10 Reasons I'm Thankful for Evelina

We have so much to be thankful for, but each day a little person reminds me that life just wouldn't be as wonderful without her. Her are the top 10 reasons why I'm thankful for Evelina:

1. She allows me to be a mother which is a true blessing. Yes, I may become frustrated during meal times, bath time, night time wake-ups, or when she wants to be picked up 100 times per day, but I wouldn’t change anything. Motherhood is a privilege that I do not take lightly. It is a full-time job for which you always must learn, grow and improve in order to excel. I know how lucky I am and my goal is to be the best Mommy possible. She may not know it, but she encourages me to be the best I can be every day. 

2. She exudes happiness everyday through endless smiles and giggles. As a result I have never smiled or laughed so much in my life. Even the worst day can be turned around just by seeing Evelina’s smile and hearing that giggle of hers. It is truly the best to share in her joy.

3. She means the world to our family. Not only has she brought so much joy to Chris and my life, she is always in the thoughts of her extended family; grandparents, aunties, uncles. They are constantly impressed at how smart she is, how beautiful she is, and they realize how fortunate they are that this amazing little girl is in their lives.  We may have a small family but it is full of so much love and support. 

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4. She is spontaneous and adventurous. Even though I’m such a planner, Evelina surely isn’t (yet). She flies by the seat of her pants, goes with the flow and is always up for anything. Be it chasing after bugs, going out into the snow in her PJs or not being afraid to try something new. These are qualities that, as an adult, I would love to possess.

5. She never has a shortage of hugs, kisses and cuddles. They make my heart warm.

6. She is full of personality. I just love how Evelina’s personality is evolving. She is goofy, determined, opinionated, impatient, busy, shy in new situations but social with those she is comfortable with. She can make even a smug stranger smile with a “Hi” or a flash of her pearly whites.

7. She is messy. Yup, I said it. I’m sure you’re surprised by this since I’m a neat freak. Evelina’s messiness is helping me lighten up a bit (just a little). Being a kid is about getting dirty and experiencing different textures, smells and objects in the world…it is about having FUN!! Life isn’t always tidy and neither is a toddler.

8. She always finds joy in the little things. It could be something as simple as bubbles floating through the air, balloons, playing peek-a-boo, “jumping” on the bed, hearing a doggie bark in the distance or a bug crawling up the wall. The simplest things bring joy to her life. Seeing things through the eyes of Evelina is like seeing something again for the first time. What a wonderful gift to receive as a parent.

9. She puts life into perspective. Life isn’t about money, working long hours, or being married to a Smartphone, it is about spending quality time with your family. Life is too short and precious to miss out on memories with loved ones.

10. She is our present and future. I can’t even remember life before Evelina arrived. Of course, I miss being able to get up and go whenever and wherever, but life just wouldn’t be complete without the little bambina. I am most thankful she is our daughter and she chose us to be her parents. Nothing could be better then watching her grow, planning for her future, and providing her everything she will need to be a happy child.

Stop and Go

The blog hasn't been on the top of the priority list lately and I'm also not taking as many pictures as I once did.  I have lots of blurry photos or photos with a little hand on the lenses.  Evelina will just be "being Evelina" but when I bring out the camera, her focus completely changes and she just wants to see the pictures I've taken.  She just lights up as I scroll though each photo.  It is super adorable but not great for picture taking.  On top of that, I've been busy trying to decide on this year's Christmas card and also putting together an annual photo album for Chris' aunts which has become somewhat of a tradition.  It is fun to create but what a time sucker in the evenings.  

With that, I'll leave you with a short clip of Evelina signing "stop" and "go".  She was really going at it before she caught me spying on her.  The "Baby Signing Time" songs are quite catchy so just ignore my singing.  

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!! We can't wait to see Auntie KK and Grandpa in a few short days.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and doesn't impact travel plans. 

iPhone Clips

I just love having a mobile phone that actually functions, one that I don't have the urge to chuck out the window every second.  It makes it so much easier to get photos and video when my camera is out of reach (or I'm too lazy to get it).  

Some photos and video from the weekend.   

1. Breakfast Buffet; 2. Cozying up with baby; 3. QT with Dada; 4. A good book

Lina is so used to "talking" to Dada on the phone so when I started recording, she must have thought we were talking to him.  Please ignore my annoying baby talk and just-rolled-out-of-bed face. 


Chris got Evelina a fun microphone that echos when you talk/sing into it. Every now and then Evelina will practice for American Idol but most of the time she just like to chew on the cord.

Blowing Bubbles...

and look at that messy hair!

Poodle Skirt Dress-Up

One morning this week, after Evelina was dressed for school, she caught site of her poodle skirt.  She was desperate to put it on, trying to slip it on over her head, asking for "help".  I put it on for her and she proceeded to spend the morning with a smile on her face, buzzing around playing in her pretty doggie skirt.  I'm looking forward to playing dress-up with her in the future!! 

