Pumpkin Patch Time!

Yes, it's October so that means we, like all other self-respecting parents of toddlers, must take our little one to a pumpkin patch for the obligatory pictures involving lots of orange and usually some hay thrown in for good measure. Actually, I was looking forward to Evan's first trip to a pumpkin patch. We opted for a farm called Crowe's Nest near Manor, TX. It was great because it was a short trip and they had a LOT of animals, which Evan loves. Sure, they had the usual goats, cows, pigs, but they also had ostriches, buffalo, tortoises, owls, and llamas. It was a lot of fun and we even did the hayride. They also had a little store and we bought some of the best homemade wheat bread we've ever had. Yum! Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Evan Goes Colonial

We just returned from our first airplane trip with Evan. My brother recently started teaching Sociology at The College of William and Mary so we thought we visit him for fall break. For those of you who don't know, William and Mary is the alma mater of such famous folks as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and (a few years later) Jon Stewart.

Evan did pretty well on the flights, with a little help from noise canceling headphones and the iPhone Sesame Street videos. Sitting still for over two hours is hard for a 16 month old.

One of our first stops was, of course, a tour of the W&M campus. It really is a lovely campus. It's so tree-covered, you almost feel like you're in a state park rather than a college campus. Evan really took to watching the numerous squirrels ("quirl") on campus. He became our squirrel-spotter, pointing out everyone he saw. He must have gotten a little confused, however, because he soon started "meowing" each time he saw one. Hey, it's pretty good logic for a 16-month-old: the only other furry thing with a tail he knows is cat.

Evan even stayed up a little late one night to go to a W&M football game. He enjoyed it for about 45 min and then he had seen enough. For all you Texas folks, all I can say is, football in VA is not like football in Texas. The size of the stadium at W&M would be the size of a high school football stadium in Texas.

Next, we were off to the other main attraction in the area: Colonial Williamsburg. I had always heard of it, but I really didn't know that much about it. It turned out to be very interesting and educational. It was pretty warm outside so it was tiring but fun. We were able to see many of the colonial stores and famous buildings. I was impressed with the authentic knowledge that the staff colonial "players" seem to have. It really seemed like they knew about 18th century VA and were not just reading a script. Evan liked running around the streets and especially like seeing the horses pulling the carriages.

We also made a quick stop by Yorktown, VA and visited the beach along the York River. It was quite beautiful. I had no idea a river could have such a lovely beach. Evan got to have his first beach experience.

All in all, it was a great trip. Traveling with a toddler is never easy but it's worth it to see him experience all these new events.

Lake on the W&M campus

Evan watching the game ("Go Tribe!")

Wig shop in Colonial Williamsburg

Silversmith

Evan resting with Grandma on the steps of a colonial house

Checking out the horse close up

Carriage going through town

Classic colonial house

Learning about 18th century politics at the State Capitol

Evan at Yorktown beach

Summer Vacation

We recently returned from a two-week summer adventure. We hadn't been away from home for that long since our honeymoon. I had a feeling that two weeks away with a toddler in tow could be quite an adventure indeed or perhaps an event never-to-be- repeated until Evan turned 18, but it turned out great! Evan has turned into quite a good little traveler. First, we went to west Texas to my parents' place to spend a week with them while Patrick was traveling for work. Evan had a wonderful time with his grandparents and got visit his great-grandparents also. He LOVED being outside at the farm and learned a new word, "tractor" (it comes out more like "ta-ta" from him).

Evan in the cotton field

exploring the farm

Evan had the chance to visit all his great grandparents.

I love this! Great-grandma playing the harmonica for Evan

When Patrick returned from traveling we all packed up and headed for Ruidoso, NM. We vacationed there many summers when I was a kid and we knew it would be a good low-key spot to relax. We enjoyed the cool weather and pine trees while it was scorching in Texas.

hiking in the cool pines

just a swingin'

"Dad, can I have a train too?"

relaxing to some Chitty Chitty Bang Bang music on the ride home

Weekend Fun: Longhorn Caverns

With the temperatures heading towards the 100s, it is hard to want to spend much time outdoors. This weekend we were looking for something fun to do but knew it was too hot for going to the park, then we remembered Longhorn Caverns near Burnet. Ahh, a cool 72 degrees all the time. We packed up the car and Evan and headed out Sat. morning. We stopped for a quick lunch at a cute little cafe near the caverns and arrived just in time for the 12:00 tour. Little did we know that the tour was an hour and a half long. But, Evan did great in the backpack carrier and Patrick got quite a workout carrying him through some pretty low clearance areas of the cave (work those quads!). I think Evan enjoyed, although he won't remember it years from now. This was sort of a reminiscent trip since Patrick and I went to the caverns once early on when we were dating.

about to head into the cave

naturally formed "dog" (no, it wasn't formed in this spot, they moved it)

Evan touching "the bear"

They made it through with no bumped heads!

