September Adventures for the Lundeens

Fashion Week...check! The Women's US Open Semi-Finals...check! Severs Corn Maze...check! The Great Minnesota Get Together...check! Life was crazy, busy and fun, fun, fun during the month of September at the Lundeen Household!

While Titus stayed home with his buddy Tyler Bull, Jackson and his parents took Evie to the Minnesota State Fair. The highlight for Evie: Definitely the Tower Slide (although the mini donuts took a close second)! The lowlight: the pigs (especially the smelly Mama and Daddy pigs). Those of you who have seen her near dogs are probably not overly surprised that she was not at all interested in going into the barn of life!

The weekend after Labor Day, Chad and I went to our favorite city: New York! We packed quite a bit into our short weekend there but were able to take in our first ever fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (thanks to Uncle Marc) and got to watch Serena and Wozniaki battle it out in the women's semi-finals of the US Open.

Last, but certainly not least: Severs Corn Maze! We made our annual trip to get a little agriCULTURE in the Twin Cities. Evie rode on her first pony (named Oreo...all that she seems ro remember about him is that he relieved himself during the ride). Titus enjoyed watching the crowd clap during the pig races and once again, Evie checked out the live animals at the petting zoo with extreme caution.

Titus is 9 Months

Although so many people have told me that every child is different, I of course thought "not my kids." Boy, was I wrong! Titus is such a love. He is always smiling, pretty easy-going, and as long as he can see mom at all times, completely content to just hang out. On the other hand, Evie has always been a mover and a shaker. At 6 months old, she crawled, at 7 months she climbed the stairs and at 10 months she walked (5 days later she ran). Then there is my sweet Titus.

At 9 months, he has yet to accomplish any of those feats! No crawling, no teeth, no walking, no climbing and definitely no walking. He does love to stand (while supporting himself) and can clap the second someone chimes in with a verse of "If You're Happy and You Know It." Titus loves to play with his sister too. Last night we are pretty certain he was saying "mamamamamama." And boy does he love to dance! Anytime a song or commercial is on, Titus will do his little jig. If he is laying on the floor, he will kick his legs in a rhythmic pattern. Every kid truly is different and, after months of trying, I have decided to just relax and enjoy Titus' ssslllloooowww ride!

While Dad's Away, the Lundeens Will Play!

With Chad in Mankato for Training Camp, Evie and Titus have been busy filling their calendars with play dates, water table fun, wagon rides, coloring, trips to Freeziac and lots of swimming! Titus is getting better and better everyday with his "standing" while Evie is still loving learning her letters (while trying to pry them out of her brother's mouth)! She could sit for hours asking me to write words that she hears over and over again with her magnetic letters!

Future Goalie!

We also spent the past weekend with Bumpa and Grandma Lucie in Alexandria. Evie couldn't get enough of the pool and went on her first paddleboat ride (thanks, Bumpa) and even saw her first frog and snapping turtle...YIKES! Grandma, Mommy and Evie had a girl's day Saturday morning with lots of shopping, going out for lunch and feeding the ducks at Noonan's Park!

The girls got a bit nervous when the geese came and hissed for some bread!! Evie keeps telling everyone who will listen now that "gooses are naughty!"

"What are you looking at?!"

4th of July in Alex

What a fun weekend! After a not-so-warm June, the Lundeens were oh-so-happy to welcome July (and July 4th weekend, most importantly) with a lot of sunshine, swimming, fishing and golfing! Evie loved being on the water (not so much Titus) weather is was the pool or the lake (although it was hard convincing the now potty trained Evie that it was OK to go potty in the lake sometimes).

The highlight of the weekend was definitely Evie catching a fish on her new Dora the Explorer fishing pole! Who would have guessed that little plastic thing could actually catch a bass! I think it was the red, white and blue "kini" that lured that fish in!

Our Little Firecrackers!

After rescuing the boat from a willow tree (long story), Bumpa decided Evie could probably drive it better than Auntie Courtney. And to unwind after a long day on the water, Grandma Lucie decided Evie needed a mani and pedi. Evie loved to tell everyone else what color Grandma Lucie was going to paint their nails as well...including Titus! Thankfully Grandma Lucie just did hers and Evie's.

Potty on the Potty!

OK, I'm sure it was just a fluke (and yes, probably a little forced), but Evie has officially gone potty on her potty! YAY! She was getting ready for her nightly bath and I think the combination of pouring water and fresh air (since her diaper was off) triggered a need in her to go. It's funny how perceptive kids are at such a young age because she has figured out months ago that she doesn't want to go to the bathroom on the floor. She started to go and had a panicked look on her face, so I quickly grabbed her and put her on her potty where she finished her business. She looked so confused by the whole process, because up until now, that potty chair was just simply a fun chair for her to sit on in the bathroom. Anyway, we did a lot of celebrating (including an original song I most likely will submit to American Idol) and hope all the excitement will spur her to try it again sometime on her own. Of course, both Chad and I agree, it will probably be another 6 months before that happens!

One Year Old!

