Fall

It's been a busy month and we're clearly behind on blog entries.  So here's a set of pictures showing what we've been up to.

Evan's crawling shoes.  We retired these the day he started walking independently.  Good thing because the velcro was worn down to 1 string on the right shoe - maybe that influenced Evan's decision to walk too?  "My shoes are about to fall apart, and mom won't let me wear my new ones while I crawl, so maybe I should start walking."

Evan carrying around his two favorite library books.  He still LOVES the library - he points at it every time we drive by and goes crazy over his new books.

Showing off his new haircut and the sticker he got for not causing the hairdresser to quit her job that day. Nice job buddy!

Taking a stroll in the driveway.  Tongue out of course!

Evan really wanted to help make cookies, so since the mixer was doing most of the work, he and daddy "mixed" their own batch.

Evan patiently waiting for the cookies to finish baking.

Even though it's getting darker earlier, Evan still wants to go out to play after dinner.  Here he was making a sweet chalk drawing on the sidewalk.

A walk at dusk in the neighborhood - we figured out after this picture was taken that he was walking to the park.   He was more than disappointed when we told him it was too late.

Evan checks out the 4-foot Lil' Red that Auntie Toby lent us on game day.  He wasn't too sure about it, but warmed up to it and ended up sporting a Nebraska t-shirt for the game.  (He refused to change into a gopher t-shirt at halftime)

Evan fell asleep in the car after a rainy shopping trip last weekend.  This was one of the times we successfully transferred him from his car seat to his bed for a nap.

Guy's Night

Mommy went to see a play with Auntie Toby last night, so it was just the boys at home. We had an awesome dinner and Mommy picked up some delicious cookies for us to share. After that we watched old Packer football games and I tried to explain to Evan how great Vince Lombardi was... he didn't quite get it. Just kidding, we played with trucks and trains all night.. of course!

Dinner consisted of Mac n' Cheese, Turkey Hot Dogs and Peas,
Mommy's recipe, but Daddy executed to perfection.

Satisfied Customer

We got to split a "Chocolate Truffle" cookie for dessert... YUMMM!

He's been getting really into puzzles, and he's been getting better
at figuring them out. First he worked on the dinosaurs...

Then vehicles...

And finally Animals... nailed it!

And then we danced... on the sofa!

Trucks Galore!!

We had a great day today. We went up tp Shoreview to visit the Aunt Rachel, Uncle Danny and Cousin Grayson. We went to the "Touch a Truck" event and kid's garage sale. The trucks were awesome and the garage sale was all toys, so Evan loved it. There was a firetruck, police trucks, tractors and more... and now that he's walking he got to explore all of them.

Here's Evan approaching the trucks

We had to check out all the wheels of the tractor

Evan in the tractor

We scored a sweet Duplo train at the garage sale - right up Evan's alley

The Zimmermann's picked up this box of cars and trucks... awesome!

Playing with the Duplos at home.. we were shocked when he built the "EVAN"

He's really been into the Packers lately.. so I guess we
weren't too surprised when he put this together

Never be the same......

That's what everyone told us when we had Evan.  And then again when he started crawling.  And for the last few months, while we've been anxiously waiting for him to begin walking confidently so he can explore even more of his world, that's what everyone was telling us again.  Things would never be the same.  Well, we're there folks. And it will be a while before we say anything close to "why did we want him to walk again?" because we've been waiting for him to take this next step for a while.  Here are a few clips from Tuesday night: Walking 1 and Walking 2.  By Wednesday night, he walked all the way to the park from a friend's house.  We couldn't be more excited!

And another new discovery. We're pretty sure Evan comprehends "Packers."  This past Sunday, Jake asked Evan to find the Packers.  He initially would quickly point to his Packer's t-shirt.  Then, he went into the bedroom where I had recently sorted dirty laundry (into big piles on the floor of course - don't judge), grabbed another Packers t-shirt (because there are many of them in our house), and brought it back to Jake (see photo below).  And if that wasn't enough, he climbed up on Jake and pointed to the Packers logo on his hat.  It's official.  He's a Packers fan, and apparently by his own choice.

Here Daddy, this is a Packer's t-shirt, and let me get......

your hat!

Packer Backer

Here's some photos of Evan with his new Packers shirt we picked up on our trip to Sheboygan. He enjoyed the big Packers win over the Bears on Sunday.

Here's a VIDEO of the little guy waving "hi" to us.

New Packers Shirt

Trains... of course.. notice the "Packers" train engine

He likes the Packers Engine

It was so nice Sunday, we got to eat outside

Ok dude!

Weekend at Sheboygan

We enjoyed a nice weekend in Sheboygan with Grandma and Grandpa T.  The Packers won, we got to eat some amazing wings, and Great-Grandpa Gasper visited too.  Oh, and we stopped at Lambeau on the way home....Dad says it was to pick up something for the little guy, but we all know he just wanted more Packers can coozies:)

Checking out some goats with Daddy and Grandpa.

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins (and we didn't even come home with one!)

Evan went to check this fountain out, and then discovered that he could reach the water and splash around like he does in the tub - it was not easy to get him away from it.

And yes!  They had a tractor that Evan could "drive."  And it wasn't easy to get him away from this either....

He couldn't reach the pedals, but we thought he'd enjoy riding around.  Well, he did, until we went under a tractor tire tunnel....didn't like that too much!

Sweetie!

Evan's trying to distract the sheep by pointing the other direction.  

The sheep didn't buy it.

"I found a seat!"

Mom and Evan got a little confused with directions here...

Mommy & Me

Last Wednesday I had a cancellation at work so I got to stay home with Evan all morning.  It was great!  We played, he napped, we played, and had a fun snack (see pics below).

We're eating from the wagon hooked up to a tractor, drinking from a truck cup, and there's a bus waiting for us to play with on the couch....can you tell Evan LOVES trucks?

Bunny grahams taste even better when Farmer Pete hauls them to you in his John Deer "Gator."

"Give me the camera mom....I want to show everyone that you have bunny grahams all over your face too!"

Evan at the State Fair

Grandma and Grandpa Stalder were in town this weekend. So Evan got spoiled! He had a great weekend. We got to go to the Minnesota State Fair, and the little guy took it all in. We walked around the animal barns, had some good food and got to check out all the farm equipment on display - this was Evan's favorite part.

Grandpa took Evan through the Horse Barn

He pointed at every horse

Getting a ride on Daddy's shoulders

Evan even went on the carousel...

He enjoyed it at first...

The he got a little spooked... (too fast)

This was the result

Evan really enjoyed "Machinery Hill"

Driving one of the many tractors

He really enjoyed the large wheels

This picture needs no caption... too cute!

Animals + Tractors = Nap Time

This Dude is Funny

Our little guy has had a pretty good week. He must be getting excited to see grandma and grandpa Stalder this weekend. Here's a few videos of our goofy little guy.

Evan in the Tub - this is a pretty funny video.

Evan Making Music and Dancing - may want to turn your speakers down a bit.