4th of July

Well we had a great 4th of July. Evan had a big day at the Georgetown 4th of July celebration!

Birthday Fun!

We just wrapped up a super fun birthday weekend for Evan. Although his birthday was on the 17th, we planned the party for this past weekend to accommodate everyone's schedule. As it turned out, it was a good thing we did that since he was sick on his birthday :( He started coming down with a stomach virus on the 16th and by the weekend, he as still recovering. Then, he kindly gave the virus to me and Patrick! We were wiped out. Luckily we were all better by this weekend.

We started the weekend by attending a birthday party for my friend Jackie's kids. They were turning 7 and celebrated with a great pool party. Evan loves the water!

Now, on to Evan's party. He had a farm/John Deere theme since this is probably the only year he won't have an opinion about it, so I got to choose.

Evan's aunt Helene made the cake and did a fabulous job (as usual). She's cake queen!

Opening gifts

Playing with aunt Robyn

1st birthday candle!

testing out the cake

Oh yeah, it's good. He's going for it!

The whole crew

Summer Fun

We had a great holiday weekend visiting family in San Antonio. Evan got to hang out and play with his cousins a lot and he seemed to love it. He, Lorah (almost 3) and little Nathan (9 months) played in the kiddie pool. The older kids (Nicole and Joshua) had a water balloon fight with aunt Helene and uncle Jorge. It was a great time!

We've also been visiting the sprinkler park regularly here in Austin. Evan is such a little water baby! He loves the water and is not afraid of the sprinklers at all.

Just a cute shot of Evan with his post-nap hair

Yes, Indeed He's Walking

Big news from the Webb household--Evan is walking! He started taking a few steps a week or so ago but then over the weekend he really got the hang of it and now he is walking everywhere. Check out the video:

He has a few other new things he's learning also:

- starting to learn to wave and say "hi" (sort of)

- figuring out how doors work (he gets sad when he closes one and doesn't know how to re-open it)

- learning how the toilet works--yes, he has stuck his hands in the (clean) water

- he loves the water--the sprinkler park is his new favorite place

New favorite foods: watermelon, turkey lunchmeat, yogurt

Favorite Kid Apps

Okay, so I'm not usual one to use this blog to talk about anything other than family stuff but I just found out about a contest at Best Kids Apps, a blog about iPhone apps for kids, that's offering a chance to win an iPad. Well, as you all know, I do have a tech-junkie engineer for a husband and he would LOVE an iPad (I admit they are pretty cool). So, here goes.

I really try not to let Evan play with my iPhone all that much but I do admit to using it as entertainment from time to time when desperate (i.e., stuck waiting in a doctor's office, car ride, etc.). So I've download a couple of apps that he does seem to enjoy. By far, I think his favorite (and mine) is the Dr. Seuss's ABC app. It has great narration and classic Seuss illustrations for all the ABCs. It flips "pages" just like a book and the words change color when they are read. I like to think it's educational but who knows.

Evan also likes the iStoryTime book app on the iPhone. It has several different stories you can download like "The Reading Bug." The app reads the story to you and but you flip the "pages" yourself. The stories are cute and short and the illustrations are nice but nothing great.

Lastly, I just recently downloaded the Baby Piano app. This one is pretty cool. It has a mini piano keyboard that plays the notes of the scale (i.e., "do" "re" "mi", etc). It also has a feature that will play animal sounds instead of notes. It will also light up the keys to guide you through playing a song. So far Evan hasn't seem to like this one as much as the others. He enjoys music but I think this may be a bit too advanced for him.

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Clapping is Fun!

