He's on the move! from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.
Friday, May 28, 2010
He's on the move!
Evan has become a master of pivoting and rolling to get himself around somewhat, but tonight for the first time he got the hang of forward motion! Here he is army crawling!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wedding season
Jack and I will be spending our summer going to weddings... or so it seems! This past weekend kicked it off with Jack's cousin Tommy's wedding. Tommy is a very close cousin to Jack, despite the fact that they only saw each other once or twice a year growing up. They pack all the year's fun into one or two visits. Jack had the pleasure of being one of the groomsmen (as Tommy was one of his!). It was a gorgeous location and you couldn't hope for better weather. It may have been on the hot side (in the 90's during the day!) but the wedding wasn't until 7pm so it cooled off pretty nicely by then. Of course I was wearing a strapless dress and Jack was wearing a tux, so he may feel differently!
Evan was a trooper during the trip. We were both fighting a bug the day before we left, both feverish and both crashed early. The next day we were much better so we headed down to the King of Prussia area in Pennsylvania where the wedding was. Jack happened to have a meeting about 20 miles from the wedding the morning of, so we had our hotel paid for the night before and he didn't have to take any vacation time! Evan was so good on the drive, playing napping and eating without getting out of his carseat for about 6 hours! He was then up until 10pm that night... yikes! 3 hours past his bedtime! And he was actually quite social the whole time at the rehearsal dinner. He remained pretty flexible that night but it was a rough night of sleep with his whole routine thrown off.
We spent the next morning at the hotel while Jack was at his meeting up until checkout time. Then we headed off to King of Prussia mall to kill time until Jack got out of his meeting. Then we enjoyed a mini-vacation dining at Bahama Breeze for lunch. We split jamaican jerk chicken wings, coconut shrimp, and this crab/shrimp/avocado/fruit salsa stack. We killed a little more time back at the mall before heading over to where Jack would be getting ready with the groomsmen. Poor Evan was woken up right after he fell asleep before lunch and when we got to the mall. He was still a good sport and then slept pretty much the whole time we were in the car the 30 minute drive out to drop Jack off and the 35 minute drive back to meet his family at our hotel.
He was running out of patience for the car by the time we were heading back to the wedding but he was actually pretty quiet for the wedding! I had to put him down in the grass to play with a water bottle but hey whatever keeps him quiet!
His behavior during the reception was just about what I expected and what I was dreading. We had no way of getting/bringing a babysitter or leaving him behind since we were continuing our trip to visit Jack's grandparents. So the poor kid stayed up until after 10 for the second night in a row and was beyond exhausted. Tess finally got him to sleep about 20 minutes before the end and he woke up as we moved him to his carseat. Then we heard a cry out of him we had never heard before. A cry of exhaustion and desperation. It was so heartbreaking. I traded seats with Catherine so I could sit in the back with him and get him back to sleep.
It was another night of not-so-good sleep, this time Jack's brother Joseph shared our room and was kept up! AND the rest of his family could hear Evan through the wall in the next room. The next morning we continued our trip out to Quarryville to visit Jack's grandparents. Fortunately Evan slept the whole ride! Jack's grandma met us right outside the front door of their retirement community... so excited to finally meet her first great-grandchild! He was such a good boy for our visit with them.
We finally got to have our Christmas with Uncle Jim, and he spoiled Evan! Some Cars books, Polar Express, and some jungle animals that go perfectly in his safari room!
We went out to dinner to celebrate their 60th anniversary, and Evan ended up falling asleep on my mother-in-law's lap around 6:00!
That night we stayed at the cutest Mennonite B&B. We stayed there before on our last visit. Everything is new construction within the last few years, completely private from their residence, and with lots of home cooked goodies for breakfast and a stocked refrigerator with every beverage you could imagine!
We enjoyed some more time with the grandparents and Uncle Jim the following day before heading home.
Evan was a trooper for the 5 1/2 hour drive home... occasionally needing my company in the back seat with him but pretty good for the drive! He was definitely glad to be home and trying to get back into a routine for him.
And that concludes wedding weekend #1. This weekend Jack & I are heading to Vermont for the day on Saturday for Ryan Guilfoy's wedding while Evan hangs out at my sister's house. The following weekend we all head down to the Pocanoes for my long-time friend Meghan's wedding. Mid-July starts another stretch with Josh Messenger's in Lake George, Tom Garrity's 2 weeks later in Seattle (after this weekend we decided that only Jack will go to that one! He's the best man!), and Regan's in Maine the following weekend (Jack is a groomsman and I'm a bridesmaid!). Lots to celebrate!
