What a Life!!

She's only 15 months old and is ready to tackle the world! Here's a day in the life of Evelyn:working, posing, getting ready to go out, and finally...raising her arms in exhaustion!!

Oh, what happened to the time?!

PS...please direct all your calls and emails to her from now on :)

Allergies and Eggs

So Easter was a bit different for us this year. Evelyn woke up with what apparently was a huge case of allergies, thanks to the blooming trees in Tulsa, and was not much in the mood for outdoor play and bunny hopping. So, we improvised and played with her basket and plastic eggs in the house. The front room became the place to collect and sort eggs, in addition to the catch that was being played between mommy and daddy. She seemed to have a good time, if only the Easter Buny could have hopped along with a cure for the runny nose! :)

Barefoot in the Park

Last Friday Janna and I took the kids to Lafortune Park for a little fun in the sun. We brought along the wagon so that Evelyn and Aaron could experience riding together. Each of them have a wagon, but riding together was so much more fun!! It was Evie's first time to the park so she got to ride the swings and play a bit on one of the big toys. She was very apprehensive of the swing at first, but once she saw the old pro, Aaron, giggling and having fun, she began to laugh and really enjoy herself. We could not enjoy the slides because of the standing water from the night before, but walking up and down the ramp seemed to make up for it. We are planning to head back tomorrow, if the weather is nice, so maybe then we can try out the slide! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Who Knew....

That exploring the front yard could be so much fun?!! Sunday was another beautiful day in Tulsa, so we decided to try and spend as much time outside as was possible. After a walk around the fairgrounds, we came home and decided to let Evie explore the front yard. She had a great time looking at and touching everything. She saw a helicopter, put sticks into holes, climbed up the stairs, raced around the driveway, and explored the cars. She just toddles around like a champion now and likes to scoot away from mommy and daddy as quickly as possible:) It's just amazing to watch her do things that I take for granted and enjoy them so much. My favorite part of the exploration was watching her put sticks under the fence for Pete and Sophie and laugh when the were pulled under and disappeared! I hope that you all had a great weekend too and that you enjoy the pics!

Funnies

Just thought that these were too cute to not post! Apparently we are not feeding Evie enough and she is just exhausted from all this walking!

What a Zoo-tiful Day!

Finally!! Tulsa had some beautiful weather on Saturday and we just had to take advantage of it! We packed up and headed to the Tulsa Zoo for Evelyn's first encounter with wildlife. We spent about 2 hours there and covered quite a bit of ground in that short time. Many of the animals were napping as we visited, but Evie did get a chance to watch a polar bear, a giraffe, the chimpanzees, and even enjoyed seeing a hog (of some sort :) ) Most of all though, she loved watching all of the people and being outside in the fresh air. We will be going back as soon as the weather permits, but for now, we are back in the house, avoiding the freezing temps! Hope all is well!

Been Awhile

It has been awhile and for those of you that we have not talked to, here is a very short version of what has been going on in Evie's life.

She survived the Ice Storm of 2007 thanks to friends and family, experienced her first Christmas with an overwhelming amount of gifts, slept through New Years 2008, celebrated her first year surrounded by family and friends, spent a month very ill, in and out of the doctor's office, recovered nicely, started feeding herself, and as of Wednesday, started walking!

So, lots has happened in her world and an equal amount of craziness has been going on in her parents' lives, but overall, 2008 is looking up and promises to be a year full of new experiences and growth for all of the Paul family members.

We hope that you all are doing well and that the year is bringing you all you hoped for!

Please enjoy just some of the pics that have been taken lately...

Book Club

Recently a couple of my girl friends and I started a book club on Tuesday mornings in order to "stimulate" our brains with more than just gossip. We were getting together and just catching up, but then decided it was high time we did something intellectual! So, we are trying to read one book a week and then get together to chat about it and anything else that may come up. :) We have each chosen a book to read and now it is back to my turn. I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good book that is not too long, but that is reading and conversation worthy. So far, we have read Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, Glass Castle, and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Thanks for any ideas you may have! Have a great weekend!

Play Date

For the past few weeks Evelyn and I have been visiting some new friends for play dates. Kevin and I met Jana and her husband in our Bradley Method child birthing classes and we managed to stay in touch with them. They have a darling boy, Aaron, who is almost 9 months old. I was finally able to, thanks to TC, capture some of what our experiences are like during these "dates." Just in the last two visits, the kids have really started to play together, crawl together, and enjoy each other's company. I swear they even carried on a conversation today!! It is also a great time for Jana and me to share mommy stories and have some adult conversation! Here are a few of the photos I snapped today. PS...it's hard to capture 2 babies at the same time!!
Baby Aaron

Jana and Evie

The fun begins!
We're learning to share! :)

Sneak attack for his favorite toy!

Ok, check out the look on Evie's face!! Think we will see that same look in a few years?

We're still learning to share

Life...Is a Highway

As the song says, life is a higway and I think that we can finally say that, (for the time being) we have left the difficulties that plagued us for several weeks, in the dust. In a continuation of the last post, I would like to explain that because Evelyn was having a difficult time sleeping and would not nap, we had to, as parents, do something that went completely against the way that we have parented this far and let Evelyn "cry it out" in order to learn how to sleep. It was something that we swore against and never expected we would have to do and it was the most stressful thing we have been through as a family. Because of this, we were unable to tend to many of the things that we had been able to in the past. Thank you to all of you that led me by the hand and assured me that despite what I read, Evie would still love us as parents and still be a happy baby in the end. I will say that each day is getting better and she is now napping much more consistently and sleeping through the night. It might seem, to some, like a small matter to be so upset about, but it was challenging and we have all made it to the other side!
In addition to all of this, Kevin has been very busy at work and at home, building a deck for us in the backyard and taking over the nightly parenting duties because I am working each night until 6:30 or 7. He does such a great job and I have to take the opportunity to mention that he is really the best daddy!
I sat, yesterday, for my certification test to officially become a Reading Specialist in the state of Oklahoma. I should have the results back in a few weeks and hope to be able to call myself a certified Reading Specialist.
Last, but not least, Evelyn celebrated her first Halloween on Wednesday and had a blast! She went as a flower (that I tried my best to make) and visited several friends and family members around Tulsa. It was our own form of trick-or-treating and she even got her first Halloween goody bag! We ended up at mom and dad's house where we had dinner and were able to enjoy handing out a bit of candy. Overall, it really was the best Halloween that I have had in a long time. Please enjoy some of the pictures from that evening and some of Evie's new talent...clapping!