We also enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic show (in 3-D).

On Monday evening we hopped on the Monorail over the the Grand Floridian Resort to see the Christmas decorations and for dinner at Victoria & Albert's. We had to make a quick shopping trip to Commander Porter's to pick up some dress shoes for Blake since he'd forgotten his back home...

One of our seven courses at Victoria & Alberts. Blake upgraded his main entree to waygu (Japanese beef I believe). Whatever it was, it was delicious!

Blake's dessert. We were so full, but enjoyed every morsel of our dinner at V&A's. Although it was very expensive, it was worth the money and we highly recommend the experience to anyone who loves good food and wine.

Day Two

On Sunday, we went to Epcot. Our first ride of the trip was Spaceship Earth in the big "golf ball." Best rides in Epcot are a tie between Soarin' and the Test Track.

Entering Morocco...

Here we are in China (our favorite of the countries)...

Making a phone call in England (not really, I just really love those red phone booths...)

Blake enjoying Japan...

Day One

On Saturday, we checked in to our hotel, Disney's Polynesian Resort. When we arrived, we were greeted with leis and there was this cute towel Mickey on one of the beds in our room. Nice little touches.


I'd booked us for a "Lagoon View" room, but they upgraded us to a "Magic Kingdom View" suite in the Tahiti "long house." From our balcony, we could see Sleeping Beauty's castle and Space Mountain.

Once we were settled at the hotel, we headed over to Downtown Disney. First we hit the shops: a stop at Basin for some bath salts and bath "bombs"; Lego for Star Wars stuff; Little Miss Matched for some adorable socks for Evie and PJs for me; and Pop Gallery for a birthday gift for Blake's mom. Then, we ate dinner at Portobello (the Portobello mushroom appetizer and tiramisu were awesome). We capped our night with Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. There's only one word for that: amazing. Go if you ever have the opportunity!

Disney World Vacation

On December 12, Blake and I dropped Evie off at her Mallard grandparents' house and headed to Disney World for five days of fun. I'll go through our shenanigans one day at a time...

(The picture above was taken on Monday morning at the Magic Kingdom. Obviously, it was a little foggy that day. Kinda put a new spin on Sleeping Beauty's castle.)

What grandparents do when you leave them with the baby...

First Visit to Santa Claus

On December 6, we took Evie to visit Santa Claus. This was her first visit as she was only 4 months old last Christmas. She was all smiles and giggles until Daddy put her on Santa's lap and walked away. Then the frown and tears came out. The photo above is the best shot we could get. Still adorable in my totally biased opinion!

Using Utensils

Evie has become fascinated with using a fork and spoon to eat. Fruits and veggies that seem inedible if she has to use her fingers are suddenly delicious if you load them on a fork or let her dip a spoon in them. Here is a video we shot of her the other night trying to stab a piece of apple. Cracked us up!

Two Words...

Two words for what I'll be doing tonight: New Moon. (Cue the screeching tweens...)

(Photo from www.allposters.com)

Evie Thinking INSIDE the Box

Blake was off Nov. 11-13 (I was not) so he brought Miss Evie by my office for a quick visit. While exploring, she found an empty box and climbed inside so that Mary Beth could push her around in it. So stinkin' cute!

"Throw Together" Meals

This week I am doing a series of "throw together" meals I found in my October 2009 issue of Parenting Magazine. Being a full time working mom, time is typically short in the evenings on weekdays. That being the case, I've gotten into a rut of heating up frozen meals or just making mac 'n' cheese and peas. Boring and not so great for us nutritionally. So, when I saw this week's worth of simple, easy, healthy meals, I thought, why not? (Here's a link to five of them if you are interested...)

Tonight I made Lemony Lentil Soup with Greens. Neither of us are big kale fans, but the spices in the soup (thyme, basil and fresh lemon) provided them a great complex flavor. We even went back for seconds! It made a ton so I am freezing half for dinner on another night. Tomorrow, Chicken and Corn Tomato Salad...

(Photo from http://www.parenting.com/)

Happy Halloween!

This was Evie's second Halloween, but the first one she dressed up for. She was a sock monkey (an old fashioned toy, literally a stuffed monkey made from tube socks). We were concerned about how the costume would go over with her as the cutest part was the hat (it had the eyes and ears and mouth). Evie, however, hates anything on her head--hooded towels, headbands, hats of any sort--so we weren't sure if she'd keep the hat on. The video above chronicles her first few minutes of wearing the costume. Once she got used to wearing the costume, however, she was her usual happy self and we had a great time with her.

We had some friends over for dinner and scary movies (Trick 'r Treat and Drag Me to Hell), and my friend Thadra and her daughter, Emma, came over to go trick or treating. I tagged along with them around the block to say hi to the neighbors and give Evie her first taste of the ritual (She didn't know what to think). Our friend and neighbor Jen stopped by with her son, Luke, who was dressed as a 1920s paper boy. You can see pics of Luke and Evie on Jen's blog here. (Jen is uber creative and put Luke's costume together herself.)

All in all, we had ourselves a very happy Halloween! How did you all celebrate? Leave me comments and let me know!

