Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!



We had to take these quick because Evan doesn't like having his monkey costume on for too long. We plan on taking him trick or treating to a few of the neighbors this evening. My first time trick or treating with my son. Looking forward to it.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Pumpkin Pickin' at Linvilla Orchards

The sun came out and the rain stopped for a few hours today so we went to Linvilla Orchards to pick up some pumpkins for Halloween. It was nice to see the sun but boy was it muddy!! It was so muddy that we were all slipping all over the place. I was worried about Evan just because he does not like his shoes to be dirty, not even a little spot of dirt is allowed on his shoes. I kept telling everyone, please don't mention Evan's shoes but sure enough he noticed his perfect little red shoes covered in mud. Luckily he was quickly distracted by his cousins and he was having so much fun that he forgot all about them. whew. Evan had a great time, so much so that before he closed his eyes to go to sleep tonight he told me all about it, acting out what had happened and laughing. He told me all about how Frankie was feeding the goat carrots and how funny the goat looked trying to reach for the carrot with his tounge. And he was laughing about the game that he and Ava play where they scream gibberish to each other. I'm glad he didn't go to bed thinking about the mud on his shoes or the chicken that bit his finger after poking it through the fence. I love when my little boy falls asleep laughing. I just wish that Pete could have been with us today, but he was in NY working. We'll have to do something fun and Halloweeny on Saturday when he gets home so he doesn't miss out on all of the fun. But we sure did miss him today.


These pumpkins are as big as me!


Now these are more my size.


I'll just take a few.


oh- my shoes are muddy! oh!


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Evan


Taken by another photographer at Evan's friend Ethan's birthday party earlier this month.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Busy Busy

What a busy week. Genevieve has been working while I've been home watching Evan. Watching a toddler for the entire day is no joke as most of you already know. By the time Gen walks in the door, I'm ready to go to bed for the night. Genevieve says, "now you know how I feel." Yes, now I do know how you feel. Don't get me wrong, Evan is a pleasure to be with, it just that you have to be watching him constantly. He's constantly climbing up on chairs, trying to go up the stairs, opening drawers and cabinets, and running full speed one way, while looking the other. Turn your back for a spit second, and he's getting into trouble or in danger of hurting himself.

Every move I make from the moment I wake up has to be calculated. Genevieve's folks are out of town, so it's wake up, take the dogs out, feed the(koi) fish, feed the cat, feed the dogs, take the dogs out again, make Evan breakfast, change his diaper...this is all before 8am. Then it's Evan's nap time, and right after that it's lunch. Half the day's gone before I can even use the bathroom. Look, I'm not looking for sympathy here. I know it's hard for everyone who does this. I'm just saying, this being a dad thing is intense. Sometimes it tries my patience a little more than I'd like to admit. As amazing as it is being a Dad, the truth is, it's not easy, and I'm sure it doesn't get any easier as time goes on, (or does it?)

We had a good day today for sure. We went out for a car ride, just me and Evan. We stopped at a soccer field here in town, and got to kick the ball around together for a bit. Today, it was 75 degrees in Philly, probably one of the last times we'll see a day this nice until April, so we took full advantage of it. After that, it was off to the playground, where Evan enjoyed running around on the playground equipment and going down the slide. It was good times, for sure.

So Genevieve comes home from work, puts Evan to bed, and I have just enough time to do some laundry, and maybe get a few hours sleep before heading out the door at the crack of dawn to go to my gig, scouting in Tarrytown, NY and Long Island. So tired.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Worn Out

Fun day with Evan today, but I'm worn out. Evan sure has a lot of energy. He's asleep now, and daddy even took a nap after dinner. Now it's off to watch Phillies/Dodgers with the locals.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

It's (Definitely) A Girl!



Genevieve had her second ultrasound today, and Evan came along to see his new baby....SISTER! Yes, we told everyone several weeks ago that we are having a girl. But we were told by the Ultrasound Tech that she couldn't guarantee anything because it was too early on in the pregnancy, but from what she could tell, it was a girl. So we were a bit nervous today if the first Ultrasound turned out to be wrong and we had to come back and tell everyone that we were having a boy. So when the Ultrasound Tech today, couldn't tell, I was freaking out a little. I didn't want to leave there until we knew for sure. Our last chance was the Doctor. He came in and was able to tell rather easily. He then typed those words on the screen, "I'M A GIRL!!" We were very excited. Evan was sort of distracted and more interested in his toys, but we were glad he was there. Now we can start getting things together for the new baby girl...

Monday, October 19, 2009

Illustrations by Michele Burke

My wonderful niece, Michele, is having her first gallery show in Philadelphia on Nov. 8th.

