4H Fair Carnival

This summer marked Evan's third trip to the 4H Fair carnival. But it was the first time I noticed that he was one of the big(ger) kids on the little kid rides.









Oh, he still rode the trucks at least four times, but it seemed more like a breather between all the running around.



Hard to believe this was the coaster we had to stop two years ago to let him off (this year it was that poor girl in the seat behind him).



Gone are any of his fears of the bumpy rides, and the roller coasters, and anything going faster than 10 mph. That face!



Last year he was just fine skipping the bigger coaster and the slide but this year he begged me to go. Since he's a little on the shorter side of 4, I had to buy ride tickets to go along with him. I remember the "fun slide" from my own childhood. What I didn't remember was how fast the trip down was - at least not until this moment.



The fair is 10 times more fun watching Evan experience it. Besides, there's no way I could ever get on some of those rides ever again. And that's just fine with me. I'll be the mom taking pictures and watching her little boy have a blast.

Evan did allow me one guilty pleasure before we left - taking a few night shots of the ferris wheel.

Run

How about a new video this week? Evan sings all the time, but usually he clams up if he sees me bring out the phone. I think he's going for that elusive Ed Norton flair for avoiding the paparazzi. So I had to be sneaky. Better watch out, Matt Nathanson, this kid's got some pipes.

Flashback Friday

Last year the hard drive on which I stored all my photo and video files crashed. Thankfully all the photos were recoverable, but the video files were gone, except a scattering I had saved on another computer and on this blog. Until today. While looking through a stack of CDs for some other old files, I found three CDs marked August 2009 - March 2010. They contained every photo and video file for eight months! 175 video files to be exact. From Evan's first wobbly steps to his first time seeing snow. I had convinced myself not to get upset over losing them, but now that I have some of them back I have to admit I'm pretty excited.

So just for fun I thought I'd post a couple of flashback videos. Videographers we are not, nor was this a great camera, but Evan's cuteness is pretty awesome, as were his chubby little rolls.





And one more...I just love his "I don't know" face in this one.

Happy 4th!

With the 4th of July falling mid-week this year, we didn't plan much of anything or go out of town. We also have a dog that is prone to eat unusual things when the mood strikes (or fireworks burst). By unusual I mean my bed skirt, or the curtains, or a backpack (or 4). EAT. Not chew. The fun lasts for days.

So we dressed up the Dude and visited family.



Then we drugged the dog (don't judge me - I made those curtains he ate!), and headed downtown that night for a brief fireworks show. I should have scouted out a better spot for photos, but my motivation correlated directly with the heat and having Evan and Dan in tow. *I* might be willing to lay prostrate on the ground at a 45 degree angle for THE shot, but for some reason they seem to think this is abnormal. What do you think?

Look Who's Four!

I was a few weeks later than I wanted to be in taking Evan's four year pictures. We went from Spring to Sauna, which meant the prospect of an agreeable kid posing for pictures outside was dim. But we finally had a break one day last week so Evan and I headed downtown. One of the bonuses of living in a river city is the fantastic backdrop of river, bridges, and skyline.

So here goes - the many moods, expressions, and inquisitiveness of 4-year-old Evan.











Quacking at the ducks.



Quiet! You'll break my concentration!