Look Who's Standing!!

Mom's cousin Karen got married on Saturday. The wedding took place at the groom's farm. It was a beautiful setting and an equally beautiful day. I forgot to bring my camera, but I pilfered this shot from Sue. Here is Eva, standing and looking at some kittens. Her cousin Steve was giving us the tour. He named the three kitties after us: Steve, Eva, and Lindsay. Eva has discovered that she enjoys standing and "walking." We did lots of walking this weekend. Mom's back is a little sore today from being bent over, helping Eva. Eva has been a little tired from all this new muscle work.

For the love of Honeycrisps!

Grandpa Ron LOVES Honeycrisp apples. He recently bought a half bushel of them while he was up in Gays Mills...true apple country. Eva was very curious when she saw me eating one. She age it a try and found she likes to bite into it just like corn on the cob. In fact, when I later offered her apple slices, she refused them, wanting the whole thing instead.

On a side note, I try to keep this blog full of fun things going on in our life. But, life has its challenges too. We have noticed slight delays in Eva's large muscle development for some time. This morning we had her formal evaluation. As a 14 month old (today!) she has the balance and muscle control of a 10-month-old. This means that she has a 28% delay, qualifying her for physical therapy. Already today, the PT gave us lots of great suggestions. We're looking forward to working with her to help Eva continue to progress in her development.

Shenanigans!

We have a little jokester in our house. Eva loves to do "silly" things and laugh and laugh at herself. She has quite a sense of humor. She loves to play "mother cat," transporting her toys around the house by carrying them in her mouth.

And now, peek-a-boo with a twist...she likes to crawl around with the dish towel over her head. It took a couple of head firsts into the walls or cabinets before she realized she needs to pay some attention to where she is going.

Lovely

Eva poses in front of some beautiful flowers at Park Farms Winery.

Platteville Dairy Days

Our old town of Platteville is swinging in full force this weekend for Dairy Days! We took in the morning parade and spent the afternoon at the fairgrounds. Our fun included seeing livestock and new puppies, eating fried cheesecurds, playing at the park, and going on 2 rides! Eva could've swang for hours...

Dad and Eva brave the slide

A baby puppy!

Hey guys, check out our hot car

And last, but not least, a spin on the carousel

Good Morning!

Eva...fresh out of bed on a sticky summer morning.

Another Adventure of Eva and Mom

Les and I have recently been pretty preoccupied with moving, building a house, and work commitments. So yesterday, I planned a day all about Eva. We played all morning and went for a long walk. Then, in the afternoon, we planned to load up and head to Verona to visit Liz and all of her "friends" from daycare.

Things didn't go as expected. We had just gotten on the highway when the car failed. It was pretty scary...at 65 mph I suddenly had limited steering ability and brakes. Thankfully, we were on an uphill incline so I coasted up the hill and pulled onto the shoulder before throwing the car into park to come to a full stop.

Luckily Dad came to the rescue about 10 minutes later and we had the car towed. No word yet on the fate of our little Daewoo... While it was definately an "adventure" we really had the best case scenario: close to home, in the middle of the day, and help was easily available.

Labor Day at the Park

We met Grandma and Grandpa at the park for a Labor Day picnic today. The bees were terrible! They kepts swarming our table. Eva enjoyed playing at the park. Afterwards, we stopped out to see our new house. It's coming along...the shingles and electricity are going in right now.

Storybook Children's Zoo!

Today our family ran to Dubuque to take care of a couple errands. Eva was a great sport about moving boxes into Mom's work and shopping for cabinets, lighting, and flooring for our new house. After we finished our "to do" list, we stopped by at a little zoon in Dubuque. It was a big hit with her! This friendly pig made lots of noise. Eva loved it!
This goat wasn't quite as friendly. He kept headbutting the gate as Les tried to pet him.

Eva will have lots of horses nearby when we move to our new home.

We played at the park afterwards. The swings and sandbox are still favorites, but today she found a new activity that she loved - sliding! "WEEEEE!"

Pigtails!

Here'e a recent shot of Eva sporting a new do!

On the Move

I have two thoughts about "moving"

First of all, I was in such a hurry for Eva to start "moving." Now that she is, I wonder why I was in such a hurry for this next stage. It is adorable to watch her crawl around everywhere...but she definately keeps me on my toes.

In another sense, we recently "moved" from our house into an apartment while we are awaiting the completion of our new home. Unfortunately, we were not able to get another short term lease here so we will again be moving in a couple of weeks....this time into a rental that belongs to a friend of mine. (We're very much obliged.) Meanwhile, my parents are also in the middle of moving. I wonder what goes through Eva's mind about all of these changes. Maybe she just thinks that this is what people do every couple of months. In any event, we will be very happy to finally be settled in November (with luck).

On a sad personal note, I am temporarily at a loss for my camera battery charger. Until it is recovered, I'm afraid I can't post any new pictures.

Weekend of 7 Grandma and Grandpa's!