Salsalita Gallery
1624 South St.
Philadelphia, PA
5:30-9:30pm

Here's the flyer. You may recognize some of her subjects:




Puppies and Toddlers


Elvis just wanted you to know that he's doing well. Although, I think he's been feeling a bit left out lately now that Evan's here. It's tough to compete with a toddler, even if you're a cute dog with a great personality. Elvis, for most of his life, has been used to being the center of attention. Having Evan around has taken some getting used to for both Elvis and Lucy, and I think Elvis is fairing slightly better than Lucy in this instance. Elvis has been great with Evan from day one. When Evan first came home, Elvis warmed to him immediately, gave him kisses, and as only a canine can, welcomed him into the pack. He's been so gentle and patient with Evan, always protective of him, always tolerant of Evan's smothering hugs. All of this tolerance pays off the moment tires of his dinner and starts swiping his spaghetti onto the floor from the dinner table. Elvis, ever the opportunist, swoops in to reap the bounty.


Saturday, October 17, 2009

Evan Before Bedtime

Evan Before Bedtime from Pete Burke on Vimeo.

Evan Austin in Action!

Evan Austin in Action from Pete Burke on Vimeo.

Make sure your sound is on! And your speakers are turned up!!!

Awesome new video that I just assembled from HD clips with iMovie on the new MacBook Pro. All HD footage was shot with the new Canon 5D Mark II. The song is Beck's cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat." Hope you like. To see in full size, click on my name or the Vimeo link. Or, better yet, just click HERE.

Also:
Our next Ultrasound appointment is on Tuesday 10/20. So we should have 100% confirmation on the sex of the baby. We're hoping to not have to make a retraction...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Good Day

Evan's been sick with an ear infection the last couple of days and has been having a rough time sleeping. We woke up Thursday morning to him throwing up all over the bed and his pillow. (He was sleeping between us.) But the day got much better from that point on. He seemed to be feeling somewhat better after that and we had a really good day together. I've been home taking care of Evan while Genevieve's working for the last week or so. It's been fun getting to spend some time with him and getting to know his daily routine at home. We spent most of the day playing outside on Wednesday, and I'll be posting some video clips soon.
This was back in September, Even helping his Uncle Ted blow out his birthday candles.


Evan and Uncle Ted.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Not Feeling Well

Evan went to the Doctor today and we found out he has an ear infection. He was up last night screaming in pain, and had his hands on his ears, so Genevieve must have known it was more than just teething pain. He's on some medication now, so I'm hoping the ear infection clears before we fly a month from now. More later...time for dinner.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Defensive Driver


That's right, we let our 16 month old son drive a car. You got a problem with that?


Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday, October 9th



Evan, earlier this evening.

Evan and I spent the day together since his Mommy was at work. We had a bumpy start to the morning, with Evan still refusing to take his morning/afternoon nap, but once we got in the car, and on our way to the "Please Touch Museum," he finally conked out and took a much needed nap. We had a fun time at the museum, spent about an hour or so there. When we got home, we snapped this picture in the driveway because he looked so handsome today.

Black & White

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Hints of Fall

Fall is definitely in the air up here in the Northeast. All the latest fall photos can be found here on Flickr. (Click on the link)

Also, you'll notice the new baby countdown ticker is up. Genevieve found out the due date at one of her recent appointments, so the countdown has begun, even though she's 4 1/2 months along already!

(photos from this afternoon)

Daddy's not allowed to hold the rake, or show Evan how to hold it, only Evan hold rake.

Evan in an overly dramatic windup as he is about to throw handfuls of leaves, most of them just landed on himself.

Genevieve worked today, so I was Mr. Mom for the day. Evan was Mr. Crankypants. This morning was rough, there was a lot of screaming and crying, and that was mostly just me. (rimshot) In his defense, he did have shots yesterday, 4 to be exact. So I think he was a little sore, and maybe not feeling so well. But toddler meltdowns and temper tantrums aside, Evan and I had fun raking leaves in the front yard today. It was warm out today, but not hot, and there were some really gusty winds, so a lot of leaves were coming down. Evan had fun raking and running through the leaves, throwing them up in the air, and watching them fly away.

Weights & Measures
As I mentioned before, Evan went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and shots. He did get the regular flu shot, but we're still on the fence about the H1N1 shot. We've been hearing lots of bad things about it, and we're not sure what's true, and what's not. Anyway, here's Evan's latest stats:

Height: 33 inches (95th percentile, tall for his age, 16 months)

Weight: 25 lbs (75th percentile)

Growing Boy





Evan at the playground this past Sunday at Merwood Park in Havertown, PA. He's really gotten more confident over the summer on the playground equipment. He doesn't want me to hold his hand anymore, and wants to go down the slide by himself. He likes the swings, but usually has had enough after about 2 minutes. He's really good at climbing up and down the equipment on his own. But most of all, he likes meeting new friends.


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009