Jessica Kopp

Big Month for my Little Man

July has come and gone so quickly. I can't believe it's already over. A lot happened this month. Lots of trips. Lots of plane rides. Lots of splashes. Lots of slushies. Lots of late night. Lots of fireworks. But with all this going on, I think Evan succeed in having the craziest month out of all of us.

He started out the month with a little roll down the stairs which resulted in a nice set of x-rays and a horrible sprained ankle. He spent about two weeks of the month crawling because he couldn't put any weight on his foot. 

But crawling works great with cars and trucks and didn't slow him down on his birthday. He celebrated with not one, not two, but four parties. And he's still got one more coming when Abby gets home. That's a lot of cake, balloons, and singing. He thought every day for a week was his 'happy-day.'

After the birthday came the 'big' boy stuff. I decided it was time for the binky to go. Somehow it 'accidentally" got broken and left at Papa's house??!? It went fairly smooth, but Evan fought back and decided if the binky was gone, so was his nap. I guess that's only fair. We're going on week number two with no nap and no binky and so far so good.

I can't wait to see what August brings for my Little Man....maybe potty training.

Last Weekend

Last weekend I took a little trip to see Ms. Abigail in Indiana. I know she had only been at camp for 2 weeks, but it sure felt more like 2 years since the last time I'd seen her. Giving her a hug was the highlight of the weekend for me. I sure miss having her around. She seemed so grown up. We spent a lot of time talking about her new friends, her classes and all the cute boys!

I was only able to see her for a couple of hours, but we were able to cram in a lot of fun stuff. We ate at the Rootbeer Stand with Mandy and Greg, went boating with Marissa and Dan, did a little shopping at CVS and devoured 'sinful' french toast and frozen hot chocolate at Cafe Max. I was also able to see her march in Sunday night's Parade. It was a big deal because short little Abby was able to lead her division and march on the front row and not the back where she usually gets stuck.

I loved seeing Abby having such an amazing experience. This is the summer we had hoped for last year. She is doing great in all her classes, earning tons of patches, getting high markers on her inspections, and making new friends. She told me she wants to come back to Woodcraft every summer, then go to Upper Camp and then come back as a counselor. I see a lot of Culver in my future.

I miss her so much already, but Derek will be visiting and giving hugs this weekend. Only a couple more weeks and we'll all be back together for family camp. 

 

 

Cars, cars and more cars

Evan's birthday was a huge success. He got french toast for breakfast and pizza for dinner. He talked to grandparents on the phone, watched movies and opened presents. It was hilarious to see how excited he got about each present. He would ohhhh and ahhhh over every one. He got everything he loves: balloons, candy, books, sandbox toys and lots and lots of cars.

 

Evan hasn't stopped playing with his Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Francesco Bernoulli. He even took them to bed with him the first night. He is always lining them up for races and crashes. He especially loves how their lights turn on and they talk. 

We also got Evan his very own vroom, vroom. This is what his face looked like the very first time he pushed the button and it moved forward. We've only been around the neighborhood a few times, but he is very good at steering. He likes to go around and around the neighbor's car.

 

Evan, By: Sydney

Happy Birthday to You...cha cha cha

Wishing a happy, happy birthday to my little buddy today.

2 years old. Wow.

I'm thankful everyday that this little man is part of our family. He is an absolute joy to be around. He is sweet and silly and a little bit stubborn. A perfect combination.

Here's a few things about Evan right now...

+ Talks, talks, talks. He started talking several months ago and has never stopped. We are constantly surprised by the full sentences that come out of his mouth. My favorite thing he says right now is "where daddy is?' 

+ Loves everything with wheels. Cars, trucks, wagons, wheelbarrows and knows the sounds that all of them make. He loves to make them crash and race. 

+ Great eater. He will try anything you put on his plate and usually loves it and asks for more. He especially loves fruit (except pineapple), pizza, corn dogs, pancakes and cheese. He is always 'hungy' and asking for a cookie or candy.

+ Doesn't like to get undressed. He likes to have on a shirt and shorts on at all times. 

