Cutie Pie

Evie gets around. She's about 6 -7 months old in these pictures.

Evie with Grandpa Joe for his birthday. We went to Aunt Jeannie's house in Santa Rosa. She is 7.5 months old and he is 91.

He loves her very much.

Evie and Uncle Greg at Upper Bidwell Park in Chico. She's his buddy.

(7.5 months)

Evie and Daddy (January '11)

Daddy and Evie tiling the floor together.

(6.5 months)

Miss Evelyn is doing a lot these days; it's a bit hard to keep track of it all, but I need to write all this down somewhere.

-constant babbling, squealing, screaming, yelling, laughing

-very intentional yelling at her mother

-eats solid food (broccoli is a new favorite)

-plays with toys

-likes to read a book with Mama or Daddy

-crawling as of 3/2

-loves people games like peek-a-boo and catch

-is generally quite wonderful!

The Baby Gourmet

I decided before I had children that I would make my own baby food--really, it's just mashing up the good food that those of us with teeth are enjoying. But I'm finding it to be fun and fulfilling, knowing that I'm giving my baby wholesome, healthy, and fresh food, just like I like to eat!

Some of my favorite recipes/combinations so far have been:

-bananas with…

avocado, homemade no-sugar applesauce, or carrots

-applesauce and carrots

-chicken broth with carrots

-potatoes, spinach, carrots, and broth

-yams and butter

-egg yolk with sea salt

And one of Evie's favorite (but not too frequent) treats is pizza sauce! Go figure...

I've followed some recommendations to delay introducing grains, legumes, honey, and dairy until she is at least one year old, but in the meantime, food has been fun and tasty! She is a Hanes through and through and loves her food!

Oh wait, that's cardboard. Well, she likes that, too.

Highlights of Fall--Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Anacortes this year--a trip we were very excited for. The weather was pretty crazy this year--snow, sunshine, rain…all in 8 days! Michael and I tried to keep our visit relaxed while still getting around to see our friends and family.

Any visit to Anacortes warrants a trip to Rosario Beach.

Eryn and Baby Evie on Rosario Head.

Nana and Grandpa on a walk to Heart Lake.

note: my mom has had that sweatshirt for at least 15 years.

Evie loves dogs. She giggled at Tristan's dog Dakota for about 30 minutes. Dakota was very gracious and gentle as she allowed Evie to pet her ears and pull her hair. Dakota is just a bit smaller than an elephant, and I was very impressed with how well Tristan has raised her. There's not many people's dogs I would trust with a little baby, but Tristan is one of them.

Daddy showing Evie one of his favorite spots in Anacortes.

Just Because She's Cute

I started back to work the middle of August and have been frightfully distracted with managing my time and sanity between work and family. As you may have noticed, the volume of pictures has gone down significantly. But I have not abandoned the photos altogether, so it's just a matter of getting caught up!

Fairly unconcerned that I set her in her chair on the front porch while her dad and

I did yard work.

Seriously, I am one chill baby.

Chillin' on the front porch wears me out.

Who can resist my cuteness?

(Evie, right around her 3-month mark…)

Our National Park Next Door

Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park is a mere

1.5 hours from Chico (which is an average distance for anything of interest outside of Chico). We were experiencing the itch to get out of town and opted for a place that was yet unexplored by us. What a great find! Mount Lassen is not heavily trafficked, and the scenery is really interesting. Take a look…

Lassen Peak

Lassen Nat'l Park, looking east.

Mount Tehama, now known as Broke-off Mountain.

A ja-zillion years ago, Mount Tehama blew its top off and scattered volcanic rock all over Northern California. Anywhere you go in the Chico area, you can see evidence of this ancient event. Broke-off Mountain is now a great hike (on my list) and is said to provide great views.

The focus of our trip was the Bumpass Hell trail, which led down to a concentration of fumaroles (holes in the volcanic landscape from which gas and vapor escape). A boardwalk allowed us to walk amongst the bubbling pools of mud, while sulfur seared our nostrils.

Evie is enjoying a little break from the Ergo.

Steam and mud; a little too hot for swimming.

We highly recommend a trip to this National Park, and we'd be quite happy to be your novice tour guides the next time you come to visit our area.

Half Dome

I encouraged Michael to mark his 30th year with something he's always wanted to do: hike Half Dome in Yosemite. It was a little bit more difficult to coordinate this trip than either of us had anticipated…the National Park is now limiting the number of people who can go up to the top of the face to 300 per day, which means that each climber needs to purchase a ticket. Way back in April when we started looking, the first available tickets were for August 6th. I suppose I have to appreciate them wanting to keep hoards of people off of a 3000-ft. precipice, but a 4-month delay was pretty crazy! We also learned that if a person wants to stay overnight in the Yosemite area during the high season, whether it be in a campsite or in a hotel, it is impossible. So, we had some coordination to make happen. Michael's climbing team were his sister, dad, and friend Matt. They all left at 3:00 a.m. in order to drive into the park and be on the trail by 6:00 a.m. A grueling 15 hours later, they were finished. I watched them limp back in the house at 11:00 p.m. Long day though it was, the experience was pretty spectacular, and the photos were the proof.

Beginning of the trek; I'm seeing lots of energy here!

Good to know.

What did he get himself into?

The ants going up the side of that rock are people.

Views from the top…

This is how they got up and down the dome.

I (Eryn) had really wanted to go on this hike, but didn't think I was up to it this summer. Now I'm not sure if I'm up to it at all, after looking at these pictures. Well, you know what they say, "never say never."

Summer Highlights

We've had a pretty fun summer; not only because we had a baby. In August, we traveled down to Modesto for a double-hitter: Michael's assent of Half Dome in Yosemite and the celebration of my 30th birthday. Here I am getting ready to blow out my candles--instead of 30 candles, they are in the formation of the number 30; easier on the smoke alarm, I suppose. It was a really fun day; all the Half Dome hikers were kind of sore and subdued, but we all enjoyed cooling off in the pool and grilling hamburgers.

This must have been a somewhat cool part of the morning, since Evie is wearing pants and socks. She is looking miserable because I put a hat on her.

Fast forward. Evie is 12 weeks old in this picture and is beginning to discover the world around her. We discovered something wonderful; toys will occupy her for a minute or two. There is a lot one can accomplish in a minute or two:

-a couple bites of a meal

-a trip to the bathroom

-getting dressed or blow-drying hair

-switching out the laundry

-stretching out the neck and shoulder muscles

Here she is staring at and talking to her toy; deep concentration is happening here.

"Not sure what I think about the laundry basket…"

Here are some of Evie's milestones we have been noticing as she finishes out month #3…

-increase in the variety of sounds she vocalizes: deep gurgles and rumbles all the way to high-pitched squeals

-conversations with whoever wants to talk baby talk with her

-imitation of the sounds that her conversation partner is making

-lots of smiling, especially at Daddy, who is currently her new love interest

-discovery of her hands; she stares at them intensely, somewhat surprised that they have appeared in front of her face

-discovery of her feet; she hasn't figured out how to grab them yet, but she stares hard, as though wondering what those things do

-new interest in novel objects

-ability to track people and objects with her signature gaze

-height and weight! At 2 months, she was 11 pounds, 6 ounces and 23.75". I KNOW she's grown since then.