DEVELOPMENTAL UPDATE

Evan pulled himself up tonight! Pictures will follow as soon as I find my camera. He thought it was pretty exciting, until he toppled over 15 seconds later. What a big boy! I can't believe how fast these 6 months have gone.

Ode to the Second Child

Yes, I realize I just wrote an entire post without once mentioning Evan's name. I didn't mean to slight him, I just couldn't figure out how to seque from that mushy drivel about Ethan into a report about how much fun Evan is right now. And he is really fun. Totally deserving of his own post. That was the plan all along.

Evan has got this whole crawling thing figured out. No block tower is safe and no toy/dirty spoon/shoe will go unmouthed. He has taken to eating like a T-Rex to a fresh batch of...whatever T-Rexs eat. Maybe he is training for a baby-underground avocado eating contest. I guess I'll find out when he asks for a ride. He laughs and he frowns and acts like he understands everything Ethan tells him. (Maybe he does, what do I know.) Ethan is about to squeeze me out for the title of Evan's Favorite Person in the Whole Entire World. Their relationship sums up all the good reasons we wanted to have Numero Dos, but I thought the baby would think I was a super-cool-mom, at least until he turned 1. (Hey, wanna nurse? No? Ok, well, call me later.) I love watching him figure out how to open the wipes container and I love how much he loves looking at himself in the mirror. His baby book and calendar might have some blank spots but I am enjoying his babyhood just as much -and maybe more- than Ethan's. He is certainly not lacking for love or attention. Hopefully as he gets older he'll understand that the reason his pictures and stories are intertwined with his brother's is because his life is so richly intertwined with his big brother's. Those two boys are blessings to us and to each other. I am so proud of both of them. Love for them permeates every cell in my body and overflows in hugs and kisses, whether they want them or not.

Silver Lining

The absolute best part of dark, rainy days is that when Ethan wakes up, I can usually convince him that it's too early to be awake and snuggle him back to sleep in my bed. (O, how I love my bed!) It worked perfectly this morning. After getting some juice and going potty, he curled up in my arms and promptly fell asleep. It was so delicious to hold him like that. I was almost surprised that he still fit so sweetly against me. During the day, Ethan is more like a little boy than a toddler now. Lately his gait has changed, and with pliers in his pocket he walks like Mini-Matt. He speaks in complete, precise sentences and hasn't worn a diaper in months. He is full of ideas and directions and suggestions. He likes to make phone calls and can hold his own in the conversation. I love the little person he is becoming and often think 'this is the most fun stage of parenting.' Even his hair has changed from that soft, downy fuzz to regular hair. When did all this happen? I haven't even gotten his two-year pictures taken! (Frick! Tessa: a little help here!) But his legs don't seem quite as long in his jammies and when he whispered "Wuv you, Mommy" before he fell asleep with his head on my shoulder, I had my baby back for a little while. I cherished every second- until I fell asleep.

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Tuesday was one of my top five Most Fun Days as a Mom. Ethan, Evan, Tessa, Mom, my aunt Laura, my cousin Nick, and I spent the day at the Omaha Zoo. If you have never been to the zoo with Ethan, I advise you to go as soon as you possibly can. He loved everything: the elephants, Nick, the tigers, the polar bears, the big ugly fish, Nick, the monkeys, the awesome aquarium, the fountains, EVERYTHING. Did I mention Nick? And I loved everything too- even the disgusting, writhing, obese, slimy fish that swarm around the bridge like maggots on a corpse. I loved seeing it all through Ethan's eyes as he saw all these animals he has read about come to life in a big way. "Wake up, effa-funt! Wake up!" he called to the sleeping elephant. "Wook, it's Baby Jaguar!" "Ders a tiger! Hi tiger. RRRRRoar!" "Wook, Evan, do you see the penguins? Dey're fwimming. Dey're jumping!"

The jungle was especially fun- Ethan braved the wiggly bridge and tried to climb the trees. Evan watched with big eyes. He especially liked the waterfalls and kept swiveling his head to keep them in his sight the whole time.

The whole day was perfect. Love for these boys filled my heart til I thought it would burst. It was one of those days that reassured me that they are as happy and healthy as can be, even when I'm afraid I've ruined them forever. (Sorry I dropped you on your head, Evan, and yelled at Ethan for killing a tomato plant last week.) We finished with an ice cream cone and a long nap on the ride home.

Eggert World Tour, Part 1

Okay, "World Tour" might be a slight overstatement but the boys and I have rarely ventured off the ranch since Evan was born so we were pretty excited to take this trip. We had two graduations to celebrate last weekend (yay Tessa & Dan!) and decided to stretch out the fun as long as possible. We packed up and set off for Blair at the crack of 10 a.m. Friday morning. We stopped to visit our good friends Rachel, Zach, & Jenna at their new home outside Columbus. The kids had a great time playing and it was fun to catch up. We love you guys!

We made it to Dana just in time for the Baccalaureate service. It was a really nice send-off for those seniors. I hope that God will bless and protect all these kids (!) as they begin this next phase of their journey. Saturday was the graduation and party for Tessa and her friend Jessica at their house. It was fun to be back on campus and introduce my babies to old friends and professors.

The celebration was wonderful; Ethan especially loved playing with all the friends and family.

On Sunday we all got together again for my cousin Dan's graduation in Iowa. Another great ceremony, fun party, and lots of wonderful food! Ethan slept through the ceremony (no offense, Allison! :) ) but was rarin' to go after his nap.

And that was only the beginning...

Good Morning, Sunshine

The boys & I were cuddling in my bed this morning as I tried to stall them from getting up so early. Evan woke up a little fussy and restless so I sat him up. He spotted Ethan on the other side of the bed and his little face lit up. He took off towards his big brother, scooting along like an inchworm. It's so cute to watch him move: he pushes off with his legs and propels his top half forward. He usually ends up on his nose but is starting to figure it out. It took awhile but he finally made it across to Ethan. "Good morning, Evan! Are you wake?" Ethan greeted him. Evan smiled up at him as Ethan picked up a book. "Do you want to weed a book? Here is a eff-funt. See has a wong twunk." He turned the pages, making realistic animal noises for each page. Evan chattered excitedly and chewed on the book. "Should we sing? E-I-E-I-O Farm," Ethan began. "The farm has a cow, moooo moooo moooo." When I sing Old MacDonald, Ethan requests an assortment of animals ranging from chickens to giraffes, as well as a variety of power tools and farm equipment, but his own version was much simpler. Go figure. The boys played together for several minutes. I love how close they are already. I hope they continue to enjoy each other as they grow older. What wonderful boys! I am so grateful that God gave them both to us.

Wild Wild West

We branded our calves today. Ethan wanted to help with all of it, of course, but was restricted to helping Grampa put in a couple of ear tags. He got a little upset about the branding at first but settled down after he realized the calves were fine afterwards.

Evan stayed home with Gramma and had lots of fun chewing on things and walking around outside. Funny, he didn't end up with any black eyes while on her watch, as opposed to the times Matt or I are responsible for him! We are so blessed with wonderful family and friends who help us with these big projects. It was a great weekend. We love you all very much.