The Post That Took WAY TOO LONG!

Sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long. Our Eva keeps us busy, but really, we have no good excuses. Spring has been wonderful in Boston, and you can guess who has been enjoying it more than anyone else! (Hint: She is between two and three feet tall but enormously cute).

Primping for the princess party.


Special for you!

A delightful spring day!

Couture day with best friend and fellow hipster, Princess Paige.

PINK ALERT! Toddler on the loose at Massachusetts State House!


The Princess & The Frog.

What could be more enjoyable than a hard plastic chaise lounge? That's right...nothing!

Springtime at the "secret" playground.

Someone knows where the chocolate lives....and how to operate a footstool.
(VIEWER ADVISORY: It does not end well for our tiny heroine. Sniff.)

Putting away the puffy coats

February and March are interesting months in the Northeast. One day it's in the upper 60's and you're wearing a T-shirt; the next, it's snowing. Again. (Again? Really?) Mostly, though, it's somewhat cool, and either raining (a LOT) or absolutely beautiful. As you might guess, most of the pictures we've had the opportunity to take during the last month have been during glorious periods of the latter.

Amongst the usual chaos of life, we spent a weekend visiting Jessica and Jeremy in Keene, NH, and were delighted to make the acquaintance of one Burke Indigo, who has presence and grace which belie her modest age. And Eva thought it was kind of fun to be the big girl for awhile.

Eva with little Miss Burke.



Enjoying the Densmore/Donovans' famous hot tub with Daddy.



Can I interest you in some twigs? Perhaps a couple dried leaves? Did you notice how cute I am?



First jacket-free playground day of 2010. Definitely cause for looking a bit like the cat who just snagged a canary on the sly.



But really. Eva just loved rediscovering one of her favorite playground after several months of being bundled away.



Posing for head shots already?? Methinks not.



First day of the year at the beach....item 1 on the to-do list clearly must involve burying ones' legs in the sand. Done and done.


We celebrated Daddy's birthday weekend in Provincetown, and spent some time visiting with the geese at the Cape Cod National Seashore (adjacent wetlands seen here). Not sure what she's putting in her mouth. Don't really want to know.



As always, delighted by life.



One small step for Eva, one big raspberry for the world.

Welcoming 2010

We've spent the first month+ of 2010 getting down to business - both with Jeff's trip to Aspen to work the X-Games, and with Cat's decision to go "back to school", 1 class at a time. Eva got plenty of "work" done as well, getting her first real haircut AND her first visit to the dentist out of the way - in addition, of course, to the everyday work of playing hard. We managed to fit in opportunities to play with many good friends along the way - with bestie Trudie, of course, as well as during a fabulous visit with Jonas and Cleo (and their parents, of course, Jenna and Tarleton).

Hard at work creating "snow monster", though Eva then had trouble saying goodbye as the days passed and snow monster grew smaller...and smaller...and...



Hanging out around town with Cleo. Eva did find the side-by-side configuration of the double stroller a little disorienting at times, though quickly realized how cool it was to be tucked right next to a friend.



Riding Mama Duck and ducklings at the Public Garden with Jonas.



Taking in the Madonna exhibit at the MFA. I wish I could say this somehow heralded a general appreciation for fine art, but lets be honest - this was all about the giant stack of TV screens.



Princess time with Trudie!



A separate day of princess play. As one might guess, untold amounts of glitter can be found scattered all over the house (those princess dresses aren't sparkly on their own).



Big girl haircut! She took the responsibility very seriously.



Has anyone ever been as happy to be at the dentist as this little girl?

Princess Eva reigns in Norcal

We traveled north in the middle of our winter California journey to visit Cat's family in Redwood City, Pleasanton and Santa Cruz, while catching up with a few old friends along the way.

Eva also indirectly helped to keep the Disney Store in the black this year after being coronated with an abundance of royal clothing and accessories, all of which she continues to be absolutely delighted by. Even now, days later, the common greeting "Hello, Eva!" can reliably prompt the matter-of-fact response "I not Eva, I princess." Us commoners can hopefully be forgiven for making such an error.

After a fabulous party with the entire K. family, we traveled northeast to visit the P-M house, then southwest to tour the Santa Cruz Boardwalk (or, what's open at the Boardwalk on a rainy evening in December) and to spend some time getting to know her Great-Grandpa BZ. We were then able to enjoy a little more quality hanging-out time with Grandma, Grandmama and Grandpapa before heading back south again.

Our little holiday elf, entertaining Grandmama and Grandpapa K.



Caught here admiring her royal ensemble, though the look does get a little complicated when one refuses to remove one's long-sleeved fairy shirt before putting on the dress.



All the ladies, including our littlest lady with a large piece of popcorn in her open mouth. Classy!



Casually trimming the tree, as a mermaid. Predictably, the "tail" did get in the way a bit.



As every modern princess knows, connectivity is key. Thankfully, her new phone seems to connect only to other princesses, which should hopefully cut down on calls from telemarketers.



Cuddles with Grandma K.



Enjoying the ducks, chickens and other assorted wild animals (Jon and Shayn included) with Aunt Sofia.



Always a lady, showing off her belly while out to dinner with the P-Ms.



Quality time with Grandpa P-M, unimpeded by a little pesky rain.

Christmas sunshine in La Mirada

We escaped what would have been a very white Christmas by flying out to LAX on the 24th, where Eva was treated the next morning with a visit from Santa Claus! (Poppy unfortunately missed the visit, as he'd left for an early morning run to the store. Such bad timing!) We then proceeded to have a wonderful day, including a delicious dinner with the Ouelettes and dessert with Rick, Mimi and AJ.

We returned later in our journey to celebrate New Year's before flying back to Boston, our trip punctuated by several trips in glorious weather to the local playground, one critical visit to In-n-Out, and lots of quality time spent together with Grammy, Poppy and Tio Loco.

Eva meets St. Nick.



Apparently taking her balmy surroundings as a cue, Eva insisted upon a swimsuit as proper Christmas morning attire (after demanding the red velvet dress in the first picture be removed).



Delighted by her first gift of jewelry - from Daddy, of course.




Climbing trees in the park with Daddy and Tio Tod (good thing there were responsible adults around!)


Hard at work sorting tanbark with Poppy at the playground.




Touring the La Mirada playground with her new BFF, Tiana the frog (sorry, Trudie!)



Delighted by her new swing buddy (and her long-time swing pusher)



A rare sighting of the legendary Dancing Toddler before a stunning California sunset.

Yummy.

Eva's been preparing for the holidays in proper fashion - entering the season with plenty of practice chowing down. We were delighted to join Eva's BFF Trudie (and her parents Beth and Tom, of course) for Thanksgiving dinner, where Eva both played and ate til she dropped.

We then spent the next weekend in Martha's Vineyard, our first-ever trip to "the island" (though no Obamas to be found in December during a nasty storm, alas) and had a lovely time. We've also found time here and there to fit in some early-winter hiking (during a few last unseasonably warm days) and serious playing at our local indoor playground.

Mugging for the camera with mommy in her new "tutu".



Eva at Thanksgiving, already anxious for the meal to start...and wearing the pearls she somehow conned off Trudie's grandma like a trophy.



Enjoying a little indoor pony ride on an otherwise-stormy November afternoon.



Is it possible to avoid the carnival food at a carnival? Eva would vote no. Besides, who doesn't love pizza??



Besides, look! She eats real food, too!



Look out!!! Braving the waters at Sharky's on MV.



Clearly rethinking a plan that seemed more appealing from inside our hotel room, where the wailing wind and freezing temp were less appreciable.



Enjoying a nice warm bath at the end of a long cold day.