Evan's 1st Ballgame

Last Friday, Kyle & I took Evan to his first baseball game. Yes, he actually owns a Royals onesie. We are both Cardinal fans at heart, but it is hard not to support the home town team just a little. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a greasy hot dog and ice cold beer? I bought the tickets for Kyle for Father's Day this year and sort of overestimated what my comfort level would be in bringing him to the game.

First of all, we are sort of in a nap routine and I knew he would miss his evening nap for this event. I always have a little anxiety about what the late night will bring when we skip this nap. And, it was a muggy 93 when we headed out to the game. No one ever tells you if a baby can take the heat? Do they get dehydrated? Will he get a fever if he gets too hot? All of the above went through my head as I sat out there sweating. Poor Kyle. He was just getting into the game (top of the 2nd, might I add) when I began worrying about Evan's well-being and decided that we should go. What was I thinking? Evan was clearly enjoying himself with all the sights and sounds. So with an hour under our belt, we left the game. Kyle was a good sport and didn't give me too much trouble. I'm sorry, honey, for cutting your Father's Day short. Very short. As Kyle said, "Evan, this won't be the last time Mommy takes the fun out of it for you." He is so right. But, I'm sure all the first time mom's can relate, right? :-) Enjoy the pics!

Here we go! Kyle & Evan walking into the game Notice all of the drool on his shirt...I think we may begin teething very soon! Evan posing with his Fred Bird in front of the Royals only World Series trophy. Go Cards!

The Power of Prayer

I want to ask everyone to keep my Grandfather in your prayers. He just underwent emergency surgery to close a small hole in his bladder that was leaking fluid into his stomach. He is still in the ICU but doing very well. My grandfather has been through a lot in the last 3 years. The most recent being a round of chemotherapy and radiation - he had just finished on Wednesday when all of this began. We know God is on his side and we are grateful for all of the gifts He gives us everyday. Please continue to pray for his strength and health! Grandpa, we love you and hope you get better very soon! Here's a recent pic of my adorable Grandparents from my brother's wedding a month ago.

Books!!!

My baby LOVES to read and he's only 10 weeks old. I am convinced that he is reading the words on the page already (or he just really likes the bold colors and patterns:-). Here we are reading before bedtime, though he enjoys books any time of day. We are beginning to get ourselves into a bedtime routine...feeding, diaper, pj's, story. We had a bit of a rough week after our travels last weekend trying to get back to our pseudo-schedule, but last night was GREAT for everyone. I know now that a few days away can really throw a baby off. Evan certainly likes his routine...and his crib.

Here's Evan with Nana. I am NOT kidding that this entertained him for 15 minutes. I didn't think you could keep the attention of a baby that long doing the same thing. It was magical. Nana must be a very good story teller!

Fletcher Family Gathering

This past weekend we went to Jefferson City for a Fletcher reunion. Lots to celebrate on Kyle's mom's side of the family. Evan got to meet his Great Grandpa Ken & Great Grandma Pat, as well as his Great Aunts, Uncles and lots of cousins. Despite being off of his nap routine, Evan did pretty well for the event minus a few expected crying fits. Thanks to everyone for Evan's high-tech Radio Flyer complete with cup holders and a canopy - we had no idea how advanced they have become.

Here are several pictures from the day...Evan with Great Grandpa KenGreat Grandma Pat & Evan enjoyed sitting in the shade in the cool breeze.The 4 generation picture...GGpa Ken, Pat, Vicki, Kyle & Evan...amazing!Cousin Dalton was SO excited to play with Evan. He was the first to ask to hold him - so cute! Here he is reading a book to him - Evan LOVES books.Aunt Cheryl is sharing a story...and Evan is telling her one, too. She got lots of smiles out of him here.
Aunt Shari and Evan - they are both so photogenic!Lindsey and Evan - she will become a Fletcher this fall when she marries Ryan, Kyle's cousin. Dalton & Evan...too precious!The Great Grandparents, Kyle, me & Evan. Thanks for hosting the weekend - we enjoyed our visit and hope to see everyone soon.

