6 months

Evie's halfway to 1 today! Again, time flies.

A few of Evie's latest tricks include...

• Sitting
• Scooting (backwards)
• Solids (bananas, sweet pots and graham crackers are her favs)
• Growling (I'm fairly certain Maya taught her this one!)

A few of Evie's latest favorite things...

• Dad's watch and hat
• Mom's purse and cell
• Watching the dogs do just about anything

Sharpening the Saw

Linds, Evie and I headed north this weekend to escape the hustle-n-bustle and spent a few days at my Uncle Scott's riverside cabin, just outside of Kettle River, MN. We got a couple runs in, put the kayak in water a few times and of course huddled around the bonfire every night... but other than that we just plain relaxed.

Evie was a riot and on her best behavior (both day and night!). I think she appreciated not being lugged around from A-B and in and out of her car seat a million times a day.

And G & M were in heaven as well. They had free reign of the property all weekend and toured the shores of the Kettle River for hours on end, incessantly chasing every squirrel, bird, chipmunk and deer in site.

Thanks a million Jen & Scott... that was just what the doctor ordered!

Little Miss EJB

OK, OK… I realize nobody is actually checking in on this thing to read about what Linds and I have been up to as of late. So, here’s a story-free post containing a few recent pics of the star of this here blog, Evie Jane.

Blubber Run

With Linds gone, I had to call in reinforcements to help keep the household afloat. My mom flew in from Denver for some quality 1:1 with EJB. On Saturday morning, Mom and I took Evie and the pups down to St. Anthony Main to chug along in the James Page 5K Blubber Run.

It was an awfully muggy day, but its hard to complain when running a race where they’ve replaced the water stops at each mile with beer tents!

Pictured (L-R): Bob Gorman, Matt Gorman, Jenna (soon to be) Gorman, Suzi, Michelle, Jason, Evie, Mom, Ryan, Maya, Griffin

The greatest comeback in Gopher history

Linds and I got Gopher Football Season tickets this year (their inaugural season in the new, on-campus, outdoor TCF Field) and couldn’t be happier about the decision. While the team doesn’t appear to be ready to compete for a national title anytime soon, what that stadium does for student life, local businesses, recruiting and the state in general is truly amazing. Yes, Linds… I know it no Columbus, OH (yet!), but admit it… this is good stuff!

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A, MinneSOTA, MinneSOTA… Yeaaaah GOPHERS!

Beyond the pale

A few weeks back, Linds and I cashed in on La’s offer to take Evie on her first overnighter away from Mom and Dad by heading south to Treasure Island Resort and Ca-sino. The casino left a lot to be desired (take the fact that you can still smoke indoors there for starters), but the first full night of sleep in over five months was priceless!

The main reason for the trip was to take in the Jim Gaffigan show. I love me some stand-up, and I’ve seen some the greatest over the years (Carvey, Cosby, Seinfeld, Nealon, Miller, Carrot Top, Fatel, etc.)… and I truly think Gaffigan’s right at the top of that list.

Click here for his classic “Hot Pockets” bit.

Bachelorette party

Linds left E and I high and dry a couple weekends ago and headed to South Carolina for our future sister-in-law Tisha’s bachelorette party. Sounds like they didn’t cut many corners (champagne service at a poolside VIP booth of a rooftop hotel bar, for example) and from the looks of the weekend’s photo stream, I don’t know that they turned down many drinks either!

Good work Ladies!

Book It!

Story time has always been one Evie’s favorite moments of the day. As you can see, she’s progressed beyond active listening and now sees book time as either a quest to gnaw on the apparently delicious cardboard pages or a competition to see who can most loudly relay the storyline.

Captured above is the latter.

The prodigy

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E’s level of engagement and awareness of the world around her is increasing exponentially daily. Evie is now constantly seeking new ways to interact with people and objects (aside from just jamming them in her mouth). My favorite part of this stage is watching the little ham look around for reaction whenever she does something she thinks should be cracking us up. Included below are a couple of her latest masterpieces. Step aside Picasso and Liberace… she comin’, she comin’!

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Note to self: I think it’s finally time to install that Nerf hoop in her crib!