More from Evan's Birthday

Evan got some portraits done for his birthday.  He wasn't very happy about it (separation anxiety) but we still got a few good shots!

 This kid loves to swing at the park--luckily it's right next to our house so he can get a fix often.

 We went to the Sea Life Aquarium on his birthday

 In our family everyone gets a balloon on their birthday.  Well no one has even been so obsessed with it as Evan was.  It had to go with him everywhere for several days, clutched in his tiny fist. 

 Evan was spoiled with cards and gifts from grandparents

Evan is 1

Evan turned 1 in March.  We're not entirely sure how Evan happened to turn a year old-it's gone so quickly.  He has grown so much and been such a light in our lives.  We just love our squishy, clown-haired boy!

This is how he looked the morning of his birthday

He is a crazy man on the changing table

In these two pictures he looks just like his daddy's baby pictures. This was also one of the last days of his bottle; he didn't care one bit that they disappeared.

For his birthday we went to the Sea Life Aquarium.  

He had fun demolishing his cake but didn't actually consume much of it. 

Grandma and Grandpa Lemmert celebrated with us

Our happy family!

About Evan Boy:

-By his birthday he had 1.5 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth
-Evan eats an entire banana EVERY morning
-He is combat crawling; pushing off with his toes and pulling himself with his left arm while holding something or slapping the tile with his right hand. He gets everywhere FAST with this method.
-Evan is very ticklious (sp?) 
-He loves to crawl/climb on soft things like the couch and beds.  His face lights up when you put him on our big bed.
-Evan chews a corner of his blanket and it doesn't dry well between chewings so it smells really really really bad.  We've got to find a solution for that stinky problem. 
-His favorite foods are: bananas, cheerios, yogurt, applesauce, crackers, eggs and pasta.  I'm trying to get him to like vegetables more. He's a bit of a picky eater and spits things out often.
-Evan is mischievous already.  He throws his cup off his highchair over and over so he can watch our reaction.  He also throws his food on the floor and giggles.  He pulls my hair to get another reaction.  Then he grabs 'down there' when I'm changing a poopy diaper and belly laughs at my reaction! We are in for it.
-His favorite toys are musical ones because he likes to DANCE!
-I would say Evan is a bit of a mama's boy but he sure gets excited when Daddy gets home from work.
-Evan really likes his sisters but does not like them to hold him--"just admire me from afar ladies."

Evan 10 & 11 months

I missed the 10 month sticker picture!  I'm giving myself a break on that though.  Evan changed a lot during these months!  He started combat crawling with one arm while scooting with his toes.  He would do this sometimes but then resort to rolling since it was faster.  He also started to be uninterested in his bottles and just wanting to drink water from his sippy cup. This boy makes us happy every single day.  There are times we just stare at him in wonder!

Gilbert Temple Dedication

A lot of January, February and March David was tied up helping the youth rehearse for the Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration.  This took place March 1, the night before the temple was dedicated.  These kids practiced for months and it was all worth it for them to demonstrate their conviction and dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It rained HARD the entire performance but they kept on smiling! Over 12,000 youth participated! They aired it locally so we got to watch the entire thing on T.V. with Grandma and Grandpa Lemmert

We were glad to get David back after all those long hours.  

The next day we got to attend the temple dedication with Cyrena, Barb and Ralph.  It was wonderful.

Valentine's Day 2014

To kick off our Valentine's celebration we made our traditional mailboxes.  They turned out really cute and David and I made sure each child got a note each day the week of Valentine's Day.

 Natalie is frustrated here trying to find the right letters for her name.  She wanted a specific font...

 Here Anna is putting together her Valentine's for preschool friends.

 My Valentine girl all ready for the preschool party!

The girls decorated more cookies after school

 Our traditional dinner.  Steak, potatoes (we made homemade fries this year), asparagus, salad.  And an amazing chocolate cheesecake for dessert--handcrafted by David!  I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of it.

 The girls loved their boxes of chocolate.

 Evan loved his asparagus and the french fries

We went around the table and told something we loved about each person.  I told Cyrena that I love that she's getting old enough to understand my jokes!  Well that really made her grin and sit a little taller in her seat--she loves to be in on a good joke. :)

More January Family Fun

In January we also tried to go hiking more as a family.  All the girls really enjoy it and mom and dad do too!  So every Saturday we got out there and hiked.  Then at the end of January we had family come into town and we all went hiking together!

 It started off with a competitive basketball game. David and Richard against Jason and Emily.

 Then we hiked up Spook Hill in North Mesa

Back: Jason, Emily, David, Jenna, Gracie, Richard, Stacy, Barb, Ralph

Front: Natalie, Evan, Cyrena, Anna

That night we went to the Gilbert Temple Open House.  BEAUTIFUL and such a sweet experience

 There was also swimming (yep-in January! the pool was heated)

 And we spent time at the train park of course!

 We also made sure to sneak in a craft day for the girls!  We made Valentine pallet signs!

We are so lucky to have a lot of family come visit!