Eva got to see 7 grandparents in 2 days!! During the first part of our weekend, we headed to Iowa to visit Dad's family. Grandma and Grandpa H had a fish fry on Saturday night. Great-Grandma Sheckler, Joyce, and Laura joined in for the fun.

Then, on Sunday we hopped over to Great-Grandma and Grandpa Marshall's. They hadn't seen Eva since Christmas and enjoyed watching her in motion!

Finally, we ended the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Weier. Not everybody is lucky enough to have 7 grandparents...and to see them all in one weekend.

Eva gets a kiss from Grandma H

Great Grandpa Marshall got lots of smiles from Eva!

Eva liked Great Grandma Marshall's beeper

Eva and Mom's (Mini) Adventure

Eva and I set out yesterday on our first road trip together. First stop: the doctor in Madison for her one-year well check-up. The visit went well and she even took her three shots like a tough girl. From there, we headed up North toward Fon du Lac to join Aunt Sue and Stevie at a cabin. We stopped at McDonald's on the way up and Eva had her first Happy Meal - chicken nuggets and apple slices!

We enjoyed the cabin and quiet Forest Lake. We spent time on the beach, playing in the water, and even taking a little cruise in a paddle boat. Unfortunately, our trip was cut a little short. Eva wasn't feeling her best today so we headed back rather than staying one more day.

Overall...a fun little outing for us!

Mom and Eva drying off on the dock after a swim.

Eva was entertained by cousin Stevie.

One-Year Pictures

Eva spent her birthday afternoon getting her pictures taken. She was a lot more wiggly than she was at past photo sessions. The photographer earned her wages today. But, we did get some cute ones!

You can almost see her 6 teeth!
This Amish made rocking chair was Eva's birthday gift from the Weier's. It's a great match to her toybox from the Hollingsworths!
Mom's dream...a baby who loves to read!

Happy Birthday Eva!!

Today is Eva's first birthday. This morning her dad said, "I can't believe it's finally here. It feels like we've been celebrating for a week." He's not that far off! We've had a run of parties in the past few days.

We started the festivities with a birthday picnic at a park in Iowa with both sets of Grandparents and dad's family. Some of the partygoer's: Aunt Lynn, Aunt Laura, Emma, Abby, Great Aunt Joyce, Great Grandma Sheckler. Both Grandma's are on the other side.
Dad helps Eva open her gifts. She was a big fan of this part of the event.
A family picture with our one-year-old and the substitute cake (the original one didn't arrive at the bakery in time for us to pick it up.)

After Eva's party, we set off down the road for Natalie's 4th birthday party. Meg included Eva in the fun. Here both girls are sporting their birthday crowns.

Summer eats

Dad offered Eva a bite of sweet corn the other night at dinner. She loved gnawing on it with her two new front teeth. There were even some tears when he took the ear of corn back. Eva: proud of her Iowa roots!
Flashback to April: another favorite treat...cantelope!

Dancing Machine

We spent the past weekend in Rochester, Minnesota for Art and Melody's wedding. The whole wedding weekend was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. Eva points to the dance floor during one of the competitions. (She made a second appearance at the reception in her pajama's after covering herself with dinner.)
Family picture
Eva is already making her Dad nervous by showing a fondness for boys. She enjoyed smiling and laughing at all of the young men. Here she is with Jesse, Aaron, Gene, and Dad.

I love dogs!

Eva is a lover of animals...she squeals in delight if we pass a dog on the street or spot a bunny, bird or deer on our walks. Recenly we hung out with Ryan, Angela and Gus while they were back visiting. The "big people" enjoyed coffee and catching up while the little ones played together. Gus plays so nicely with Eva!
And it's no wonder...she shares her snacks with him.

First haircut

Eva got her first haircut this afternoon. We've put it off for over 11 months. She still has her long springy curls...they just won't be in her face so much now. She was very relaxed in the chair with her little dinosaur cape.

Ta-daa! Eva showing off her new bangs. No more hair in the eyes!

Our Big Girl

I thought I'd share a couple of candid pictures of Eva enjoying some playtime at home...

Eva appears to be less of a baby and more of a little girl each day. Her newest source of entertainment is getting into anything and everything. She is especially attracted to our end table that holds our DVD's. Pulling them out is a big thrill for her.

Her fifth tooth pushed through yesterday. She now has two bottom teeth and three front top teeth. The new tooth has been a little uncomfortable for her. She has been extra cuddly the last couple of days.

Her hair continues to be a source of conversation with people we meet. Today during church, Father Charles walked over to us and told me he'd have a lot of uses for all of that hair. It will now stay in a ponytail on the top of her head, making her look a lot like Pebbles from the Flintstones.

She is also displaying one of her dad's attractive qualities: a deep dark suntan. She and I spend lots of time outside going for walks, playing at the park, and swimming. Despite the globs of suntan lotion I put on her, she gets darker and darker. She now is sporting a tan most bikini models would kill for!