Well, over the past 2 weeks Evan has been one busy fellow. Here is an account of some of his "antics". There have been A LOT... so this will be a rather long blog. Keep in mind, while reading this, that Evan is not yet 18 months old.
Two weekends ago we were with some friends at a rented house in Hood Canal (Puget Sound area). I was working in the kitchen when Ryan reported "MOM! Evan is on the table!!!". I turned around, expecting to find him on the coffee table, but no... he was standing on top of the dining table. After shaking off the brief shock, I rescued him and brought him safely to the ground and went back to the kitchen area. I turned around to find him climbing back up onto one of the chairs and quickly onto the table again. The rest of the weekend I spent ensuring that if the chairs were not occupied... they were pushed in.
Later that morning we headed down by the water with the kids so they could throw rocks in the water (and so I could take advantage of the photo ops). I sat Evan down at the edge of the water line and popped off some pictures.
I turned away to get some pictures of our friend Michelle with her daughter.
When I turned back... Evan wasn't exactly where I had left him.
He definitely loves the water... he makes every effort to play in any water he sees.... lakes, bathtubs, neighbor's sprinkler systems, and even (ugh!) toilets!
During the next couple of days, we'd find him on tables, climbing stacked boxes, opening and closing doors (we now have to keep the front door locked.... not to keep others out, but to keep Evan in!) and exploring just about anything!
None of those compares to this last Monday. My friend and neighbor Kathy and I went to Costco together. We were unloading her car (Ford Expedition... larger SUV) while the kids were playing. I turned around to check on Evan and didn't see him right away. Then some movement from in the car caught my eye. It was Evan... standing on the driver's seat "driving" the car (the driver's door had been left open... keys were NOT in the car). I quickly retrieved him.
A while later I put Evan down for nap. Kathy and I went outside and sat on our front porch while Ryan and her son played in the beautiful weather. About 10 minutes later, we heard a strange sound in the house (window right behind us was open). We both dismissed it as being Lyssie (dog) until we heard the sound again. I turned around to find Evan's face looking out the window at me. He let out a cheerful squeal and gave me a very happy and satisfied grin! SO... Evan climbed up his crib and then most likely fell down to the ground as the railing was up. He then opened his bedroom door, and proceeded to go down the stairs, finding me at the front window. Evan does know how to go up/down stairs... but it makes both Gage & I nervous because at times he is a bit carefree about it and will even attempt to go down like a big boy (which always results in his falling and us catching). The thoughts of "what could have happened" haunted me for the rest of the day. Needless to say, he has not been in the crib since. The crib has been taken down and he is sleeping in his Kidco PeaPod (travel bed that resembles a small tent... sits on the floor and zips shut). This will be his bed until he figures out how to undo the zipper.
Later that day, we were all outside enjoying the weather. Some of the older neighbor kids were riding around on their razor scooters. Evan was playing with Ryan's trike (Evan likes to sit on it and scoot it around, or just push it places). This trike can either have the seat up high...like a standard trike, or you can flip it over so it more resembles a big wheel trike. This day it was (thankfully) in big wheel form. I turned to look at Ryan and the other kids playing in the cul-de-sac. When I turned around to check on Evan, he was standing on the seat holding the handlebars, and rolling down the driveway! I honestly think he was trying to emulate what the older kids were doing on the razor scooters. I let out a little "yikes" and ran to rescue him. His eyes quizzically looked at me as if to say "what's the problem?? I've got this under control."
Since that time he continues to challenge himself, and us. We had an A-Frame ladder still set up in the house after a day of painting a while back as I still have some trim work to do. It is now collapsed and laying on the ground since Gage & I found that Evan had climbed all the way to the top of it. After just about every event, he has a twinkle of pride in his eye, and a gleeful smile on his face... until I remove him from the situation.
There is something new every day. Life is definitely not boring right now!
After talking to my mom... evidently I was much the same way. She is probably reading this, feeling a bit redeemed.
You can see more photos in the "Hymas Photos" section (right toolbar).
