Halloween, helmets, and first snow

My Mommy and Daddy have been busy traveling lately, so I thought I would tell you a little bit about what I've been up to over the past few months.


For Halloween, I got to dress up as a bat. We didn't go trick-or-treating, but we did get to go to the lantern parade at the pond in Jamaica Plain. Lots and lots of people showed up dressed in their costumes and walked around the pond with lanterns. I also got to wear my costume to day care - it is pretty comfortable, but I. Do. Not. Like. The. Hood. On. My. Head!


However, when I was playing in the kitchen while Daddy was making breakfast, I thought it was pretty funny to wear my bike helmet. Hey Colin, I'm all ready to ride in the bike trailer with you again!


Then, today we had our first snow of the winter! Daddy took me outside to feel the snowflakes and I thought it was pretty funny when Mommy made a snowball and threw it in the air. I can't wait to learn how to snowboard!

Walking, walking, everywhere

Anyone who follows our blog might remember that, oh, about four months ago Evan took his first steps. After that, we had a long stretch of "I'll walk when I want to, and I don't want to." However, since about three weeks ago, walking is the coolest thing ever. So, we thought that we would share a video with you for anyone who last saw Evan when knee-walking was still all the rage.

Mommy needs to go back to kindergarten

John is at a conference in Germany for four days, and even though he has only been gone for a day, the wheels are already starting to fall off. I thought I was doing pretty well this morning - get up, let the dog out, have coffee, feed Evan, feed myself, dress Evan, dress myself, clean up from breakfast, and pack lunches. Then, as we were about to walk out the door, I saw this (and am such an awesome mommy that I stopped to take pictures before fixing it)


Yup, those are two shoes on the wrong feet. I guess I need to go back to kindergarten and have someone teach me left and right again. Fortunately, Evan didn't seem bothered by it at all, which is good since he had been walking around like this for about half an hour.


At the rate I'm going, John may just come home to find Nicky sitting in the high chair and Evan eating fish sticks out of the dog bowl.

Boston sandbox

On our vacation to Lake Tahoe, Evan had such a great time playing in the sand at the beach that we thought we should try to make him a sandbox to play in at home. I've heard a saying that "everything is bigger in Texas" and I can't attest to whether or not that is true, but one thing I have found is that "everything is smaller in Boston." So, we bring you Evan's very Boston-sized sandbox.


His favorite part of playing in the sandbox was shoveling up sand and tossing it into the air. We joke that by the time we move he will probably have filled in the whole space under the patio. It's a good thing sand is cheap . . .

Also, I caught this big smile on Evan the other day and thought I would share it with you. One of his fun new games is to pile a bunch of his stuffed animals into a box and push them around the house while making car noises. Here he is with "Tim Bob", which my brother's friend Brandy made for him last Christmas - there's a matching "Lucy Lou" but she's already in the "car." Maybe if Evan gets enough driving practice, he can take a shift at the wheel on our next trip to Chicago.

Lake Tahoe + Cousin Colin + Spatulas = Fun!

by Evan Heemstra

Right now my Mommy and Daddy are pretty busy working on their research proposals, so I thought I would tell you about my fun vacation to Chicago and Lake Tahoe. A couple of weeks ago, we drove to Chicago, and though I did sleep most of the way it was still not very fun. But, at the end of the drive I got to hang out with my Grandpa and Grandma, so it was totally worth it.

A couple of days later, we flew to Lake Tahoe where I spent some time relaxing (day care can be sooooo stressful!)


and also visited the playground and had fun going down the slide on my own. I don't really like to eat solid foods like bread, hot dogs, or mandarin oranges, but those wood chips they have at the playground are yummy!

One of the best parts of vacation was that my cousin Colin, Uncle Jason, and Aunt Robin joined us in Tahoe for a week - they are way more fun than my dorky parents!

Our parents brought a bunch of toys, but we had much more fun playing with the spatulas (and the Corona box you see in the background).

The grown-ups had some good ideas, like taking us to the pool

and to the beach - the water was cold, but I found that the sand was almost as yummy as the wood chips from the playground.


We had one rainy day, so we all went down to Carson City to see the Childrens Museum (complete with my first time rock climbing).


And, since no visit to Carson City is complete without a photo op in front of the Governor's mansion . . .


We went hiking a lot - not a bad way to spend naptime!


But, my parents also had some not great ideas, like taking us for a bike ride in a trailer.


Despite the malfeasance of the bike trailer, I had a really great time hanging out with all of my family!

Goldfish make the world go round

Well, maybe goldfish don't make the world go round, but they do give Evan and Nicky a way to hang out. Evan has always enjoyed feeding Nicky from his high chair, and Nicky dutifully comes running when he hears the click of the high chair tray. Today John put out some goldfish for Evan to eat while we were cleaning the house, and Nicky actually got up the courage to take some fish from Evan's hand. For quite a few months after Evan was born, the two of them operated with mutual indifference, so it is fun to see them becoming good buddies.

I love ice cream!

Last weekend we flew to Chicago to see my Grandpa and Grandma Heemstra, and also to celebrate Uncle Rick's (he's my Dad's cousin, so I think that makes him my uncle . . .) wedding. I got to enjoy some of the fun things that come with summer, like splashing in the pool


and eating ice cream (yum!).


We also stopped in for a visit with my Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Heemstra, and they fed me cookes (also yum!).


Although I had fun playing outside, I also found many ways to entertain myself indoors. At home in Boston, I'm not allowed in the kitchen because I try to tip over the bikes and eat the dog food. So, it was a big treat to be able to wander around Grandma's kitchen and take things out of the cabinets to play with (yup, in that last photo I am in fact trying to drink a can of baked beans).


I also discovered the joy of climbing stairs and getting blanket rides around the family room.

What a busy weekend! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for all of the fun (and ice cream!). I can't wait to visit again!

Blocko and the waterpark

When we put down the alphabet mat in Evan's playroom, we had exactly six pieces left over, so we made a "blocko" for him to play with (I don't know why we have this odd habit of adding the letter "o" to the end of words . . . blocko, bibbo, spinacho . . . perhaps we are under the delusion that if we make it sound more fun, then Evan will like it more. Anyhow, the fact that blocko isn't a load bearing structure made for a few unfortunate events as Evan was learning to pull up on things and cruise around. But, today he discovered that blocko can be disassembled and provide fun in many forms.

The starting point.


The stages of disassembly (I especially love the first one).


And, once the destruction is complete, moving on to another toy.


After all of the heavy demolition work, we decided to cool down by taking our first trip to the spray park up the street. At first, Evan was NOT a fan because the water was too cold. But, once we found a nice little pool to sit in, he enjoyed splashing in the water and watching all of the other kids running around. We told Evan that his Grandma in Chicago has a kiddie pool, and I think he is pretty excited to splash around with his cousin next weekend!