Bringing Up Baby McDonald: The Sequel!

Well, it has been quite a few days for the family.

Early Friday morning, Mom's contractions were getting stronger and everyone went to the hospital at 4:00 AM. A few hours later and just 15 minutes of pushing a new addition to the family was born at 2:37 PM on May 27, 2011.

Elinor "Ellie" Genevieve McDonald -- just minutes old. 8 pounds and 4 ounces and 21 inches long. A full head of jet black hair!

Evie meets Ellie for the first time. "I'm finally a big sister!" Evie exclaimed.

Ellie in Mom's arms that evening.

Ellie, Ba, Opa and Evie (ever excited about her new sister).

Ellie with BeBe, Popi and Evie -- everyone is all smiles!

Finally back home on Sunday, Evie is giving Ellie her first kiss from her sister.

Ellie happy to be with the entire family. Sweet dreams! (Mom and Dad hopes Ellie's sweet dreams last a few hours.)

All smiles for Mother's Day!

We had a lovely Mother's Day celebration at Ba's and Opa's, enjoying a feast and the beautiful weather.
Evie looks so serious between the two mothers!

In what will hopefully not be a Mother's Day tradition, Evie dances to Mommy and Daddy's wedding video.

We partied in the park for Julie this weekend!

The family had a great time this Saturday in the beautiful weather to support Julie in her campaign as a Woman of the Year candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (read more about it at Julie's facebook page).


Evie attempts to try to hula hoop, but finds later that it's more fun to jump in and out and throw balls through the hoop. Later she would get in the action of checking out the moon bounce and following another little boy's lead in running into the columns.


While Evie was somewhat interested in checking out the fire engine, she plugged her ears when the siren came on.


Evie gets a beautiful butterfly painting on her hand from Julie's sister Katie.


Daddy attempts a potato sack race but apparently it does require some skill...

Next Lori and Julie give it a try.

Then Maya's drumming troupe Nen Daiko performs several songs.

Mommy and Evie watch while Evie enjoys licking all the frosting off her cupcake.


Then Evie gets into the music and starts dancing and jumping. She was even inspired to try a headstand and kick up her feet.

... and then the beat takes over and Evie drums on Opa's head.

Evie gives Julie a big hug and thanks her for throwing an awesome party.

Evie lasts six innings at National Park!

Evie had a wonderful time with Bebe, Popi, Mommy and Daddy at the Nationals game against the World Champion Giants last Saturday. The weather was perfect for a day in the sun - Evie sported her Yankees hat. She enjoyed her Dippin Dots and peanuts, and lasted to the President's race (Lincoln won this time), until she insisted upon checking out the playground. Unfortunately, she also got stuck in one of the tubes and had to be retrieved by a volunteer.

Evie also enjoyed hugging every bobblehead statue of each President, must seemed most taken with Tom Jefferson...

Evie's Bohemian Artiste Persona Emerges

Mommy tried a little experiment tonight - instead of finger paints, we decided to do some foot-painting instead. Evie made many works of art, although it got a little slippery at the end and Daddy had to assist in some strategic foot placement
.
Here comes Evie's feet on a blank canvas!

Voila! Two perfect prints!

"Wait a second," Evie says, "I want to paint with my belly!" "I don't know about that, said the parents." "Okay, what about my bottom!" And it was off with the pants!
Scandalous!

Time to wash off with the hose!

That was fun!

The Final Egg Hunt of the Year

It was off to Ba and Opa's house on Sunday for a delightful (final?) Easter celebration. By this time, apparently Evie was done with dipping eggs and wanted to try painting them.


Evie shows off her expertise to Opa.
Ba and Evie pose among the Easter baskets.


Evie proudly shows off a plastic egg with Mom and Dad.

Then it was off to the neighbor's house to play with the older kids. Abby took great care of Evie, including letting her sit on her lap as they went down the slide.

...then the big Hunt began! Note Evie's headband has turned into a tribute to Bruce Springsteen from the 80s.

Abby helped Evie find some plastic eggs too.

Evie poses with the neighborhood kids and grandkids after all the eggs and baskets were found!

Ba and Opa take a picture with Evie.

Daddy reads to Evie about butterflies, while she helpfully turns the pages.

Yes, a new puzzle - Evie is excited.

Evie and Ba read another book together as the Easter comes to a close. Hooray for our favorite holiday!

Saturday Egg Hunt with Friends

Lucky Evie had her friends Levi and Ava over for some Easter fun on Saturday. The kids had a great time coloring the eggs before brunch.


After loading up on carbs for the big race (well, mini donuts and yogurt parfaits), the kids were off to the backyard, their eyes on the prizes.


Evie did a great job of finding eggs - she is an eggs-pert by now!


Ava was no novice herself!

Levi gets into the action as well.

The three kids look through their bounty and are all smiles!

Whew! That hunt wiped out daddy and Evie - they fell into log naps while watching "This Old House".