Vacay in Apollo Beach

On October 22-26, we went down to Apollo Beach to spend time with Blake's cousing Laura (who is expecting her first child in March) and the rest of the Mallards. On Friday (10/23), all the girls (including Evie) went shopping and for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. The only stuff we bought was for Evelyn, and we couldn't finish our lunches yet somehow managed to find room for some cheesecake. Saturday (10/24) we lounged by the pool, watched football and barbequed. And on Sunday (10/25), we went on Tampa Bay for a ride on the boat. The weather was absolutely beautiful (cool and clear) and the water was very smooth so Dan really got to crank it up. We had a blast!

Evie gets a boat driving lesson from her Pops while the rest of us chow down on fried chicken.

Laura, 5 months prego with her first baby, getting her tan on.

Why don't you just whine about it?

This is the face we get when Evie doesn't get her way. I believe Blake snapped this one when she was mad because he wouldn't let her have the remote. Toddlerhood has arrived...

First Taste of Fall

Evie all bundled up against the cold at the Heart Walk.

Enjoying the pre-walk festivities.

Evie peeking at Daddy through the"window" on her stroller shade.

Evie and Blake at the Pumpkin Patch. Evie kept tossing the pumpkin on the ground so Blake had to hold it!

That pumpkin is half the size of Evie!

Me and Evie having a blast at the Pumpking Patch!

We got our first real taste of fall this weekend as a cold front pushed through on Friday (10/16), bringing with it cool, sunny days. After a week of hot, humid, rainy weather, we were very happy to have the cooler temps.

Saturday (Oct. 17), Blake, Evie and I took part in the a Big Bend Heart Walk for the American Heart Association. Blake kept teasing me all week that it was 2.6 miles and that I didn't have to walk if I didn't think I could make it. I assured him I'd be fine, and we both managed to finish the race. (Evie took a nap in her stroller while we walked.)

Sunday (Oct. 18) we decided to decorate for the fall holidays so we went to Michael's and got some fall leaves garland for our front porch. Then we stopped at the Pumpkin Patch at Faith Presbyterian Church. We picked out a bunch of pumpkins of all sizes and put them on the steps of our porch. Evie had a good time throwing the pumpkins we handed her to the ground and watching all the other kids run around and play.

All in all, a fabulous weekend!

Fracture Update

Good news! Blake took Evie back to the Tallahassee Orthopedic Center yesterday (Oct. 8) to get a cast, but after viewing the x-rays, her doctor said he didn't feel like she needed one after all. He would like her to wear the splint for a couple more weeks though and to not put her full weight on the leg. She goes back on Oct. 27 for another round of x-rays, at which time Dr. Loeb felt pretty certain she'll be healed enough to go without the splint. Blake and I are (obviously) very relieved and look forward to having our toddler "toddling" around again!

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and support. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives :-)

Fracture

The ER doc referred to the fracture as a "buckle," saying the bone was just bent a little too far. He also said that it should heal just fine and cause no developmental problems for Miss Evie.

Evie's foot looks three times as big as usual in the splint. She'll get a plaster cast on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Grammy Mallard suggested we tie a plastic bag around the splint to keep it dry at bath time. Evie was not a fan...

On Oct. 1, Blake and Evie were playing at Tom Brown Park park when Evie took a little spill. Just to be on the safe side, we took her to have an x-ray. We were shocked to find out that she had actually fractured her ankle and went straight to the ER. After several hours of tense waiting, the ER doctor let us know that it was very minor, but that she would need a cast and to stay off of the leg (her right) for a few weeks. They put a splint on her leg at the hospital and she will get a plaster cast on Oct. 8. She doesn't seem to be in pain, but gets very frustrated that she can't get down and walk around like she usually does. Blake and I are just thankful that it was so minor and shouldn't slow her down for long!

Play Date - Sept. 26

Evie and Eli

Henry

Evie and Jonathan

On Sept. 26, Evie and I joined some of the moms we met in our nursing support group for a play date. Rachel and Jonathan were our hosts. The kids enjoyed playing with all of Jonathan's toys and the moms enjoyed some girl talk. We look forward to future playdates with the group!

Reunion

On Sept. 2-7, we traveled to Pembroke Pines, Florida for my ten year high school reunion. I had not been home in over two years so it was nice to see the old stomping grounds. We had a blast showing Evie where Mommy had grown up and catching up with some old friends.

Top to bottom:

We're here! Evie in South Florida for the first time.

Me and Lucy at the reunion Friday night (Sept. 4)

Me and Diana at the reunion

My BFF Kristina and her little boy, Ethan. We took the kids to the pool on Saturday (Sept. 5)

SUGAR!

For those of you in the Tallahassee area, Southwood is having a community-wide garage sale tomorrow (9/12) beginning at 7:30 a.m. My uber talented friend and neighbor, Jennifer, will be showcasing the beautiful handmade baby items (like the bibs above) she has made for her Etsy shop Sugar. Come by and check 'em out! (Follow the signs and balloons off Orange Ave to Jen's house on Coneflower Drive.)

For those of you not in Tally, you can order her stuff online here. She also has some great vintage and handmade party items. Go shop!