Wow, life with a one-year-old gets busy! I know it has been awhile since I last "blogged" but I am back! It is hard for me to believe that my little baby girl is now a walking/running, babbling toddler! To celebrate, we had a party for Evie's family and neighborhood friends. Evie got all sorts of gifts and lots of attention, but I think the highlight of the day for little Miss Evie was getting to enjoy her first taste of frosting! Yum! On the actual day of her birthday, we celebrated by having her one-year-old appointment (boo to three shots), playing outside in her new wagon and her jungle gym, going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and Robin (her Child Care Provider) asked if she could pick Evie up early and took her to the library to read books and play on the train table (her favorite outing). What a whirlwind day for someone that most of the time, would prefer to stay at home and play and read books with Mom and Dad.

At one, some of Evie's favorites include black olives, pizza, blueberries, bananas, yogurt, the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, her ball bouncer and any toy that plays a sounds so she can "dance." She also loves going to our iPOD dock to try to get her Dad's iPOD to play. It is amazing to us to watch her mind work. We will show her how to turn something on or make something go and she can do it by herself the next time! So crazy to watch her become a real, little person!

A few days after the birthday festivities, Evie got her first "official" black eye! She is such a mover and shaker and forgot to account for the door frame leading out onto the deck (where her slide is, of course). She ran right out there, tripped and I could hear her eye smack right onto the deck! Poor Pumpkin! It took a good 30 seconds before I could hear any sound come out of her cry because she was crying so hard. Unfortunately, this is probably the first of a few black eyes for her, as she loves to run and play! It does surprise me because she is typically so cautious on stairs, chairs, beds, etc. In fact, when we set her on top of her little slide and say "slide down, Evie," she furiously shakes her head no and holds onto the sides for dear life.

Noisy Nelly!

Although it seems that Evie learns
a new trick every week, it still amazes me as to just how quickly (and constantly) she changes! It is hard to believe that 5 months ago, she was nothing more than a kickboxer in my belly and now she can roll over, smile, reach for toys, laugh and so much more! I love it! I do have to say she has one new "trick" that I am not enjoying quite as much as all the others: SHRIEKING! We are not talking the sweet "talking" or "cooing." I adore that! I could listen to her make those sounds and bubbles all day long. Nope, this is a high pitched squeal (of both anger and excitement) that Chad's Aunt Marlene jokes could break her glasses. Sometimes I am impressed that such a boisterous sound can come out of such a little peanut, but at the same time, it leaves me looking forward to a few months from now when she can make some darling sounds that are a few octaves lower! I am also impressed with the persistence in which she will make these sounds. I think we listened to them for a good hour and a half tonight and I can still hear the ringing in my ears even though she went to bed an hour ago!

Well, at least we know she has a future in choir and she will most definitely be a soprano!

Evie's First Training Camp!

Is it really football season already?! We just got home from Evie's first-ever Viking's Training Camp in Mankato! We were missing Dad and excited to catch our first glimpse of the 2009-2010 Minnesota Vikings, so we spent the day there! Dad took us on the field and Evie was so good, snoozing most of the time in her stroller. She got to meet a lot of dad's co-workers at camp and even was a little sweetie pie while Coach Childress held her for awhile. Now, we are just crossing our fingers we can take Evie to Miami in February to watch the Vikings win the Superbowl! Skol Vikings!

Boston Babe!

Our Internet has been down for several weeks at the house, so I apologize for my laxed blogging lately, but we are up and running again and I am back with avengance reporting on my favorite 3 1/2 month old! At the end of June, Chad, Evie and I took a trip out to Boston and Cape Cod for nearly a week. We had a great time and I am happy to report that my darling daughter was NOT the nosiest gal on the plane ride! A fellow passenger even commented on our way to baggage claim that Evie was, and I quote, "the best baby I have ever traveled with!" Chad and I were such proud parents!

The best part of our trip was being able to introduce Evie to her Uncle Marc. Chad's older brother moved to Boston last year and had not had a chance to meet his favorite (and only) niece yet. We loved watching them spend time together (what a great break not having to pick out her wardrobe everyday and who knew there were so many versus to "Evie Had a Little Lamb"?) and so fun to have a tour guide show us around the Boston area and out to the Cape. The weather was not ideal, but Evie not only took her first plane ride, but also took her first "dip" in the ocean! She was so curious about the sand and cold water and it was fun to see her enjoying the waves washing up on her teeny, tiny feet! Each night, we strolled her down to the ice cream shop to have some ice cream and she was a trooper while we shopped at all the niche little boutiques along the Cape.

In my college Children's Literature class, one of the first books we read about was Make Way for Ducklings, a classic in children's literature. Aside from Evie and Marc meeting, the other highlight of our trip was taking Evie to the park in which the story took place and letting her sit on the ducklings statue erected in honor of this great story! I bought her the book while we were out there and it was so fun to re-read it after going to the actual park and recognizing all of the places we saw! I love the book even more now and am excited to show pictures of Evie at the park when she is older! We also enjoyed the actual Cheers bar, Plymouth Rock, The Freedom Trail, a Red Sox game, the pier and a whole lot of clam chowdah!