Mara’s Blog Influencing the world one day at a time since 2005…

Besides vacuuming Mara really enjoys cleaning up with a paper towel or rag of some sort. I imagine she sees us doing it so much after she has had a meals, etc. that this is where she picked up the idea. She’s been cleaning up for a couple of months now. The interesting thing is that she also likes to use a little moisture in her job. Also known as let me spit a little then I’ll really have something to wipe up. It really cracks us up. Hey atleast she’s trying right?

The rest of the pictures are a hoot too, so click on this one to see them!

We went to Friendly Center Saturday, December 9th to test out how Mara would do around Santa this year. As you can tell from the pictures, not so good. It doesn’t help that she’s been under the weather for the last week and the nap before this visit wasn’t a good one.
They have a nice Christmas scene before you even walk in to see Santa which is where the some of the shots were taken. We took some before and after her visit with Santa.
Santa helped out by offering her his stuffed reindeer Rudolph to hold and when that didn’t work he broke out the jingle stick which amazed her for about one second before the crocodile tears started to pour again.
She will encounter Santa again Sunday at Parker’s 2nd birthday party but this one is a bit more familiar to her. We’ll keep ya posted on how it goes.
p.s. that thing around her neck is her “rabbit stole”, a cute and funny scarf to keep her warm this winter.
Remember to click on the picture to see the complete album of pictures.

This was Mara’s second Halloween but probably the first she sort of understood. We trick-or-treated just our street tonight starting around 6 p.m. She didn’t get out the words trick-or-treat however she did manage to be the little miss mighty politey that we all know and love by saying, “thank-you” and “good-bye” at every house.
At first when we arrived on the door steps she seemed not to know what to do. When our neighbors stuck their big bowl of candy in front of her she would just gaze into it. With a little encouragement she picked up a few pieces!

What really cracks me up about these pictures are her faces and expressions before going out. She was kind of grumpy and not very happy. Then once we returned she was all smiles. Yes…that is an eyeball she’s eating. I got some really great gummy ones at Costco this year. They are merely the consistency of a gummy worm or bear but with creepy detail like an eyeball. Mara digs them. Our neighbors kids appear in the pictures too. Check them out! Be sure to click one of the pictures to see the whole album.

Also Mara had a costume parade today at her daycare. Stay tuned because we’ll be posting some video from that event!

So we are a little behind. These are pictures of our trip to the Natural Science Center here in town from about a month ago. This would be where we acquired our very own plastic p. mantis much to Mara’s delight!
You can see by the pictures she’s having a fun time with all the interactive exhibits!

Click on this picture to see all the pictures from our day!

Hi to all. Just a very cute picture of Mara I wanted to post. I took this last week one morning before day care. Mara’s teacher Ms. Rogers asked me to bring in a photo of her for the room. This is the one I took with the camera and then printed for us to carry.

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Can you believe after just over a week in day care Mara is already sick? She has sinusitis/otitis media according to Dr. Little. Mara’s regular pediatrician was vacating. She is taking Omnicef which she seems to like because she drinks it right down every morning. It is strawberry flavored though. She gave her illness to both mom and dad. The Evans household is a sick one right now I’m sorry to report!

Check out my new Uncle, Conan. He married my Aunt Jen on Saturday, June 10th in Richmond, VA. Aren’t they a lovely couple. I didn’t get to go to the wedding because I probably would not have been able to sit still or be quiet for the whole hour long Catholic ceremony. It was beautiful though according to Mom & Dad!

Conan and I go way back though…here’s something you might not know about him. He put my red wagon together for me over Christmas this past year. That makes him tops on my list anyday!!!

Yesterday for the first time UNsolicited Mara said “I wuv ewe” translation “I love you”. Isn’t that just so sweet. She was sitting in her high chair while I was feeding her dinner and she just said it. She must have known I needed a little something sweet from her since she had been really whiney and needy for the hours leading up to dinner. She also managed a “peas” that very same afternoon when I ask her what do you say when she asked to sit in my lap by saying “UP” she responded instantly with a “peas” which of course really means “please”. She sounds a little like Scooby Doo these days! But still what a little charmer!

Saturday, May 27, the Evans family visited a unique place in Mooresville, NC. A drive-thru zoo called Lazy 5 Ranch. A fellow named Leroy was our draft horse drawn cart driver and guide. Maybe we’ll post some video so you can get the full effect of his southern accent and all the animals live.
Mara loves animals and especially the sounds they make. The sounds seem very easy for her to verbally duplicate so we are constantly hearing what the cow, sheep, horse, etc say while shes exploring the house these days. Here are the shots of our little adventure. Mara sleeps with a stuffed giraffe every night named Mr. Sprinkles compliments of Amy Poythress….Thanks! Anyway these pictures also show her with life-size giraffes, and yes she really is as close as it seems! Don’t forget to click on a photo to review the entire album of pictures!

Are these big things really Mr. Sprinkles?

Luther the Rhino

And you thought Stephanie had a big mouth…..

Happy Valentines Day from Mara!  Not only can she kiss, she can give really good hugs now.