'Cuz you asked...

Here is a plethora of videos that showcase all of Evan's amazing skills!

First, we have Evan walking and holding a ball that's half his size:

And here he bounces the ball and then talks about it:

Next, he shows us his ninja skills, as he spies into the neighbor's patio:

At bedtime, he hides behind the coffee table, trying to escape our grasping arms that will carry him off to bed. In this video, he's talking to us in one of the dialects of Evan-speech:

And then he came to my arms to say night-night...

The next morning, he demonstrates walking backward, before discovering the cat food:

I let him have one of the birthday lollipops from Aunty Audrey (thank you!!)... He loved it!

If only he would eat so peacefully when I feed him veggies in his highchair (currently after 5 or 10 minutes he screams at the top of his lungs to be let free, but I didn't film that)!

Smiles in the mail...

We've had the pleasure of receiving several packages in the last couple of weeks, each containing something that has made Evan and his parents very happy.

First, Grandpa Butler sent two shirts that are the perfect size of Evan (he is growing out of his wardrobe fast), and Evan was happy for the extra room to move around in! Here he is enjoying his new rockstar shirt, while reading a book with Daddy.


Next, Evan got a very nice white shirt from Shannon at Mother May I (in Florence, OR). He looks so sharp in it! This especially made Mommy smile. :)


Then, Grandpa Butler blew us away when he sent Evan some very special shoes. They are designed perfectly for this stage of his career in walking, with a soft and flexible sole that is just hard enough to give him extra balance. We opened the package right before bed, when he was in his pajamas. He took off like a bullet as soon as we put them on his little feet. He had soooo much fun tromping through the house in his new shoes, and he was more solid on his feet than ever. He will now bring them to me to put on his feet. Transforming!


And then yesterday we opened a package sent by his Aunt Sara (my longtime friend with whom I shared my own childhood years). He loved the catepillar toys and extremely cute outfit inside the box (they got him through a difficult afternoon in teething), but afterwards he discovered the box! He likes to get inside boxes, no matter the size, and this was no exception...


Here is a video of Evan saying "hi"

And then he starts rocking the box...

He did eventually end up falling backward, and thought it was great fun. He wanted me to pull him around in the box, and started pouting when I didn't immediately start...

I'm such a mean mommy! Don't worry, he got lots of box-car action after I turned off the camera...

I have a recipe blog!

I started blogging about what we're having for dinner a few weeks ago, but I've been waiting to share it until I have a decent number of recipes posted. I decided to make it public today! Here's the website:

http://mkerecipes.blogspot.com/

Or, you can click on the link (The MKE Table) on the side of this page...

I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know if you try anything or if you make changes to a recipe to make it tastier. I love food advice!

Bon appetit!

Mother's Day flowers, blooming...

Remind me...where am I?

Evan and I went to the local farmer's market today, and I saw some beautiful red onions that I immediately wanted for a recipe I've been reading about. I excitedly asked the girl behind the stand for 3 of the red onions, but she looked at me strangely as she walked to the red onions. I just pointed to them, and then she said to me "...you can choose them, you know." I realized in this moment that I was treating the situation the way I would have in France (in many cases in France you let the vendor choose, and I always assumed this before touching any vegetables at a market)!

Note to self: When going to a farmer's market in CA, follow these steps:

1. Choose vegetables
2. Put them in the available plastic bags
3. Give the bag to the vendor
4. Let the vendor weigh it, and then pay for it.

A photo for today...

A fun new game...