Jack and Papaw's Truck

September 1, 2011

Since before we started a family, I've imagined taking pictures of our kids with my dad's truck.  There are many pictures of my sister and me in front of his truck.  What a timeless family tradition!

Dad is already talking about taking Jack "out on the truck" with him like he took us when we were little.  Hopefully Jack will do better with it than I did!  I'm too much of a busy body to wait around for loads like my dad has to.  It would be a great way for Jack and Evan to see the country! 

Now as we are driving along, Jack constantly says, "Papaw's truck."  I'm sure it won't be too long before he truly sees papaw's truck again!

It will be fun to use this as a measuring stick to see how tall Jack gets!

This is Jack waving bye-bye to Papaw.  His is the blue GDS truck in the back.  You can see my dad if you look closely!

What About Jack?

Jack is such an amazing two year old boy!  I'm just going to list some of the awesome things he has been doing lately.

• Jack had his monkey and was making him clap his hands saying, "Clap hands."
• He loves to shake his head and agree with us, repeating whatever we were saying.
• Riding his tractor in the driveway, the grass or on the deck has become a favorite!
• Jack fights going down for a nap so hard but sleeps for up to three hours!
• He can jump up and down.
• Each night, Jack chases Duke incessantly with his dump truck.  Poor Duke never gets a break!
• He is still OBSESSED with watching Yo Gabba Gabba.  He wakes up talking about Brobee and Plex.
• He is learning his colors.  He tries to name colors on his own.  He isn't always right, but he got my pink sweatpants correct today!
• Jack interacts with the servers at El Rodeo now.  The other day he said, "Wait, Paco."  He loves to say hola when we arrive. 
• He likes to say, "Not supposta do that," or "Jack too loud."
• There are so many other cute, cute things he does!  I just can't name them all!

Jack riding his tractor



Jack wears Daddy's shoes any chance he gets



Getting lots of use out of his bubble mower



Silly glasses on a Saturday morning



Typical weekday lunch with Mickey milk

He says, "Upside down!"

A rare moment resting while watching Dino Dan

Evan's 3 Month Photo

Here is Evan's adorable 3 month photo.  As you can see, he is really filling out!  He has some Pampers Baby Dry diapers in a size 2 that are getting too tight.  The swaddlers still fit just fine in a size 2 though!

He gives lots of smiles!  Evan has really started to coo and talk to us a lot!  He has conversations with Mommy all day.  Evan is sleeping through the night really well.  He eats for the last time around 9:30 and sleeps until about 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.   

He is napping in just a sleep sack, but is continuing to sleep overnight in a Swaddle Me. 

We are hoping Evan will start doing better in the car soon.  If the car stops, he gets very upset!  When Mommy goes back to work, the car will seemingly be stopped more often than it goes in traffic. 

Evan is getting pretty predictable with his daily pattern.  He doesn't like to be awake too long after he eats.  He usually eats about every three hours followed by time in the swing, Mommy's lap, or the play gym on the floor.  I noticed today he had the toy in the middle in his hands, trying to eat it. 

As always, we are so excited to see what the next month will bring!

Evan's X-ray

Evan had an x-ray today at St. Francis South. We found out he has a healed fracture on his left clavicle. I noticed his left arm was really stiff when I was changing his shirts about a month ago. Dr. Bowman thought she felt a small bump on his clavicle, so she ordered the x-ray.

We believe there is nothing we did or could have done to hurt Evan. It might have happened during delivery. Either way, as long as he continues to move both arms he will be fine!

Evan's Baptism

August 28, 2011

Smooth is not a word I would use to describe Evan's Baptism.  It reminded me much of Jack's in that he did not cooperate very well. 

Since Jack was baptized at Christ the King in Evansville, this was a new experience for us at Saints Francis and Clare.  First of all, Evan was not ready when his name was called.  I was giving him a bottle after mass so he would be calm and happy!  I also did not have his gown on yet because I wanted him to be calm and happy.

Evan's name was called, and Father Vince was ready to begin.  I quickly threw the gown on Evan after I took the bottle out of his mouth.  I didn't even have time to button any of the buttons or snap any of the snaps.

I didn't know Father Vince was going to baptize three babies at once, so as Evan cried and screamed, we had quite an audience.  Five minutes of crying felt like five years. 

Finally John took Evan and got him to settle down.  In all of our personal drama, there was actually a baptism going on.  Sorry Father Vince, but this family didn't hear much of what you said at the beginning of the ritual. 

Eventually things got better, and the baby on the end started crying too.  That made me feel better!

Father Vince was great with Evan and Andrew and Lindsey were great in their roles as Godparents.  We were blessed to have so many family and friends turn out for the baptism. 

We headed to our house afterwards for lunch and cake.  We had Matt Mills do some catering for us to make it easier on me.  We got hot chicken and smoked gouda and artichoke gratin from him.  I made a corn and black bean salad and bought a fruit tray. 

Evan got many cards, a personalized bible, and a couple of beautiful picture frames as gifts on his big day.

Despite Evan being upset for the beginning of the ceremony, it was a beautiful event.  We apologized for Evan crying at the beginning to Father Vince.  He replied, "That was the evil coming out." 

A sense of humor is what we all need to get through times like that!

We are relieved, however, there will be no more Siminski baptisms!