2009 in Review - May

May started out with Eva getting a highchair, in preperation for her introduction to baby food. Doesn't she look so tiny and lost in it? Don't worry, she grows into it.


(disclaimer: that is not my kitchen in the background. Whoever took the picture of Eva in her new highchair did not take into consideration that our kitchen was a mess, so I used my newly acquired Photoshop [actually GIMP] skills to cut and paste her into a nice, clean kitchen.)

On May 9th, we traveled to Toledo to celebrate our friend Will's first birthday. Look at that party animal! Doesn't she look excited??? Heeheehee.

Will's actual birthday is May 13th - he was born exactly 6 months (almost to the minute) before Eva. They play very well together and Eva is always sure to show Will that she's not one to be bullied around.

Eva was so good while Will opened his presents. We're still impressed by how well behaved she was. But really, what do you expect? She's the best baby ever!

Here is Will about to dive into his cake.

Eva turned 6 months old on 5/13/09...

...and was introduced to baby food.

She wasn't too sure about it the first time, but she grew to love her sweet potatoes.

Here's the little sweetie taking a nap. She looks like an angel. :)

The last weeked of May, I had a garage sale at my mom's house. I got rid of so much stuff and it felt so good to do that. The money was pretty nice, too.

2009 in Review - April

On Friday, April 3rd, Mom and I drove from Cades to Myrtle Beach to stay overnight. While it was 75 degrees and sunny at the beach, there were major wind gusts blowing (gusting?) through. Eva was not enjoying that much wind in her face and couldn't seem to catch her breath. So we didn't stay on the beach for long.
We went to Bovine's Steakhouse in Murrell's Inlet for dinner. I had shrimp and grits for the first time and it was fabulous!
On Saturday, Eva posed for this great photo in our hotel room. It is one of my favorites.

Then we headed back to Cades and had a photo shoot around the deer decoy.

What? Doesn't everyone have a shot up plastic deer in their yard???

That's just one of the many charms of the house in Cades, nicknamed "Lizard's Thicket" after the plethora of lizards that hang out around the house (another of the charms.)

On Sunday, we made our way back to Columbus.

The next week was Easter -- Eva's first! Here is her basket, full of candy that Eva's Mommy and Daddy love, a few books, bubbles and a game.

We celebrated with the traditional Easter Egg Hunt and an excellent dinner at Mom and Shelly's. Don't the kids look thrilled to be in their Sunday best?

Eva had a costume change before naptime. (Don't worry, she didn't sleep with the ears on.)

The weekend after Easter, we had beautiful weather again. So, guess where we went? The zoo!

Here are Eva and her Daddy in the kangaroo enclosure. (If Dan looks a little funny in this picture, it's because his goatee has been shaved off for the NHL playoffs. And that's all we'll say about the playoffs.)

While we didn't attend the OSU Football Spring Game this year, Eva still wanted to show her love for the Buckeyes.

And finally, to close out April, here is a ridiculous/funny/cute picture of Eva.

2009 in Review - March

The first weekend in March, our friends Kate and Josh came down from Toledo to visit us. We took advantage of nice weather and went to the zoo. We had a great time!

On March 13th, Eva turned 4 months old. Her funny little personality was really starting to develop.

The week of March 29th, Eva and I (along with my mom and Shelly) took a trip to South Carolina. Eva was a great traveler, despite not feeling well at all. She was just getting over her first cold.

Most of the week was spent in Cades, but on March 31st, my mom and I took Eva to Georgetown, SC. Georgetown is an adorable old town - - very quaint. They have some great restaurants there. This time we ate at the Thomas Cafe, an old favorite. There used to be a lot of great boutiques and antique shops in Georgetown, however the economy seemed to take it's toll there and only a few shops remain. Very sad.

That wraps up March. Now, on to April!

2009 in Review - February

February's weather started out very mild, so we took a trip to the zoo. This was not Eva's first trip, but I think it was her first one in which she was awake and may have actually been able to see the animals. And there were a lot of animals out enjoying the weather.




