Maddeck Working

Getting dirty with Papa.

Maddeck at the wheel.

Going up in the loader. Fun.

Boston Pics

The three of us in the Atlantic Ocean.
The North End - the best Italian Food and famous pastry.
Holocaust Memorial - 6 glass towers representing the 6 main Nazi death camps with 6 million numbers etched on them for the numbers assigned to the prisoners in place or their names.


Harvard.

We took the T subway several times.

In the huge old bakery at Fort Warren on Georges Island in Boston Harbor.

Bunker Hill Monument

My birthday ... 205 years ago.

Here lies buried Samuel Adams. Not sure why all the headstones say "lies buried" ... redundant.

View from our hotel room.

Paul Revere's Ride with Old North Church in back.

Cheers

Bunker Hill Monument and end of Freedom Trail. The brick path through Boston is the Freedom Trail. Easy to follow and hits all the historical places.

Mass State House

Old South Meeting House, where Boston Tea Party was planned.

Firsts

So many "firsts" for Evan lately.

He was playing with a rubber duck today and said "duck"

He picked up some socks and he said "sock"

He has learned the sign for 'shoes'

He has learned the sign for 'baby' (thanks to seeing his cousin Grady)

He rode a little bike outside for the first time yesterday.

He ate frozen yogurt at Costco and had his first sugar high.

He celebrated his FIRST birthday.

He does paddy-cake and rolls it and pats it.

He goes to his high chair and whines when he is hungry.

He knows when we say "bath time" and stops whatever he is doing and walks straight to the bathroom and stands beside the tub. He LOVES to take a bath.

He pooped in the toilet. (I know he will not be potty trained for a LONG time. I knew he need to go so I put him on the little potty seat and he went. The more diapers I can save the better and he will get used to going in the potty. I am going to try it as often as possible).

Boston

I went to Boston last week with my friend Laurie and my little sister Elisa. It was a blast. I have always wanted to go to Boston and it was everything I thought it would be. LOVED it. There is so much history. I look forward to going back again when our boys are older and teaching them American history with Kyle. A handful of highlights from the trip ...

1. We upgraded to first class on the way there ... so awesome! (Laurie is a flight attendant for Alaska airlines so it was very cost effective)
2. We were upgraded to club level at the hotel so we had our own express elevator to the top three floors of the hotel and free hot breakfast every morning at the hotel restaurant. Thank you Lord! Huge money saver!
3. We walked almost 20 miles on the trip and got to see all the sights and historical landmarks (USS Constitution Ship, Bunker Hill Monument, Freedom Trail, Fort Warren, Fenway Park, Boston Common, Harvard, etc.)
4. I went on the T; my first time on a subway. Completely worth the $2 fare to save lots of miles of walking.
5. Ordered my first lobster, ate my first cannoli, and enjoyed lots of Boston seafood.
6. Went to the oldest tavern in America. Sat down for five minutes and then left because the service was bad. Just because it is the oldest doesn't mean it is good.
7. Put my feet in the Atlantic for the first time and collected shells for Maddeck and Evan to bring home.
8. Took a ferry ride through Boston Harbor Islands.
9. Enjoyed fresh honey roasted Cashews from a street cart vendor.
10. Bought a cute Boston T-shirt for the boys.

I'll post some pictures and videos when I have more time.

Day at the Lake

Our dear friends the Loomis' invited us for a day on Lake Chelan on Saturday. It was SO much fun. We spent the day on their family boat and ate lunch. We stopped for cliff jumping and ice cream and spent some time at their family's lake house in Wapato Point. The boys loved boating and Maddeck was brave enough to jump off the dock into the lake with his life jacket on all by himself. It was 90 degrees out so the water felt so refreshing. After a full day on the lake we went to a great pizza joint before heading home. Thank you Loomis' for an excellent day.

Kids eating ice cream
Evan loving the boat ride.

Ev taking in the view.

Katherine and Maddeck

Evan snoozing.

Cruisin'

This morning Kyle said he was leaving for work. Evan promptly stood up and walked out of his bedroom, down the hall, through the kitchen, and across the living room to the front door. He then stood at the door and waved. Kyle still needed to get his work things together but Evan knew he was on his way out and stood at the door waving anyway. He can walk everywhere now! He can also understand so much of what we are saying, even if we are not talking directly to him. His other top tooth came in last week too! Yesterday he was trying to say block "blah" and on Friday night he said goodnight when he was ready for bed "nigh nigh". We turned his carseat around to forward facing and he started on whole milk yesterday (jumped the gun a little bit since his 1st birthday isn't until Friday, but we were out of formula and didn't want to buy more). He is such a big boy and offically a "toddler" now.

Showtime

New Shoes

Thanks Mimi!!!!!

Part-time Walker

Evan walks across the room!

Evan is attempting to walk all the time now. He falls and then crawls the rest of his way to his destination. In a matter of days he went from taking 4 steps to 20 steps. Today we were playing outside and he wore Robeez (soft leather shoes, like slippers) to protect his feet while walking. It is really the first time he has worn shoes, as he has not needed them until now.