June 10, 2003

We've been busy these past months, and Evan is growing quickly. Kristin looks at his long legs stretched out in his crib and can hardly believe that this is the little peanut who came home in October! At his two-year check-up in June he weighed 22 lbs 15 oz, and was 31 1/2 inches tall.

We did some traveling in May. First, we had the opportunity to go to Door County, Wisconsin, and stay in the house of Kristin's colleague, Pastor Len. Door County was beautiful, and we enjoyed our time "away from it all" greatly.

Evan, of course, was fascinated by the lake--and especially by throwing things into the lake. We spent plenty of time along the shoreline at beaches, walking trails, and the many small towns along each side of the peninsula. Though it was a bit cool (it was still early in the spring for the Wisconsin shoreline), Evan loved being outside. (No surprise there!) He kept us busy the whole time finding new places to visit and being constantly on the watch for playgrounds.

We took a ferry out to Washington Island and visited a beautiful church built in the old Swedish style (Stavkirke). We also visited Schoolhouse Beach, which is composed solely of smooth, white stones. (It's one of only five beaches like it in the world.) Evan thought the stones had all been put there for him to throw into the lake, and we think he would have stayed all weekend if we hadn't torn him away!

On May 12th we had an exciting adventure in the city. We took the train to the city, and went to the county courthouse to do Evan's "re-adoption", which gives us a United States adoption judgment and a record of foreign birth in English, as opposed to the Ukrainian documents we already have. Evan was not impressed with the train, but he loved the escalators and elevators in the courthouse. He was "served papers" by someone in the sheriff's office, and we made a brief appearance before a judge. (No big deal, really.) The amazing thing was how well Evan behaved through the whole thing, since we got him home and found out his had a temperature over 102 degrees: a double ear infection.

The following weekend Lee's sister Katie and her husband Skyler came to visit. We went to Navy Pier and had a fun time on the carousel and ferris wheel. We also enjoyed the conservatory, which has beautiful flowers and neat fountains, and a yummy seafood lunch. In the evening, we had a cookout. Aunt Katie and Uncle Skyler played with Evan in his sandbox while Mom and Dad made supper. We all had a really nice visit.

The week of Memorial Day, Kristin and Evan went to Omaha to visit family: Kristin's aunt and cousin live there, and her mother and sister were visiting as well. It was a long drive to Omaha, but Evan handled it like a champ. Mom had a bunch of toys and books in a bag in the front seat, so whenever he started to get restless, she could hand him something new. Evan was fascinated by all of the trucks on the road. He would call out "there!" and point to each one we passed. At the rest areas, he was only interested in going out to where the trucks were parked. At the first rest area in Iowa Evan dropped Mom's keys into the trash can. She was a little worried until a nice trucker helped us get them out.

Evan had a great time playing with his cousins in Omaha, Colton, Caleb and Cade, (actually the children of Kristin's cousin, Becky) as well as Grandma Schultz and Aunt Jodi. The women drank tea while watching the four boys play in the backyard for hours and hours. It was great fun for all. The four boys all have birthdays in June and July, so we had a group birthday party. The living room looked like Christmas had come early!

Evan's second birthday (the first with us, of course) was June 6. We thoroughly celebrated the occasion. Besides the party in Omaha, he had a party at his daycare the day before his birthday, and then a party at home with friends the weekend after, and a party with Lee's extended family in St. Louis at the end of June. Kristin had to be at the synod assembly the day of his birthday, so our family celebrated at home the night before. After supper Evan opened his gifts, then we walked downtown and got ice cream, which we ate at a park. He is starting to enjoy opening gifts. (The first one he opened on the 5th was a construction vehicle, and it was hard to get him interested in the rest.) But what he likes best about parties is getting to play with other kids or family members.

Evan's friends Julia and Kurt and Kenny came for his birthday party (along with their parents). They all had a good time playing in our quickly converted play room downstairs (rain canceled our bar-b-que plans). Instead of a cake we had frosted sugar cookies, and all the kids got to decorate their own. The mini M'n'M's were a big hit for cookie topping!

Evan made a new friend in June. We invited one of Lee's co-workers, Brian, for dinner, with his wife Christine and his son Edwin. Brian and Christine adopted Edwin from Ukraine in early 2002, and the family finally moved to Chicago this month, so we thought it would be fun to get the kids together. Edwin is four years old, and he's extremely energetic and curious, and has a great personality. He was fascinated by the trash cans (we got a number of trash cans with lids which open by foot levers once Evan started pulling things out of the trash). He kept showing his mom the "step" trash cans, and he and Evan bonded downstairs while the grownups talked by scattering the paper trash from Lee's desk trash can throughout the family room. It was nice to talk with other people who've done something similar to us, and especially to compare our experiences in Ukraine.