During this time, Eva was starting to move around her crib a lot during the night. We never knew what crazy position we would find her in next. And of course, we always had the camera handy. Here she is (swaddled up almost a little too tightly it looks like) laying crosswise in her crib, with her legs going up the sides. Hey - whatever is comfortable, right?

On Valentine's Day, Eva chose to wear a shirt proclaiming that her heart belongs to Mommy. I swear, she picked it out. ;)

But we all know that she shares her great big heart with Daddy, too. I was able to capture this special moment between the two of them, and I love it!

Towards the end of February, I found out from my employer that I would no longer have any job as of March 6th. The plus side of that was I'd get to devote more time to my family and my job search and collect unemployment. (I can see the positive side now, almost a year later. At the time, not so much.)

On February 27th, we had our all-in-one birthday party at Mom and Shelly's house. This is a party for all of Mom and Shelly's children and children-in-laws (what else would you call them?)

It's so hard to get everyone together for every birthday, and a lot of our birthdays are in the first quarter of the year, so we just have one big party for everyone. There is always a fun theme: 2008 was Rodeo, 2006 was Winter Olympics/Italy, another year was a 1970's fondue party, I think we did an 80's theme one time, Mexican, Asian, and I know there were a few others...

Anyway, 2009's theme was London. We had pub food, a trifle, Elton John sunglasses and the girls got to go shopping at "Harrod's." It was a ton of fun, as usual!!!

That's pretty much it for February! It is always a short month, after all.

2009 in Review - January

January

We brought in 2009 at our friends house playing Rock Band. Eva was there with us, going in and out of sleep. It's so hard to remember those newborn days when she slept all the time.

Here's a picture of Eva in a sleeper that is way too big for her. Gone are the days when she wore clothes that were too big. She's growing out of clothes so quickly now.

On January 5th, Eva watched her first Buckeye bowl game. I think in this picture she might be wondering why her daddy is so intense? FOOTBALL!!!! is the answer.




On January 8th, my maternity leave ended and I went back to work. On January 9th, my company eliminated my position due to downsizing/the economy/they were jerks. The only other position available with the company was a part-time, admin position -- huge paycut, but at least I had a job, right? Although I was pretty darn upset, I accepted the part-time position and tried to be positive about the opportunity it gave me to spend time with Eva.

On January 10th, we attended our nephew Eston's FIRST birthday party. It was a robot themed party and it was loads of fun.

Here's Eva at 2 months old. Our little peanut! (peanut, peanut, peanut, elephant, elephant, bird)

At some point in January, we bought Rock Band for our X-Box. We had so much fun playing it on NYE that we had to get our own. Dan got a perfect score playing guitar, and just had to take a picture of the screen. Boys are a little silly sometimes, aren't they?



Eva was growing by leaps and bounds during this time. Here she is in all her chubby little cuteness - - in her Tigger outfit that "Aunt" Kate got for her. Isn't she adorable?

On January 24th, we celebrated my birthday at Dad and Rose's house. Here is Eva and her Pawpaw - apparently we were partying to hard for her and she had to take a break.

Love the look on Eva's face in this picture!

And here is a nice family picture. :)

On the 28th (my actual birthday) the three of us met Mom and Shelly at Cap City for a birthday dinner. I had my favorite - - Romano Crusted Chicken. Yum...

So that wraps up January. Next up: February! (Surprise!)

EDIT: I almost forgot about the Innaugaration! Here is a link to my mom's blog about it:

http://http://randeeparker.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-nation-under-god-with-liberty-and.html

Good Riddance to 2009

I am extremely happy that 2009 is over. It was really a lousy year for so many people, not just me.
2010 is sure to be better and I am so looking forward to what's in store. :)
It's not a resolution, but I am going to try to update my blog more often. I have completed a ton of projects lately that I would love to share. And I have so many projects in the pipeline.

Happy 2010!!!!