Cute Toddler Crafts...

... are starting to fill our walls. I love it when Charles comes home from work in the evening and Evan takes his newest creation over to him, looking so proud of what he did! I just love it and can´t get enough of it! Here are the two he has made in his "Let´s explore" class, and of course some pictures that I took while we were there. I am so glad to have the pictures. That way Evan can show them to his dad after he comes home, and neither of them feel like they missed out on quite as much. Charles gets to see what Evan did during his day and Evan gets to share it with his dad.




Evan loves all games that have to do with colors, and to top it off this one was not only about colors, but about sorting all things with wheels after colors. The school bus tent was the first thing he ran to when we came into the class room, and he never got bored of it throughout the class . He would even call "bye mama" as he was driving off to school. Playing with the play kitchen was also on his to do list for this weeks class. I am glad I signed up for February as well! Both Evan and I enjoy going there so much, plus getting together with little people of his age gives him an opportunity to take turns and share toys.



Here are my newest favorite pictures of Evan! We were out and he was having so much fun practicing his jumping skills. He was trying to jump off the curb with both feet at once, and giggled like crazy every time he landed on the ground.

This week...

... I managed to get some scrapbooking done, partly thanks to Janet Phillips who gave away this awesome free template on her blog. It was my first time using a template, so it took me a while to figure out how to actually use it. I decided to use a Halloween picture of Evan for the page. This is what I came up with.



I used Dani Mogstads "boo" kit, Shabby Princess´ "Shabby Fall" Freebie and Miss Mints "Pumpkin Cobbler", as well as Janet Phillips free template.

This one I made a while back while I was making a page about little baby Michaels first bath at home. Unfortunately I don't remember which kits I used. If anyone recognizes it, please make sure to let me know so I can give the proper credits.



Also, we had another parent/toddler class on Wednesday. Evan had a blast playing with the pretend kitchen that they had there. He especially liked a little milk carton and a clear plastic bowl that came with the kitchen. He put the bowl into the sink and filled it with water, or milk. He also liked using the microwave, making little beeping sounds as he pushed the buttons to start it. I enjoy watching him play so much! He is the cutest little guy in the whole universe! Of course I am biased, but which mother isn't?


Have fun!

Last week...

... we had our real first snow. It started at 5 something in the morning and didn't stop until late in the afternoon. Charles´ work closed early because of the traffic situation, so we were able to spend the rest of the day together. It took him over two hours to get home, 1.5 hours longer than normal, but at least we had the afternoon together. We bundled Evan up in his snow clothes and took him outside to play in the snow. The roads were pretty slick from all the packed down snow so it was a little tough for all of us to move around. He had fun though, especially with some icicles he found hanging off our stairs.







































































This one I took the other morning when Evan was busy playing. He loves playing with his cats and makes them do all kinds of things. I had to laugh so hard when I saw him do this! On a side note, the cat on the seat is named Dommy, like his grandpa. It was his idea!

























And one last one for Evan´s aunt Niki. She gave him this cool poster for Christmas. He decided to hang it right next to his bookshelf and always makes sure to park Lightning McQueen right below it when it´s time to go on his nap. He also likes comparing all the cars to the stickers he has also featuring the characters of cars. Thanks Niki!

More Christmas Pics!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas get-together with little baby Michael and his parents. Evan handed Michael all his presents and helped him unwrap them as help was needed. Evan himself got a bouncy ball from little Michael and his parents. He totally loves it! Whenever he wants to use it he will say "huiiii". So for the next little while Charles and I are on bouncy ball duty until his legs grow long enough for him to use it by himself. Click here or on the picture below to see the album. Have fun!

5 Generation Picture!

Here are two different versions of the "5 Generation Picture" we took during last years Thanksgiving Dinner. Sorry I took so long to get them on the blog, but here you go.

Für alle in Deutschland: Evan´s Ur-ur-Oma Maxine (hinten rechts), Evan´s Ur-Oma Yvonne (hinten Mitte) und Evan´s Oma / Charles´ Mutter (hinten links).

Sorry it took so long but ...

...things have been crazy at our house since the holidays and Evans birthday. I will try and give you a recap of everything important that we had going on. Besides Christmas and Evan´s birthday we had Grandma Ilona and Grandpa Tommy come over from Germany to spend both occasions with us.

