DC Part II: Evelyn's First Parade

Our morning in DC was taken up mostly with the Cherry Blossom parade. I haven't been to a parade in a while and this one was actually really good! There were a lot of bands, gorgeous floats, and very few fancy cars with local politicians in them waving. Here are Evie and Nathan getting ready for the parade! So exciting!

We were trying to keep our baby girl warm while we waited for the start. Doesn't she look like she is in a pink baby snuggly?? :) Her hands were getting cold and she didn't want to keep them covered. We distracted her by giving her her pacifier. :)

The flags.

Lots of pink! Evie and I loved it. ;)

Evie was SO into everything. She loved the bands the most, but also found the floats and other things quite fascinating. She was so intense the whole time!
All the drill teams were in it, which was quite cool.

Yogi bear! The kids beside us went CRAZY of Yogi.

Japanese lanterns and dancers...

An example of the gorgeous floats

This was one of our favorite parts. The DC motorcycle police did all sorts of maneuvers and patterns on their motorcycles. It was fun! Boys and their toys... :)

We actually didn't stay for the whole parade though... about an hour is we saw a huge fire coming and thought it was some cool pyrotechnics. Well, apparently one of the SUVs pulling a float caught on fire!! (see here: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/11/video-dodge-durango-catches-fire-during-d-c-cherry-blossom-par/#continued) Once we started to notice a funny burning smell, more smoke and saw the fire truck come up, we realized it wasn't a planned part of the parade! Scary! Anyway, there was quite a long break while they put out and cleaned up the fire, and we left to get hot dogs from a street vendor and meet up with our friends.


It is so fun experiencing all these "firsts" with Evelyn. She is becoming such an alert, curious little girl!

DC Part I: Evelyn Discovers Tulips

This past Saturday we went up to DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a bit grey and cool, but we dressed warmly and were fine. I think it helped keep the crowds done too, which was nice!
Evelyn was fascinated with the city. As you know, she likes exploring new things and she loves excitement. She may have been a bit over-stimulated at first, but she just didn't know where to look first. Here she is with her serious, intense look just taking in everything around her. This is her first real big city trip!

This fountain was right outside our parking garage. Evelyn LOVED it. As you can tell, she was not into getting her picture taken! She's craning her neck as far as she can trying to see the fountain again. :)
I love tulips, but only for about a 1 week period. Then I think they look spindly and not-so-beautiful. However, the tulips planted all over DC were all in their one week peak of gorgeousness! They were amazing. They looked so beautiful, their bright colors contrasting the the grey day.
Evie loved them too. :)

We loved watching her explore all the city sites and sounds as well as the brightly colored flowers! And all this was just in the first half our we were in the city! :)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Sunday was a gorgeous day! Nathan and I knew that we wanted to do something outside, we were just trying to figure out what. We looked up William and Mary's athletic schedule (ironically they are "the Tribe" - I think I'm destined to always cheer for the Tribe) and there was both a baseball and a lacrosse game. The baseball and lacrosse fields are right next to each other and easy walking distance from our apartment, so we decided to go check them out.
Since it was sunny and hot, Evie got all lathered up in sunscreen. She also wore her sun hat AND her favorite pair of sun glasses!
 
Once we were all set she settled into her baby bjorn and we headed to the park. She's getting big!

Evelyn LOVED the baseball game. Besides loving baseball being part of her genes, she loved watching all the action around her. She loves going on adventures. This was her first game and we hope to take her to more! You can see the lacrosse field behind the baseball field. It was half time in lacrosse when this pic was taken so you can't see anyone playing.
And..... Evie even got to get her picture taken with Griff! We can't quite figure it out, but the W&M Tribe's mascot is a griffon (or as Nathan calls him, a pantless eagle). Regardless, Evie was excited to get her picture with him!

After all the sunshine and excitement, we all went home to take a two hour nap! What a perfect Sunday afternoon!

Little Bo Peep

Our friend, Claire, from Alaska gave Evelyn a beauuuutiful hand-crocheted outfit. We love it! Today I finally took pictures of Evelyn in it! I think it makes her look like a pink cloud or Little Bo Peep. :) We just love how it looks on her and you can tell she feels quite lovely as well. :)
She felt quite grown up on this, her 5 month birthday, sitting in her rocking chair by herself! (she definitely has Nathan feet in this first picture! No pigeon toes like her mother! :))
 
Then she decided that her crib and boppy were far more interesting to look at than her mama and the camera...
 
And then she started to slip down...
Uh oh...

So we decided it was time for a more secure place to model...
Claire, thank you for this gorgeous outfit! We absolutely love it. We already have a place set aside to display it in her room even after she out grows it. :)

Snowball Hat & other things...

While it has been quite gorgeous and warm some days (like 80), we have also had some cooler days mixed in. The other day it was a big cooler so Evie wore her pink snowball hat on our walk. She likes this hat because it reminds her of her friend, Jamie Field's, hat. After our walk she wanted to leave it on while I ate lunch. She was quite pleased to sit in her bumbo and keep me company during lunch. :)

Evelyn has become more and more aware of her surroundings the last few weeks. It is SO much fun to watch. A few of her favorite discoveries the other week were her toes and her bumpers on her bed. We don't swaddle her anymore when she sleeps and when she wakes up she likes to roll around, play with her toes, and admire the elephants surrounding her. :)

I still can't believe how big she is getting!!

Great Grammy and Granddad Walker sent her this adorable sleeper outfit when she was born. It fits her perfectly now and we love it. She wears the hat most nights to keep her warm. She is such a snuggly baby!

Lastly, I decided, during a particularly grey and rainy day when Evelyn and I didn't have much going on, that I would make Evelyn's Easter dress instead of buying one. I used to make Emily's when she was little, so off we went to get a pattern and fabric! I'm never convinced about how much I'm going to like what I make, but I certainly have had fun working on it! A corner of our bedroom has been turned into a sewing room for during naps (when I'm not working on Children's Ministry things and VBS :)). Here are some pictures from the chaos. :) Evie spent 30 mins or so playing in her exersaucer while I worked, I love that thing and so does she! :)

Instead of getting out our ironing board I've just been ironing on the floor. :)

Here's how it looks so far. The sleeves should be going on today and I think it will be so cute! :)

Pink Pants Day

We have had a lot of spring weather lately here in Williamsburg and earlier this week Evie and I decided that it was a pink pants kind of spring day. She was super happy about wearing all her pink, as you can see from these pictures. :) She sometimes gets all serious when she sees a camera, but not today! :) And she also is still small enough to think it's great to match with Mom! ;)

Here are the pink pants girls together - my attempt at a picture and then Nathan's. :) I'm not sure why my head is so crooked.

Look how big she looks sleeping in her crib now!! (She loves snuggling with her soft silky from Aunt Nancy)