First Trip to the Zoo

Since we weren't able to go to the zoo on Evy's first birthday, we decided today was the day to go.  Although it was hot and muggy and during Evy's nap time, we had a great time.


Saying "Hi" to the gorilla

The zoo has a dinosaur exhibit right now that has mechanical {very realistic looking} dinosaurs that follow you and roar.  Evy wasn't too sure about them.

Poor girl was so sleepy

The girl LOVES penguins!

Watching the otter swim by

Looking at the bears

Waiting on the train to take us back to the front of the zoo

After the zoo we went out to eat and shared snow cones.  It was a great family day together.

A Love For Books

Evy loves her books, especially her collection of Sandra Boynton books.  The other night Evy stacked her books next to her bumbo, sat down, and began to read.  She is so cute when she flips through her books and "reads" them out loud.

 

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter this year.  Of course, any celebration is so much better with Evy around!  We went to church {which was an amazing service} with Nay Nay & Paw Paw {Chad's parents}, had some Rudy's BBQ for lunch, and went home to take Easter pictures and see what the Easter Bunny left for Evy.

Evy doesn't take a nap at church so we usually put her right to bed when we get home.  But since there was fun to be had we didn't have time for Evy to nap until later in the afternoon.  Evy is so good about pushing through her tiredness as long as we keep her distracted.  She loves her rocking chair so I knew if I used it for pictures she would easily smile and be good...and she was!

{classic Evy...she has such a silly personality}

{crinkling her nose and eyes is her new face/smile she makes}

{gathering her Easter eggs}

{hoping to find puffs in her eggs}

 

{I love this pic of Evy with her Nay Nay and Paw Paw}

I didn't think about taking a picture of Evy with her Easter basket until it was too late.  She loved all the little toys she got but loved the "grass" more.

 

{putting the "grass" back into the basket}

We had such a great day celebrating Easter.  I can't wait for next Easter because I have some fun and interactive ways to help share the Easter story with Evy.

It's Fun Turning 1

Before Evy was born {which seems like it was just yesterday} I had said on her 1st birthday I wanted to take her to the zoo.  I wanted to make her day special and thought it would be a great time for our family.  Of course I didn't know then that Evy would have such a deep LOVE and OBSESSION for animals.

However, thanks to the unpredictable weather in the great state of Texas we were unable to go to the zoo.  But, then I remembered the Dallas World Aquarium and knew that was where we needed to take Evy.  So Chad bought the tickets and we were off to the aquarium.

When you first walk in there are 2 penguins to greet you.  When Evy saw them she said "Whoa" and then "Hi" about a gazillion times.

I love how Evy's reflection in the glass makes it look like she is actually petting the penguin {which she so wanted to do}

Evy wanted to touch everything...the child has no fear!

She loved looking at all the colorful fish swim by.

She looks so big standing up...can't believe she is already 1!

I thought this would be a great picture of Evy and I but she was so distracted by all the people around {such a nosey little girl} that she wouldn't look at the camera.

So the Aquarium has a sloth that just hangs out in these trees.  He had a huge yellow spot on his back and so I thought for sure Evy would see him.  But no...she saw everything but the sloth.  It wasn't until Chad took her to the other side that she realized there was a {really creepy} animal hanging from the tree.

 I don't think she was too sure about him.  She didn't say "Hi" to him so I think she was a little stunned by this animal.

She just stared at him for the longest time.

We had such a great time at the Aquarium and Evy was exhausted from greeting all the animals and fishes. 

Evy agreed that we could go to Texas Roadhouse for her birthday dinner. Our waiter was awesome with Evy and asked if we wanted them to sing to her for her birthday...which I thought would be so much fun.

When all the waiters came towards us clapping Evy got excited.

But once the waiter put her on the saddle she wasn't too sure about why all those people were clapping and yelling at her.  I was worried she would get scared but she just stared at them like they were crazy!

We finally ended Evy's birthday by letting her get a balloon {which she loves} and enjoy a fudge pop in the backyard.

I think Evy enjoyed her special day...I know we enjoyed spending it with her.  I think I'm in shock/denial that my baby is actually 1.  I can't wrap my mind around it.  We are definitely savoring every single day with Evy because we know that in no time she will be another year older. 

{embrace} the camera: april 21st

Today is someone's 1st birthday!  We took Evy to the Dallas World Aquarium today to celebrate and she LOVED it...EVERY.BIT.OF.IT!  We walked in and she would either tell the animals "Hi" or would go "Ohhh".  It was too fun!

"Evy Bear"

Evy received her first birthday present last week and she is in love.  A family friend, Jimmy, made Evy a build-a-bear that we named "Evy Bear".  The moment Evy opened the box and pulled her bear out, she was all smiles.  Now, every time she sees "Evy Bear" she says "awe" and gives her bear tons of hugs and kisses.  Thank you Jimmy for the awesome bear!  It is very special to us and is Evy's new best friend.