+ Every night he picks what pj's he wants to wear. Usually he chooses dinosaurs, but he also loves his vroom, vrooms, monkeys, and monsters.

+ Begs to go on a bike ride everyday. He especially loves when when the rides lead to the park and the slushy shack.

+ Great at cleaning up. Every time he takes off his shoes he runs and puts them in the basket by the front door. He is also great at putting his toys away. Sometimes you can hear him sining the 'Clean up' song while he's doing it.

+ Favorite cartoons are Curious George, Caillou, Diego, and Arthur. He HATES it when I try to watch a 'mommy show' and will turn the tv off.

+ Whenever he hears an airplane he will cup his ear with his hand and points into the sky. He always asks, "what that?" And then always answers himself, "AIRPLANE!!"

+ Loves to brush his teeth. Evan has an Elmo tooth brush and tooth paste and brushes his teeth several times a day. He doesn't even mind when I switch and give him minty tooth paste.

+ Evan used to love to get in the bath tub, but lately he cries at the mention of it. And he really hates when you try to wash his hair. 

+ He has 3 super soft blankets and a stuffed Curious George that he likes to sleep with. He doesn't really complain when he doesn't have them, but he sure smiles when he sees them. He is also still sleeping with a binky. He is really good and always throws it into his bed in the morning when I get him up.

+ We have gone swimming several times over the summer and Evan favorite thing at the pool is the big slide. He likes to ride on my lap and giggles and raises his arms the whole way down. As soon as he is out of the water he is running straight for the stairs to head to the top again. 

+ Evan is the most easy going kid you'll ever meet. He doesn't complain much and is always happy and smily and giving hugs and kisses.

Today

+ I wore my pajamas until 5:55

+ Sydney dove head first into the pool for the first time

+ Evan peed on the floor in my office

+ Sydney slept with me and kicked in the gut several times

+ I'm tired from a late night Parent Trap marathon

+ Derek hiked 6 miles to a beautiful waterfall in Jackson Hole

+ Evan was scared to death of the car wash

+ Our driveway was scheduled to be torn out, but the rain delayed them

+ Evan stole 2 pancakes from Julie

+ Sydney was furious that I only bought 'yucky brown bread'

+ Evan discovered 'pokey cheese" (cheese square eaten with a tooth pick)

+ I booked my hotel and rental car to see Abby this weekend

+ Derek's company was featured in a magazine article about entrepreneurs

+ Abby was on the 2nd row at retreat...not the last

+ Evan and I shared cold cereal and corn dogs for dinner

Rain Dancer

spinning. swirling. chanting. dancing. splashing. laughing. soaking wet.

4th of July highlights

+ the more stars on your face the better

+ carmel popcorn, cupcakes and patriotic fruit pizza

+ spending time with best friends

+ a little bit of rain...but no wind

+ red and blue hair extensions can cause extensive amounts of happiness

+ fireworks, fireworks and more fireworks

+ burgers on the grill

+ laughter, smiles and giggles

+ a beautiful sunset

+ 15 kids with 15 sparklers

****************************************************************************************

And here's a bonus photo of Ms. Abby. She celebrated the day with fun and fireworks over the lake.

Happy and Healthy

Look at that smile. It makes me so happy.

I stole all these photos from the Culver Butterfly Blog. I LOVE THIS BLOG!!! I love being able to get little sneak peaks into all the fun activities and games Abby is participating it. It makes me feel a little more connected to my little girl who is hundreds and hundreds of miles away.  Major Kopp, aka Aunt Mandy, is the photographer and blogger and I like to think she sneaks in a couple extra photos of Abby to make this mommy happy. And it totally does. I check this blog several times a day. It's always a race between Derek and me to see who can see the updates first.

Abby just finished up her first week and things are going outstanding. She got several of the classes she wanted including Cross Country and Bible Study. We've also received a few insider updates that she is doing awesome and loving every minute. We received our first letter and other than all the clothes folding she is having the time of her life.

1 week down: 5 more to go.