Talking Machine

Evan loves to talk and is very social and interactive when he wakes up in the morning and from his naps. It is so cute and I love to see him trying to get his mouth around all these new sounds.

Baby Evan: 2 months old

Evan is now 2 months old, its amazing how fast time passes! It feels like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He is so sweet and so smart. He is a very active baby and loves to kick, sit, stand and jump. He loves to look at shiny and bright things and stares at himself in the mirror when he takes baths. He is also very interactive and loves to smile at and talk to mommy and daddy. He has started sucking on his fists and sometimes sucks his thumb, although he usually prefers his pacifier. He also likes to stick out his tongue and blow bubbles. He is the sweetest little guy and we just love our wee babe so much!

He had his 2 months appointment and he is very healthy and growing well. Here are his stats:

Weight: 11lb 15.5oz (50th percentile)

Height: 23.5 inches (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15.75 (50th percentile)

He had 3 shots and was very brave, he was sad and cried for a while but was quickly back to his usual self after having a little cuddle with his mama.

Some fun things that have happened recently with Evan:

- The other night I went upstairs to check on Evan. It was too dark to take a picture but I found him with his binky pushed to one side of his mouth and his thumb stuck in the other side of his mouth. What a little addict!

- Evan often smiles in his sleep and sometimes sounds like he is laughing. One night when I put him back to sleep after a mid-night feeding he distinctly giggled and sighed three times as he drifted back into happy milk dreams.

- I was changing Evan's diaper when he started fussing and squirming like something was making him very uncomfortable. I looked up to find him looking very distressed and with an iron-grip on his own hair. Poor babe!

Smiling happy boy

Hanging out with dad

Bath time

Sucking his thumb

Sleeping with his binky falling out of his mouth

Sweet baby with beautiful eyelashes

Cute smile

Evan loves to sit in his elephant chair and play with his toys.

Church boy

Standing tall

Northcott Family Reunion

Every two years my family holds a family reunion and this year it was at the end of July on Echo Lake near Big Fork Montana. Last time we couldn't make it because we were starving students living in Georgia but this year we were able to make it, even though it was only for a day. We drove out on Saturday in time for some visiting and a bonfire on the lake. We got to visit with a few people and Evan got to meet some of his relatives, the most important being his great-grandma Northcott. She was very sweet, commenting that it had been many years since she had held such a tiny baby. She has macular degeneration and can see very little so I'm not sure how much she could actually see of Evan but she was very concerned about him being cold when she felt his soft little hands. One thing that she said that I thought was particularly special was about my Grandpa Clive, her husband who died when I was about 3 years old. She said that he loved babies and would hold them on his chest, close his eyes and just rock them back and forth.

We stayed the night in this awesome lakehouse circa 1976 that was completely preserved. The next morning we all went to church and then everyone went on a hike and we drove home. It was a very short visit but I am so glad that we were able to go. It was so nice to see my family and I was sad to leave them. I'm excited for the next reunion, wherever it is, especially because Evan will be 2 and he will have two cousins the same age as him to play with: my cousin Jacquie's baby Jared, who was born in May, and my cousin Shanna-Lee's baby boy who will be born in September. The family reunions have always been the highlight of my summer and I hope the tradition continues to live on and that we'll make many more wonderful memories.

Baby Evan with Pappa D on our way to the reunion

Baby Evan with his great-grandma Dorothy

Baby sings cougar fight song

Here is baby Evan at 6 weeks-old and his daddy singing the Cougar fight song. Train'em young! I love his little mouth when he talks! He is so sweet and so smart, I can't believe how interactive he is and how many sounds he makes!

Blessing day

Baby Evan was blessed by his dad on August 1, 2010 in the Five Mile Prairie Ward. Both baby and daddy did really well, baby didn't make a peep the whole time. We had lots of family up for the occasion: my parents, sister Shannon, brother Geoffrey, John's parents, Grandma Stephen, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kim, and Cousin Brian with his wife Ariel. Afterwards we had a picnic in the park. We had a great time visiting with family. John's family was able to stay for a few days and we visited Coeur d'Alene while they were here.

Baby Evan, unhappy about getting all dressed up

Mommy and baby (tired after getting all dressed up) dressed in his blessing outfit

The Colvers: John, Victoria, baby Evan, Grandma Shannon and Grandpa

Great-Grandma Stephen, John, Victoria, Grandpa, Grandma, Ariel and Brian

The Northcotts: Papa D, Nana, John, Victoria, Evan, Geoff, Shannon

Daddy and baby Evan, stretching or victory cheer?

Great-grandma Stephen with her first great-grandbaby

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kim were there

Handsome baby Evan in his blessing outfit

Meeting the Family

In honor of Evan's baby blessing we had lots of family in town and lots of new people for Evan to meet.

Evan and his great-grandma Stephen

Brian made french toast for the masses two mornings in a row, yum!

Evan sleeping with his Grandpa

Evan window-shopping with Grandma Shannon in Coeur d'Alene

Evan and Ariel, she was the baby whisperer, he went to sleep in her arms every time!

Evan and his uncle Geoff making a little eye-contact