Evan was a trooper during the trip. We were both fighting a bug the day before we left, both feverish and both crashed early. The next day we were much better so we headed down to the King of Prussia area in Pennsylvania where the wedding was. Jack happened to have a meeting about 20 miles from the wedding the morning of, so we had our hotel paid for the night before and he didn't have to take any vacation time! Evan was so good on the drive, playing napping and eating without getting out of his carseat for about 6 hours! He was then up until 10pm that night... yikes! 3 hours past his bedtime! And he was actually quite social the whole time at the rehearsal dinner. He remained pretty flexible that night but it was a rough night of sleep with his whole routine thrown off.
We spent the next morning at the hotel while Jack was at his meeting up until checkout time. Then we headed off to King of Prussia mall to kill time until Jack got out of his meeting. Then we enjoyed a mini-vacation dining at Bahama Breeze for lunch. We split jamaican jerk chicken wings, coconut shrimp, and this crab/shrimp/avocado/fruit salsa stack. We killed a little more time back at the mall before heading over to where Jack would be getting ready with the groomsmen. Poor Evan was woken up right after he fell asleep before lunch and when we got to the mall. He was still a good sport and then slept pretty much the whole time we were in the car the 30 minute drive out to drop Jack off and the 35 minute drive back to meet his family at our hotel.
He was running out of patience for the car by the time we were heading back to the wedding but he was actually pretty quiet for the wedding! I had to put him down in the grass to play with a water bottle but hey whatever keeps him quiet!
His behavior during the reception was just about what I expected and what I was dreading. We had no way of getting/bringing a babysitter or leaving him behind since we were continuing our trip to visit Jack's grandparents. So the poor kid stayed up until after 10 for the second night in a row and was beyond exhausted. Tess finally got him to sleep about 20 minutes before the end and he woke up as we moved him to his carseat. Then we heard a cry out of him we had never heard before. A cry of exhaustion and desperation. It was so heartbreaking. I traded seats with Catherine so I could sit in the back with him and get him back to sleep.
It was another night of not-so-good sleep, this time Jack's brother Joseph shared our room and was kept up! AND the rest of his family could hear Evan through the wall in the next room. The next morning we continued our trip out to Quarryville to visit Jack's grandparents. Fortunately Evan slept the whole ride! Jack's grandma met us right outside the front door of their retirement community... so excited to finally meet her first great-grandchild! He was such a good boy for our visit with them.
We finally got to have our Christmas with Uncle Jim, and he spoiled Evan! Some Cars books, Polar Express, and some jungle animals that go perfectly in his safari room!
We went out to dinner to celebrate their 60th anniversary, and Evan ended up falling asleep on my mother-in-law's lap around 6:00!
That night we stayed at the cutest Mennonite B&B. We stayed there before on our last visit. Everything is new construction within the last few years, completely private from their residence, and with lots of home cooked goodies for breakfast and a stocked refrigerator with every beverage you could imagine!
We enjoyed some more time with the grandparents and Uncle Jim the following day before heading home.
Evan was a trooper for the 5 1/2 hour drive home... occasionally needing my company in the back seat with him but pretty good for the drive! He was definitely glad to be home and trying to get back into a routine for him.
And that concludes wedding weekend #1. This weekend Jack & I are heading to Vermont for the day on Saturday for Ryan Guilfoy's wedding while Evan hangs out at my sister's house. The following weekend we all head down to the Pocanoes for my long-time friend Meghan's wedding. Mid-July starts another stretch with Josh Messenger's in Lake George, Tom Garrity's 2 weeks later in Seattle (after this weekend we decided that only Jack will go to that one! He's the best man!), and Regan's in Maine the following weekend (Jack is a groomsman and I'm a bridesmaid!). Lots to celebrate!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Baby Mozart
Once Evan took a break from sucking on the piano keys, he composed this fine piece
Baby Mozart from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Evan's dedication
My mom wrote a child dedication song and was thrilled to be able to sing it this year for the dedication of TWO of her grandchildren. Here we have a video of the song and the dedication of 5 children, including Evan, his cousin Tiffany, and our little friend Lydia!
