Evie's First Turkey Day

Lucky Evie got to celebrate her first Thanksgiving around lots of family - 4 grandparents, uncle Karl and future Aunt Amy, and two little dogs - Tootsie and Strummer. Dad made the delicious turkey and we had three types of stuffing, ham, mashed potatoes, the traditional green bean casserole, creamed corn, pearl onions, sweet potatoes, and three types of pie for dessert! After dinner we all needed a nap.

Evie's Baptism

This Saturday the family traveled to New Jersey for Evie's baptism at St. Anselm Church. Godparents Melanie Izzo and Wally McDonald took part in the ceremony, which little Evie didn't make a peep throughout (and actually stayed awake)! She wore the christening gown that was originally worn by her grandfather, Patrick "Popi" McDonald, and then later passed down and worn by her uncles and dad. It was so wonderful for Evie to be surrounded by her loving family and friends, including: Grandma, Popi, Ba, Opa, Great-aunt Dellie, Uncle Wally and Aunt Karen, Uncle Dave, Aunt Casey and cousin Julianna, Melanie and Brian, Chris and adorable daughters Maddie and Annabel, and Karen's parents Bonnie and Stan.

What's a normal day for Evie?

Well, an important part of the day is "tummy time", which Evie usually does on her cowboy/girl activity mat. Although she prefers being on her back and staring at the horse and cows hanging down, she has gotten more comfortable being on her tummy (and only cries after 10 minutes or so). Then, everyday we read a couple of books - lots of board books and Dr. Seuss and Mommy and Daddy's favorites, like "Miss Twiggley's Tree," "One Morning in Maine," and "The Digging-est Dog." Here is Dad reading "Green Eggs and Ham" - he makes the characters speak in funny voices!



But, on a special day Mommy will take Evie out for an adventure - a Stroller Stride, a walk around Old Town, and even her first movie in a movie theatre (see below)! A movie theatre in Fairfax has "Baby Pictures" every Thursday and Evie was one of the best behaved in the group - she watched for about 45 minutes before drifting off to sleep. But because they watched "Role Models," Evie had to have on her earmuffs when she wasn't sleeping. Such fun!

A week for the history books (and Grandma Beanie!)

Lucky Evie had Grandma Beanie come to visit this week! The two enjoyed wonderful walks through Old Town in the great weather we had, and Evie tried to sing along to Grandma's rendition of "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Grandma Beanie also taught Mom how to make a pot roast and baked a cake - yum, yum. It was a lovely visit, despite Evie being a little crankypants sometimes.

It was also great to celebrate Obama's win in the presidential race, although both Mommy and Evie slept through the election results. Here's a picture of Evie meeting the future President at the Newseum on Sunday.



The Newseum was a lot of fun. Although Evie slept through the 4-D movie, she was well-behaved while mom and dad listened to a conversation with Nick Clooney (aka George's dad) about journalism and movies (he came over to say hi to Evie). There were great exhibits on the portrayal of FBI "G-men" in the media, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs, etc. -- enough for another visit one day. Below, Evie and Mommy pose in front of actual pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Halloween at UVA!

The family traveled down to Charlottesville this Friday for Homecoming and had a terrific time. Little Evie met Karen and Audrey (pictured here), Mommy's old friends from University Union, and then we headed to the Lawn for trick o' treating. Evie's little peapod costume received raves.



The next morning, Mom and Dad went to hear Prof. Larry Sabato give his 2008 election predictions, and then headed off to the stadium to catch the football game against Miami. We were able to get amazing tickets on the 20-yard line, three rows up from the field.

Evie slept peacefully and swayed along in her Baby Bjorn to the Good Ol' Song when the Cavaliers scored, and only protested once when dad yelled a little too enthusiastically after a good play. Unfortunately, the team lost in overtime. Nuts.