Caernarfon, Wales

We rented a car and drove into North Wales for the next step of our adventure. The first destination was the town and castle of Caernarfon. This is a castle of fairytales if there ever was one! It was a step into my childhood imagination...

Evan practices his fancy footwork in the trunk of the car.



The King's Gate (a.k.a. the front door)

Caernarfon at night







I saw several fireplaces like this one. The floor is long gone, but the fireplace on the wall is still hanging on!


Mark tries to keep Evan asleep.


The view from the tower...

In the countryside...

We spent the first few days of our vacation in the countryside near Stoke-on-Trent, staying with Lindsey and John's family. Thank you Linds, John, Margaret, Di, John, and Malcom for such a wonderful time! It's some of the best humor and hospitality we've ever experienced, from the very first moment of waking up on the farm!

Evan asleep on the plane

Father and son; taken at Margaret's house.

Cieran playing with Legos (the same that his dad played with when he was a kid)

John and Evan

Evan meets a cow

John, Cieran, Evan, and Mark outside Shrewsbusy castle
The old and the new

Shrewsbusy had gorgeous gardens!

The castle was made of beautiful red sandstone.

Inside was a military museum where we found a redcoat (like what would have been worn in the Revolutionary War).

Evan did more bouncing than looking in the museum.
The view from the tower

Gorgeous



Walking on cobblestones

The countryside, between thunderstorms, near Margaret's house.

Lindsey and Evan (and Ceinwyn, who is due sometime in October!)

A photo a day, from the UK!

My little Frenchman...turned Englishman!!

Back from the UK, and Evan's first food!

We're back from a magnificent trip to the UK. We had a wonderful time. Our time there mainly consisted of taking care of the world's cutest baby and glancing at Britain, but those glances were amazing, and Evan did great! I took enough photos for a year's worth of blogs, so it will be an endeavor to sort through them and get them on this blog.

Evan had a fun surprise while we were staying in the countryside. We went to visit our friends Lindsey and John and stay with their family. One day we were eating ice cream. John's mom (Margaret) was holding Evan, and she gave him a clean spoon to play with while she ate her ice cream. Evan dropped the spoon, and as Margaret reached to the floor to pick it up, Evan grasped the spoon that was in her bowl of ice cream and brought it to his mouth. We'll never forget the look of shock and happiness on his face! We all paused for a second to see what he would do, and he immediately lunged for the bowl! It was awesome!

I always dreamed that Evan's first food would be something like carrots or bananas, but no, it was ice cream! Lol!!

Here are a few photos taken about a week after that. Mark was eating an ice cream bar...

Stay tuned for more photos of our adventures!

Super smiles...

Mark and I are headed out of town to explore the UK for the next week and a half. Before we take off, I want to leave you with a few Evan smiles...

Tonic Boy!

We were sitting at a cafe this morning when we met a family who had a baby who was just a little bigger than Evan. At the time, Evan was bouncing on my lap. The mother noticed this and asked how old Evan was. We said 4 months, 3 weeks, and she responded in surprise, saying "Il et trés tonique!" ("he is very tonic!). Evan's doctor has said this about Evan as well, and it's definitely true that Evan has been interested in his body from the very first day. He has a very strong and agile body, can hold his own weight on his feet for long periods of time, and will soon be sitting up on his own I think.

When we got home this afternoon, Evan took one of his moves to a whole new level. For a few weeks, he's been jumping off the edge of the couch (Mark taught him this). Today, he added a few steps to his jump. With our help for balance, he's already taking his first steps! You can imagine our pride!!!

Here is some video I caught of the moment. I took it sideways, and once I loaded it into the computer, I didn't know how to edit it to make it right side up. Any advice you may have to right it would be appreciated! For now, I suggest turning your head sideways! Hehe! Enjoy!

The hat post...

I've been meaning to do this post for a very long time. Evan was given a very nice English cap (thanks Sara!!) as a birthday present. He wears it as handsomely as his dad wears his!

Like father like son, such a handsome duo! This was taken in May...

These pics were taken just two days ago. Alas, the hat was a little tight... I will miss seeing Evan wearing it!

This hat got some very fun attention around town. My favorite was when, as we were disembarking from the tram, an elderly French gentleman with a tan cap very similiar to Evan's, gave a big chuckle and pointed out Evan to his wife, who also smiled hugely.

Thankfully, Evan is a very lucky boy. He may have grown out of this cap, but thanks to some other admirers (thanks Jean, Monina, Naoko, Esther, and Virginia!!), Evan has another hat that's just beginning to fit him.

The blue brings out his eyes.

Three generations!! It's in Evan's genes to look so good in his hat(s)!

Before and after...

I was recently going through Evan's clothes, sorting out the stuff he's grown out of. The hat in the following pictures is a good example:

One week old:

Yesterday:


Here's another before and after, this time with Evan's swing.

Two weeks old:

Evan would only tolerate his swing for short moments, and we were wondering if our purchase was worth it (baby swings are expensive here).

Two days ago:

Evan loves his swing now! I like the intense look of concentration in the last photo, like he's trying to land an airplane or something.