Last weekend Evan learned how to clap! We hadn't really been teaching him to do it, but we do clap for him sometimes because he seems to like it. On Saturday he just started doing it in a coordinated way. We clap back and he really likes it. Now it does it all the time. Poor Patrick was out of town at the MS150 but I sent him the video to watch. Here's a sneak peek:

Evan's First Easter

Happy Easter everyone! We had a great day yesterday. We attended the children's mass in the morning (which was a little crazy) and then had a wonderful lunch with Chris and Robyn. Evan had fun hanging out with his aunt and uncle and really enjoyed being outside. He doesn't mind being in the play pen too much if it's outside. He's an outdoors man just like his dad!

Fun Weekend!

We had such a fun weekend this past week. The weather was beautiful so we took advantage of it. We went hiking on Saturday and biking on Sunday. Evan went along for all the fun and seemed to enjoy it. He seems to love the outdoors just like his daddy. An eagle scout in the making! Here's a few pictures of our fun.

Getting ready

Along the trail

Tuckered out

Trying out the swing!

Evan's New Stats

Evan had his 9 month checkup today and here are his new stats:

weight: 19lb 3 oz (30th percentile)

height: 29 in. (75th percentile)

head: 45 cm

He's still a long and lean boy. The doc said he looked perfect. He was very impressed that Evan didn't have any stranger anxiety with him. He was friendly and very cooperative with the doctor. Evan had to get a little finger stick to take a little blood to check for anemia (standard 9 month check) and he hardly cried at all! Go Evan!

Spring Break at Enchanted Rock

Okay, so none of us in this household really get spring break since we are no longer in school but we did actually have a little mini-spring break this year. Patrick's brother John and his family decided to take a trip to Fredericksburg so we thought we would join them. Patrick took a couple of days off of work and we spend Thursday and Friday in Fredericksburg, including Enchanted Rock. Of course, since it was spring break (and beautiful weather) every other family in Texas seemed to want to go to Enchanted Rock too. After waiting in line for at least 30 minutes we were turned away at 11 am when they closed the park on Thursday. Luckily they re-opened it at 1 pm and we were able to get in and join the other Webbs. It was an absolutely beautiful day! John cooked up some yummy fajitas for all of us and then Patrick, John and all the "big kids" headed out to hike up the rock. My sister-in-law Amy and I stayed at camp with the two babies (Evan and cousin Nathan, 7 months). The kids had a great time hiking up the rock. Even our little niece Lorah (2.5 years) enjoyed it, as she rode in the backpack carrier and napped part of the time.

The next day we drove over to LBJ State Park and walked around the Sauer-Beckmann Farm. This is a great outing for kids. The farm is set up just like people lived in the early 1900s. Staff members (in period garb) are there to tell you about life on the farm including cooking, livestock, blacksmithing, etc. They have several sheep, chickens, and a couple of cows on site. I think all the kids liked it, especially Lorah. Here are a few pictures from our fun-filled mini-spring break.

Our camp for the day

Evan and Lorah playing

Checking out the chickens

Lorah and mama (Amy) watching the cow

Patrick doing double duty (daddy and uncle)

Nathan and Evan duking it out!

Evan rides his bike 2.5 miles

Well not exactly, he rode with me(Patrick). Evan has a trailer that I tow, and we rose around the neighborhood yesterday on my day off. He really seemed to enjoy it. This way he can help me with my MS150 training!

(btw anyone interested in donating to the MS Society to support the cause, let me know pwebb@ieee.org.) thanks!

Evan's first symphony

Tonight Evan got to experience "Holy, Holy, Holy" arranged by James Curnow and "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo by Aaron Copeland( you know, made famous by the commercials "beef, it's what's for dinner". He seemed to enjoy it, and then fell asleep on me after about 30 minutes.
We are very proud of our neighbor, James King, who plays second violin in the Williamson County Symphony Orcharstra.

It was a big week for Evan, he had a fever for about 36 hours but insisted he didn't need to go to the doctor:) he tougher it out by sleeping on mommy and daddy for two nights. It only got to 103 and was relatively short lived.

Evan joins the YMCA and gets in the pool

Well, I thought it was time I contributed to this blog(this is Patrick writing.) we went to the Y for the first time today. Evan got to play with a few boys his own age for an hour and then to the pool. He was very alert, never fussed, but he wasn't laughing the whole time, he was just puzzled and taking it in. He definitely seemed like he could ge used to it.

Great way to spend a Saturday with the family!