Evie celebrates Mom's birthday

The family got together for a lovely dinner to celebrate Mommy's birthday. An expert on birthdays by now, Evie helped Mom dig into her gifts and ice cream cake.


Evie blew out the candles and then stuck her finger in the cake to have a taste. Delicious! Mommy models her new coat.

Katie and Mason come to visit

We had a lovely dinner with and visit from the Kuczkowskis last Saturday. The kids loved playing around with the toys outside as daddy made his gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches on the literal grill. Katie, Mason and Evie posed for a rare picture where they actually stayed still (must have been worn out from the running around). Below, Katie and Mason prove that they are both part-fish by showing Evie a new way to play with the water table- it's fun to dunk your head in! Adorable! Evie wishes she had a twin!

Make Way for Thomas!

Lucky Evie received a day with Thomas the Train from Uncle Wally, Aunty Karen, and Molly for her birthday, and the family spent last Sunday at the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania. What an adventure! Among the wonderful experiences, Evie loved her first taste of kettlecorn - it was quite addictive for the whole family.

Take a look at Evie's excited expression as she sees Thomas pull into the station. She had the biggest smile on her face!

Then the families boarded Thomas' passenger cars and gave their tickets to the conductor. "Peep, peep!" Thomas said as he left the station, and we waved at the people left behind. We traveled through the countryside, passing other engines and cornfields and even the Red Caboose restaurant where we would later return to for lunch.

Uncle Wally, Molly and Aunty Karen all enjoy the train ride.
Daddy takes a picture with Evie as Thomas smiles on. We then got to ride in a small steam engine through a tunnel and bought some fun train whistles. What an amazing day! Good job, blue train!

Kissing Cousins...

We finished up the Philly trip with a visit to Uncle Wally, Aunty Karen and cousin Molly in Chester Springs. Sunday morning, still in a little daze, the girls bonded in their PJs after breakfast. Then the girls had to get ready for their big day with Thomas!

Hee, hee. Evie puts her arm around Molly and gives her a hug.

Molly checks out Evie's big smile.


A little kiss between cousins!

Amelia turns 1!

The family traveled to Philly this weekend to celebrate Amelia's first year of smiles! Evie loved digging into the pink and green M&Ms, not even realizing how her party dress matched the color scheme. Mommy and Aunt Mellie must be telepathically connected. Anyway, Amelia enjoyed her first cupcake, her pink tutu, and the whole birthday experience! When's the next party?

The party was held in a cool park that had a great playground for kids under 5. Evie especially loved playing on the train (in preparation for the next day's train ride). "All aboard!" she cries out.
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Mommy knows to obey and grabs a seat in the caboose. But who's driving the train? Paging Daddy the conductor!
Sonali had a great time climbing up and down the stairs and going down the slides. Sachin was there too and loved giving all the ladies hugs & kisses. What a flirt!

Evie takes on Telluride!

Dad made his annual trip to work at the Telluride Film Festival and this year Evie, Mom, Ba and Opa joined him. One of the most fun parts of Telluride is taking the gondola up to Mountain Village. "Oh, man!" Evie would say in her impersonation of Swiper the Fox.

Evie is less concerned about waving for the picture and more concerned about riding on the gondola at an elevation of 9500 feet.

Evie wasn't quite feeling well the first day or two at Telluride, so her baby kept her company (as did Ba and Opa).

As soon as they got on solid ground again at Mountain Village, they found an old-fashioned telephone booth. Evie loved making as many calls as possible.

After the telephone booth, Mom and Evie needed to make a decision -- which way to go? Hmmm... maybe the Chuck Jones' Cinema?

Evie made it to the CJC and was ready to see a bunch of movies.

But first she needed to say hi to the CJC mascot: Michigan J. Frog. She gave him a high five.

After a trip around the movie theatre, it was time to go back to Telluride. Evie keeps her eye out for the ice cream parlor as they descend back into town.

Again, again! When Daddy gets a free second the next day, the family takes another quick ride on the gondola. Now, keep your eyes out for any bears, Evie! Overall, the family had a lovely couple of days in sunny Telluride and even caught a movie here and there.

More birthday pix from Grandma Bebe

Grandma Bebe took some great photos of Evie's birthday party. Here is Mommy and Evie experimenting with the spin art kit. Evie loved squirting paint and watching it spin around!

Levi puts on his smock so he can fingerpaint - he made a beautiful picture!
Andrew and Connor check out the water table.
Cousin Molly finds the balloons delightful while Connor looks on, holding his golf ball.

Izzy looks so cute!
Paul and little Sam enjoy watching the kids run around.
Ava takes a spin on the tricycle - whee!
Grandma Bebe helps Evie have a little dinner before her cake.
Evie was great at blowing out her candles - she knew exactly what to do.
What a party! Thanks Bebe for some great pictures and for everyone for being a part of Evie's birthday.