Sea legs

Thanks to a fabulously generous invite from our friend Meghan, Eva was able to take her second trip to Cape Cod this weekend, and this time things were a little balmier than they were back in March. While she's still (appropriately) intimidated by the force and presence of the ocean, she did allow her feet to be dipped into the water once or twice, and of course spent most of the rest of her beach time trying to eat sand.

She has also learned the art of the wave (as in "hi there!", not as in awkward-ballgame-group-movement-attempt), which results in winning over more fans than ever while out on the town.

Donuts?

Feet in wet sand - serious progress!

Donuts!

Had enough yet, mister??

Donuts.

Summer Baby

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind - before we knew it, weeks had passed since our last post! In that time, Eva has been racking up the new skills like crazy - she now has two brand-new teeth (the better to eat your shoulder with, dear mama), and has moved right past working on her crawling skills in order to devote all available time to standing, and even - in its currently unsophisticated state - walking. We're already brainstorming about babyproofing and shopping for her next carseat...it feels as though before we know it, she'll be asking to borrow the car.

Beach baby, enjoying the sun and sand in Revere.

Hanging on every word. (What will Judy and Paul do next?!?)

Why hello! You're here to liberate me from this silly playpen, aren't you?

Squeaky clean baby (for at least 5 minutes).

Eva's convinced that if she tries hard enough, she will get food out of her spoon.

A whole new view from the crib!

California Dreamin

Eva has had quite the eventful series of weeks! First, hiking through an Audobon reserve in northern Mass.; then for a whirlwind trip to the Bay Area; then back home, to visit with auntie Lauren for the first time since her birthday (er, birth week). We'll let the pictures take over at this point, as we have too many to share!

Eva's new favorite snack - celery! Who could have guessed?

Jet-setting baby

At the new P-M compound (it's true - soon to be complete with bocce ball!) in Pleasanton.

Eva inconsistently responds to "cheese!"

And continues to be a less-than-cooperative subject

Happy flying baby!

Eva thinks the "baby bag" that auntie Natasha gave mom as a gift fits her just right.

Eva's Adventures...Extra Bonus Edition!

"The Eva" has been very busy these past few weeks. Dancing at Kowloon Klub at Jessica & Jeremy's co-30 birthday party; hiking in the woods while growling like a puma; learning to crawl; learning to say "da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da"; and winning friends all over the metro Boston area. And today, waking Mom up early to celebrate Mother's Day.

To keep Eva's many fans up to date, we've added TWO videos and extra photos to this post. Keep the comments coming...it's good motivation for us to blog regularly!

Waking Mom up early for Mother's Day...so sweet!

Watch out for that scary cat-like creature!

Busting a move at Kowloon with Jessica

Face-off with Jeremy...could she take him???

I love hiking!

What? Can't you see I'm busy?

Lounging on her new custom-made quilt from Grandma Betty : )

Showing no mercy for the "ball-in-a-ball" and doing a little crawling (she's much better at crawling this week).

Eva scaring the wildlife. Yes, those fearsome sounds are coming from that tiny baby.

Marathon Day!

Thanks to Boston's love of city-wide events and gratuitous holidays, the I. family was able to spend this past Monday - known in most other parts of the country as a "work day" - celebrating the Massachussetts-only holiday known as Patriots Day (which is not, as one might assume, as a tribute to the beloved hometown football team - at least not officially). To most locals, this means a) watching the Sox, or b) watching the Boston Marathon! We opted for the latter, and so Eva spent one of our first truly beautiful spring days of the year with a front-row seat as the Marathon-ers rounded their final bend through the Back Bay to the finish line.


The weekend's gorgeous weather also afforded many opportunities to take our new sweet set of wheels - the Bob Revolution ATS (that's all-terrain stroller, thank you), a holiday gift from Eva's Grandpa P-M and family - out for a few spins; not surprisingly, Eva is a big fan of facing forward and seeing the world, though it may mean our days of napping in the stroller are over.

Baby in the lead!

Probably not the primary intended use for the Thunder Stick...

Mine, all mine!

Feeling sassy in her new ride.

Belly Attack!

Eva-lution

It's been almost six months since Eva joined the scene, and by now she's almost tripled in size. Weighing in at over 16 pounds, she crawls (mostly backwards, and usually face-first), she rolls, she bounces, laughs, grabs, holds, watches, yells and sits. So much action, with so much more to come! Here's an update of the last couple of weeks, with a Day 2 picture thrown in just for perspective...

Two days old and already a Lert.

161 days old and having a ball...

Props for propping up!

At the BBQ joint with the girls...

Deeply unconscious.

Looking far too cool for school (but never to cool to drool).

Wondering what Gordon's up to...

The world-famous El Rollo manuever (click twice to play).

Cape Cod, Uncle Tod, & EVACADO!

It's been an eventful few weeks for The Eva. She travelled to Cape Cod and laid eyes on the ocean for the first time. She stared and stared, apparently wondering what the heck IS that thing?

The next weekend she got to meet her Uncle Tod, who was at least as fasinating, and lots more fun. Those two had many giggles together. Eva can't wait until he gets back from Chile so she can get more belly laughs and hopefully drool on his forehead again...

And during Tod's visit, Eva had her first food (we knew she was ready because lately she won't stop staring obsessively at our food during meals...while licking her lips and making chewing noises). Her first meal...AVOCADO (EVACADO)...mixed with a bit of milk. No adaptation period was necessary, she ate it like a hungry badger and licked the spoon. Next stop...banana?

I'm pretty sure I can work this thing myself, thanks.

Tod & Eva...Cual cabeza es mas grande???

Enjoying the springtime Boston sunshine (nice photo, Tod!).


Cape Cod...baby style.

Evacado#1...

... and Evacado #2 (click twice to play)