On December 24th we celebrated Christmas Eve. In Germany, Christmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th, not on December 25th like in America. Since celebrating in the evening is impractical for us considering Evan goes to bed by the time it would start, we usually celebrate a little earlier. Evan had already been waiting to open his presents since the morning when he had first seen them under the tree. He was so very patient though! He waited for all of us to get ready, including me and my camera. For the rest of the afternoon and evening it was present opening time for us. We all had a good time being together and Evan very much enjoyed his presents and the play time that came with them.

In the afternoon of December 25th, we celebrated Christmas with our extended family.

Click here (hier klicken für Fotos) or on the picture below to see some photos. I had the same problem as always with the lighting. Just can´t seem to stop my pictures from turning out blurry. I wonder if my camera just can´t handle low light situations or if I have my settings wrong. Anyways. Here you go.

Next was Evan´s birthday. Since Charles had to work until 3 PM that day, we decided to have the big "party" after he got home from work.

In the morning we put lots of balloons into his crib, sang him a birthday song, gave him one present and a special birthday breakfast, consisting of three waffles topped with ice-cream and m&ms and a candle on each side that he had to blow out. I am sure I don´t really have to tell you but he LOVED his breakfast!! He is still talking about it now and then. Grandma and Grandpa also gave him one of their presents when we picked them up at the hotel.

While Evan was taking his nap, I set up his birthday table. On the way out of the house I made sure to not let him see it since we wanted Charles to be there too for that. Everything worked out great and when we came back home Evan was very ready to have his party. When we first let him into the decorated room he took a look around, then grabbed the first present in view, walked over to his dad and sat on his lap to open it. After that he actually took the time to look at the rest of his decorations. He started playing with the train on his cake and even relocated the candles one by one beforehand so they wouldn't be in his way. For the next little while all he was interested in was picking out which present to open next and then opening it. He was so cute about it too. Every time he was done with one he put it aside and walk over to his birthday table saying "mehr" (German; more) along the way.

Later in the afternoon we took him on a walk so he could try out his new Puky walking bike. We were so excited to see how he would do with it, and even more excited to see that he enjoyed riding on it. I can say I am definitely ready for the spring, even more so now that we have this cool little bike to take out with us. It will be so much fun to be taking him out on walks when we don´t have to bundle up in five layers every time we want to go outside.

In the evening his great aunt Carmen called to say Happy Birthday. She talked to him on the phone, and he just kept saying "ja" (German; yes) over and over and over again. Then all of a sudden he started laughing like crazy. Then he stopped just long enough to listen to what his great aunt Carmen had to say, and then started up laughing like crazy again. He is such a silly little guy!

Although things had been a bit hectic during the preparation phase (Charles didn't have the day off and I ended up customizing a purchased cake instead of making my own like I had wanted to) things came out great in the end. Evan enjoyed being the Birthday Boy and he liked having so many balloons and presents just for him. He had picked the "Thomas the tank engine" balloon himself the night before. I am also glad that his grandparents from Germany were able to visit for his birthday since he cares so much for them. To see the pictures of the day click here (hier klicken) or on the picture below.

Many thanks to uncle Andre, aunt Verena, Milo and Silas for the present they sent over, as well as to Anke and Jörg who also sent a present over for Evan. He enjoyed all of them!
















And last but not least click here to see some pictures of Grandma´s and Grandpa´s visit to America. (Hier klicken für mehr Bilder von Oma und Dommy in Washtington.)

Have a good day everyone!

Let´s Explore!

Because I like to go out and give our little boy the chance to socialize, Evan and I signed up for a parent/toddler class which gets together once a week. The first meeting was yesterday. It was great! It´s kind of like the play group we already go to at the same Community Center, but with less people and slightly different activities. While the other play group provides a large indoor space in the form of a big gymnasium and many big toys (like little tike's cars, slides and crawl through tunnels), this class is more like a pre - preschool class. They offered a few play areas with various toys, like a play kitchen and pretend food, a little people house (which Evan REALLY liked), and big, soft building blocks. In addition to that they had puzzles, color games and sorting cups as well as some winter themed crafts. Evan made a picture of a snowman and some snow flakes with my help. He loves using glue to put things on paper. We are both looking forward to the next class. Here are some pictures I took during the class. I am still working on his Birthday and Christmas pictures as well as some that we took while his grandparents from Germany were visiting. I will update asap. Have fun!