Doctor's Visit

Let me start out by saying that we have a healthy 2 month old boy. He now weighs 13.11 oz and is 23 3/4 inches long. He's starting to be more like a Hays/McCurry with the length averaging out a bit (75%ile). But I am the mother who is unable to control her screaming child at the doctor's office. I got "the look" from everyone...they were all feeling sorry for me and wondering if I should have been sitting in the "sick child" waiting room as opposed to the "well child" waiting room with all the other happy, smiling children. Of course the doc was running behind schedule so we were stuck waiting there for 30 minutes. Nothing could keep that kid from crying...I guess I asked for it when I woke him from a nap to get him to the appointment on time. Lesson learned - I'll never do that again. Here's a pic that depicts how quickly I got him out of there after he was done with his shots (of course, soundly sleeping after the fact!).

The babysitter

Of all the life changes that have happened recently, Sam's life has probably changed the most. Yet he is still as loving as ever. He is Evan's first babysitter. I've found him many times sleeping like this while Evan was sleeping after running a few errands or taking our morning walk. He even checks on us during middle of the night feedings...slowly walking in the room, a big loud yawn and then plops on the floor next to the rocker. What a great dog! The only negative behavior we have seen since Evan's arrival is his fetching of all things not his (i.e., Evan's toys, umbrellas, mail, socks, etc.). But the smart dog always gets attention when he does this! We couldn't have asked for a better dog...we celebrated his 2nd birthday with us on July 4th with the neighbor dogs and a big cake. We love you, Sammy!

Happy Birthday Papa Bruce

Bruce & Vicki (or Papa Bruce & Nana) came to Kansas City to celebrate Bruce's bday. Here's an adorable pic of them with Evan at 8 weeks of age. They were so kind and let Kyle & I go to happy hour before meeting them at dinner on Saturday. Bruce also shares a birthday with Taylor Houston, our new little neighbor who was born on Monday. Here they are with the two new boys on the block. Once again, thank you for everything! We love you!

The visit to Stinson...

Evan had his first visit to Kyle's office last week. Evan appears pretty chill here, but of course he had a meltdown at the firm. Kyle was definitely nervous, hoping that Evan would sleep through the visit. Evan clearly had other plans. But, we got this great picture so it was definitely worth it. Kyle works so hard all day and now Evan knows exactly where he is when he's not at home. We love you!

I love my Grandparents!

My grandma Pat & grandpa Bill came to visit me yesterday. Thanks to Grandma I was able to get to sleep for my morning nap. I have a tough time getting to sleep during the day...but thank goodness I don't have trouble at night. I love my paci and snuggling close...I'm SO cute when I'm sleeping! Here I am talking to Grandma...we have a lot of fun talking about how cute I am!
Grandpa got to feed me a bottle for dinner yesterday...I was really hungry and drank it really fast...but Grandpa made sure I didn't get a tummy ache.
Whew! Was it a long day. I went to PF Chang's for dinner and it was so noisy that I never really got to sleep. Here I am chilling on the couch...mom actually had to make me eat my night time meal before bed. It was a fun day with Grandma & Grandpa! I love you!

New fav photos

Evan's favorite thing...a guaranteed smile and giggle! We love it that it happens to be his Mizzou tigers mobile. We need all the help we can get living in Jayhawk Country. Evan really enjoyed reading the paper with daddy yesterday - he actually did this BEFORE his breakfast without so much as a wimper. He learned all about the olympic athletes competing this year...did you hear about the 40-year old female swimmer? Way to go!
Evan's priceless face after a meal...

There's a happy boy. Notice that he is wearing only a diaper in these pics. The kid really hates clothes, especially when you have to pull something over his head. So he ends up wearing nothing but a diaper and socks...yes mom, I said socks.
Our new coffee table decor. We are always flipping thru these parenting books trying to figure out why Evan is crying or sleeping too little or spitting up or sneezing. We've found that they make us more crazy thinking we are doing everything wrong or that our kid has the most severe case of Reflux on record. We do know that the E-man has an incredible temper...he goes from zero (perfectly calm and happy) to 100 (red faced, screaming, hyperventaliting) in about 1 second. But he's still cute while doing it.