Happy Halloween! 2009

Happy Halloween all! I'm writing this on Halloween night.. after trick or treating and the kids have gone to bed. I'm actually quite amazed that Evan went to bed as well as he did at 7:45 tonight. He and Joe stayed at home to pass out candy to our trick or treaters while Evie and I went out with Jess, her kids and family. Evie and I had a great time and she got plenty of candy... it was VERY cold but she never complained. Tonight, we was a "Night Fairy"... (notice the black wings) Evan was Count Dracula.... and could not have been cuter. When Evie and I got home, Evan was twirling in the living room with a sucker ni his mouth and with his eyes sqeezed shut tightly so that his tummy would tickle. Joe said he had been twirling like that for at least a half hour. Yeah... he was on a sugar high. He kept stealing suckers out of the bucket when Daddy would go to the door to hand out candy. Sneaky little guy! Here are the kids with our Jack-o'-lanterns. Evie carved the first and fourth ones while I carved the other two. They looked great the first two days.. but the japanese beetles swarmed to them.. and flies!!! This year, we have had a multitude of creepy bugs!!! Then it rained... and rained... and rained for days and nights on end. The pumpkins were filled with water and looked disgusting by tonight, so we didn't light them. That was a bummer.

And another... they just looked so proud and had too much fun that I had to snap another picture! Here's what they looked like lit up! Ooohhh.. spoooky!
A few nights ago, our mall had their Trick or treating. Stores stand at their doors with candy throughout, however many stores didn't participate this year. No big deal.. the kids still had a blast playing games and getting whatever candy they did get.. and it was a madhouse of people, as usual. Did I mention that Evan loves suckers?
Evie and Brooklyn were brave enough to go into the haunted house with Jess and I.. and vowed to NEVER go into another haunted house again. That didn't go so well..
She shoots, she scores!!!! Evie actually made a basket on this throw!!!! The lady in yellow back there to the right took a bunch of pictures of Evie playing games.. wonder if we'll see Evie in a newspaper or the Champaign Park District's "Funformation guide" next year.
Downing a clown.. she was quite good at the games this year.
Yesterday, Evie had her school parade and Halloween Party. These two are Evie's teachers... I thought they were too hilarious not to post.
Here I am assisting Evie and her group in making a mummy.. He tore it all off seconds later...
Evie was Sacajewea for her storybook parade. (And for the mall event) No.. she is not Pocahantas... no.. she's not a little Indian Girl... she's Sacajewea. Thank You. And while Evie was at school yesterday, Evan's friend, Nathan came over for the morning to play. Here they are having breakfast and cracking each other up. I love it!

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween Holiday! On to the next one.....

A Trip to the University

Joe and I helped Evie raise over $250 a few months ago for her "Dawg Walk" fundraiser at school. She not only won a t-shirt and a collectible Aluminum water bottle (which she LOVES), she won an afternoon and luncheon with the athletes of the University of Illinois. Only 10 chaperones were chosen to go to the event and Joe was one of them, (which was also great since Evie has a cold and was a little out of it today). I know it was nice to have Daddy there.
They met all types of athletes from softball to basketball... football to track.. and it seemed that Evie liked the girls from softball best.. she took pictures of them the most once she got a hold of the camera! :)

They had a nice afternoon! Here are some pictures from the day!
Thanks to all of Evie's donators that helped make this event happen for her! Only 99kids from the whole school district (which is a HUGE district!) got to go!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Evie had her fall field trip today and I chaperoned. We went to The Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, Illinois. It was freezing cold!! 40 degrees, rainy, muddy and windy! What a terrible day for a field trip outdoors! But we still managed to have a good time.

Here are some pics of my group and a picture of the class:








We walked through muddy mazes, went through a spooky haunted barn, ate lunch together and chose a pumpkin to take home.
All in all, a nice day!

Evie's next field trip is next Tuesday when she and Joe will go to the U of I for a luncheon with the Illini Athletes! Pictures and blogging to follow!

Sleepover Dance Party!

Last night Evie hosted a sleepover with her friend, Brooklyn at our house.. (this is one of 3 that they have had). They decided to have a "dance party". I thought I'd snap a couple of pics.. Evan's friend, Nathan did a little boogie, too.





I made candy apples, too!




And here's a cute after party pic at Jess's house this morning.. Evan has decided that he likes hats :)

My little man

I just can't get enough of my little guy! Now that Evie is back in school full time, I get to do alot of stuff with Evan. His personality rocks! Literally! He drums on EVERYTHING! (great gift idea for anyone who is wondering)
He is learning alot now that he has less distractions.
I had him sorting colored paper for me into little bins the other night. He did it with NO direction whatsoever! It was simply awesome! Also, another milestone... he never asks for what he wants by name.. he just hops around and screams.. the other night we had candy apples.. as a rule, Evan hates apples.. but on this night, since they were candied, he LOVED them.. he pointed to the counter and said, "apple!" repeatedly and so clear! I was almost in tears!
Anyway, I feel like he is catching up quickly and his first therapy visit went well. Dina seems like a caring lady that Evan took to immediatly. I'll keep ya posted!

Until next time, here are some quick pics of the little man!

Just a little help....

Hey all!
Some of you already know this little info but I'm ready to share it with my blog readers... Evan is now 26 months old and at his 24 month old check up, his doctor recommended that he get some extra help through Early Intevention. By standards, he should be using 50 words and making two to three words together to ask for what he wants. Evan is certainly not doing this. He sure seems like a smart, witty boy... but he could use some help with understanding commands and speaking.
He's had several evaluations now from a few therapists including cognitive, speech and physical movement. The overall concensus is that physically, he's right up to par with his peers, meaning he and run, jump, climb, etc... with the exception of his right foot turning in a bit when he walks and runs. An orthotic therapist will be examining him in the next couple of weeks to determine if a corrective insert in his shoe might help. As far as understanding what we say to him, and being able to voice his wants, he's with the 18 month olds. So that's where he's going to get some extra help to catch him up. He's had his hearing checked and has a clean bill of health there, including no fluid being in the ears.
His first therapy visit will be Thursday, October 1st and will commence each Thursday until further noted. His therapist has been doing speech and cognitive developmental therapy for 18 years and we feel, based on her credentials that she will be a good fit for him. I am super excited to see how he progresses!

So we've been trying to get a head start with everything...we've been working with him on counting to 10, which he does flawlessly, singing his ABC'S which he does fairly decent with and he's in a class called, "Wiggles and Giggles" every Friday morning (he's had 3 classes so far) and Joe and I both attend with him. He's doing fantastic imitating what the other children are doing, and it is a class with only 2 year olds so we can compare his development a little... now before you say it.. I know that all kids develop differently and I have taken this into account... he just needs a "boost". :o)

I'll keep you posted on Evan's progress!

Rock Stars!

The kids have been playing, "Rock Band" all day. Evie is actually getting good on the drums! But there's no denying that Evan is a true drummer already.