The Big 2

Evan turned 2 on Wednesday...where has the time gone?

After dropping Ryan off at preschool, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous sunny spring day and take Evan for a walk, stopping at a park along the way so he could get his wiggles out and participate in a well-loved activity on this special day.  He has become quite the little man.

He is...
determined, motivated, stubborn, mischevious, curious, willful, smart, strong, and quite the problem solver.  He can light up a room with his smile and the twinkle in his eyes.  He has striking blue eyes, with starbursts around the pupils.  Those eyes hold the key to his thoughts...you can see it in his eyes when he is happy, when he is feeling cuddly, when he is sad, and when he is looking for trouble.  He is also a very tough little kid.  I think "rough and tumble" is the best term I've heard.  He takes a tumble, gets up, and goes back to what he was doing...hardly ever cries over a scrape or bump or bruise.

He loves his family, loves to be on the go, and loves playing with the "big kids" (a.k.a. Ryan and his friends).  He looks up to his brother with admiration, often wanting to do what Ryan is doing.  He loves to wrestle, play "train", and do just about anything his brother will do with him.  He does have a bit of a temper, and if Ryan is not wanting to play...just might haul off and throw a toy (or whatever is nearby) at him.

Evan doesn't talk a whole lot yet, but has been trying more and more lately.  Its not that he doesn't talk...he just doesn't talk in English the majority of the time.  He has entire conversations in what we call Evan-ese, and will even expect you to understand what he is saying.  He says mom and mommy as clear as day...and has for a long time.  He says dada or dad when the mood strikes him.  He says buh-uh (for brother), ball, cah (for car), go, papa, bye, and no.  Most other words he can say are usually prompted first... such as eat, snack, drink, banana, orange, Grammie, Dar, Thom, etc.

He can be a challenge, he can be silly, and he is most definitely a joy.  He is our Evan.

Later in the day we went to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory with the family where Evan enjoyed some macaroni & cheese and ice cream, then back to our house for presents and some special cupcakes that Ryan helped to make.  Be sure to check out more pictures of Evan's big day at the Hymas Photos section of the website.

We also want to say a special Happy Birthday to Great-Grandpa Hoch, who shares the same birthday!