Evan's dedication from Jennifer McDade on Vimeo.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mothers Day
What a wonderful Mothers Day. It started with accidentally sleeping in. I've had a noisy box fan running in our room so I could start sleeping through the night. I determined that Evan didn't need a 4am feeding anymore when he started wetting through his overnight diaper and pj's. I tested it out one night and when I got up at 7:30am not being able to hear Evan at all during the night and he was still asleep until 8 AND woke up in a good mood and not ravenous, I felt good about my decision. Well on Sunday morning Jack and I overslept until 9am! We woke up to the doorbell with my parents stopping in. Their power had gone out and they tried to call to see if they could kill time and finish getting ready at our house before church. I'm not sure how long Evan slept or just sang contently in his crib during the morning. There's a chance he did actually sleep that long since he stayed up late playing with Aunt Beth and his cousins the night before while Jack and I went on a date!
The wonderful day continued as we went to church and had Evan dedicated. They do a child dedication every year on Mothers Day and there's always one kid... ...one kid that would rather not be held up in the air by Pastor Bruce. Well Evan was that kid! Fortunately he didn't cry, but he made a few discontented peeps in his superman pose. I was thrilled to be standing next to my sister Beth while her daughter Tiffany was dedicated. And also thrilled to have my parents and my sister Jeannine and her gang all there for it. My mom even sang a song she wrote with the worship team for the occasion.
We came home and had the whole family over to celebrate Mothers Day. Matt & Ryan's girlfriends even joined us for the occasion. I was kinda banking on it being a nice weather day and enjoying the deck that Jack and I powerwashed, and continuing on to the park. But alas, it was only 46 degrees so it was an indoor party. We "snuggled" around the dining room table for our indoor bbq. Mom brought an old VHS from 1987 of their 25th wedding anniversary party. It was a scream to watch. We all gathered around and mocked the hair and fashion of the day. Of course no one mocked my cute 4-year old self.
I was so ready for a nap when everyone left.... yes even though I had slept in until 9! We attempted a family nap in our king sized bed, but Evan wasn't digging that idea. I didn't really feel like falling asleep at 5pm either, but it was nice to relax and snuggle all together.
Jack cleaned up everything from the party and then we skyped with Jack's family to wish his mother a happy day! Evan fell asleep in my arms mid-skype at 6:50pm! Poor kid. I roused him at the end of the convo to change him into pj's and the kid got a second wind and ended up staying up until 9! Oh well, he was very cute and then quite snuggly so I didn't mind at all. Jack ordered Papa John's pizza for dinner at my request (I'll take it any chance I can get since they just returned to the area after about 8 years... plus our stove is busted so we can't cook much!). Evan played in his jumper seat while we ate and watched "The Invention of Lying".
It was a wonderful day, lots of family time, and lots of snuggling with my boys. :)
The wonderful day continued as we went to church and had Evan dedicated. They do a child dedication every year on Mothers Day and there's always one kid... ...one kid that would rather not be held up in the air by Pastor Bruce. Well Evan was that kid! Fortunately he didn't cry, but he made a few discontented peeps in his superman pose. I was thrilled to be standing next to my sister Beth while her daughter Tiffany was dedicated. And also thrilled to have my parents and my sister Jeannine and her gang all there for it. My mom even sang a song she wrote with the worship team for the occasion.
We came home and had the whole family over to celebrate Mothers Day. Matt & Ryan's girlfriends even joined us for the occasion. I was kinda banking on it being a nice weather day and enjoying the deck that Jack and I powerwashed, and continuing on to the park. But alas, it was only 46 degrees so it was an indoor party. We "snuggled" around the dining room table for our indoor bbq. Mom brought an old VHS from 1987 of their 25th wedding anniversary party. It was a scream to watch. We all gathered around and mocked the hair and fashion of the day. Of course no one mocked my cute 4-year old self.
I was so ready for a nap when everyone left.... yes even though I had slept in until 9! We attempted a family nap in our king sized bed, but Evan wasn't digging that idea. I didn't really feel like falling asleep at 5pm either, but it was nice to relax and snuggle all together.
Jack cleaned up everything from the party and then we skyped with Jack's family to wish his mother a happy day! Evan fell asleep in my arms mid-skype at 6:50pm! Poor kid. I roused him at the end of the convo to change him into pj's and the kid got a second wind and ended up staying up until 9! Oh well, he was very cute and then quite snuggly so I didn't mind at all. Jack ordered Papa John's pizza for dinner at my request (I'll take it any chance I can get since they just returned to the area after about 8 years... plus our stove is busted so we can't cook much!). Evan played in his jumper seat while we ate and watched "The Invention of Lying".
It was a wonderful day, lots of family time, and lots of snuggling with my boys. :)
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