17 Months!!

Dear Evelina,

You are 17 months old!! Oh my good gracious, you are almost officially 1 ½ years old. Where has the time gone?! You have been such a busy little girl this month learning lots of new things, exploring, talking and dressing up. So, what else has been going on over the last month?

• You officially have 15 teeth and your 16th one is starting to make an appearance (we think). Once this last canine arrives, you will only have your 2 year molars left to come. Hopefully we have a least a few months before they decide to arrive but you’ve been chewing on your hands A LOT lately so I wouldn’t be surprised if they came in before your 2nd birthday.
• You know all of your classmates by name and can point to each of their pictures when asked.
• You really enjoy school and have so much fun there. When we drop you off you act all bashful but your teachers have told us that the second we leave, you are little miss social. What an actress you are. In the afternoons at pick up, most days you don’t want to leave. After a quick hug, you are off to play with toys and one of your buddies, or, if its snack time, you will steal your friend’s food. Hilarious but not very polite.
• You’ve added car, shoe, coat, flower and day to your signing repertoire. Some new verbal words include more, help, yeah and no (thankfully you still like to say yes more than no). You will also pant like a dog and eee-eee like a monkey. Your favorite word is definitely “Up”. You must say it about 1000 times a day and will even say it when you want to get down. We need to work on that.
• Peek-a-boo continues to be one of your favorite games. We will often catch you moving your hands over your face and saying “BOO”. I’ve heard you many times in the morning after you wake up and before I go in to fetch you, saying “BOO” and giggling to yourself in the crib. It is quite possibly one of the cutest things to listen too. You truly get a kick out of yourself.
• You continue to enjoy watching Sesame Street and Baby Signing Time. If we ask you if you want to watch, you will say “yeah”, run over to the TV and wait patiently for us to turn it on. You like to shake your booty to the music, giggle with the characters or point to them, and even sign on occasion.
• Music is one of your favorite things. You like dancing, gesturing to songs (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, If Your Happy and You Know It, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Monkeys Jumping on the Bed), and you love songs that require us to interact with you (Row Row Your Boat, Royal Duke of York, Humpty Dumpty, Trot Trot songs, Round and Round the Garden). You NEVER get sick of the interactive songs and are known to request more 100 times. I’m not kidding, oh my aching back.
• You also LOVE the toddler tunes we play in the car. The second you are cranky or not happy to be in the car seat (which is frequent), we can just put on your toddler tunes and all is right with the world. When a song ends, you will become cranky until the next song begins. My little impatient one, I wonder who you got that from?!
• Coloring is one of your addictions. You just LOVE it and request a crayon every.single.time we go into your playroom. You’ve even started to color in objects on paper if we show you how. We still must fight with you to stop putting crayons in your mouth but this will phase out with time. You also love painting projects but these can be messy so they aren’t something we do every day…considering you don’t like the bath.
• Dada is the bomb. You love him to pieces and will have frequent tantrums when he leaves the house to attend to chores outside, or if he leaves your bedroom at night so I can complete the final steps of your bedtime routine.
• You've used the potty once over the past month which is always very exciting!! 
• Bath-time continues to not be a fun time. It makes me sad that you dislike it so much. You are either crying in the bath pleading to get out or just standing at the edge waiting for it to all be over. You HATE having to sit down in the tub and despite all of the fun toys we offer you, you just aren’t interested. You want out!! We just want you to love it and have fun splashing and playing. I’m really hoping this is just a phase and one day you will request bath time and be in the water long enough to get pruney. You don’t hate all water though, you LOVE to put your hand in the stream of water from the faucet while the bath is filling up and you love to wash your hands at the sink. There is just something about bath time. I’m going to have to get in there again with you soon.
• What else isn’t so fun? Meal times. You are a selectively great eater, meaning that you only eat well at school. Your teachers wish that all of your friends ate as well as you, but little do they know that when we feed you meals at home, you don’t want a thing. Well, unless it is a turkey dog or cucumbers dipped in ranch dressing. I don’t know what’s more frustrating, bath time or meal times. Luckily you love fruit so we have that going for us. 

What's on my leg?;  Signing "book";  Page turning;

This November we get to celebrate your 2nd Thanksgiving and see Grandpa and Auntie KK!! YAY!! They aren’t going to believe how much you’ve changed since they last visited. Only 18 more days!!

You are the sunshine of my life,

Mommy

Halloween 2011

I’ve never really liked Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the candy-eating aspect of the holiday and carving pumpkins, but I’m not very creative in the costume department so have never really enjoyed dressing up. I remember being a punk rocker about 5 years in a row as a kid and on many Halloweens I would volunteer to give out candy (we got A LOT of trick or treaters in my neighborhood growing up) to get out of dressing up. Even though I don’t have a love for Halloween, it is certainly fun to celebrate the holiday by way of a 16-month old toddler. 

The requirement for Evelina’s costume this year was that it be cute and easy to wear. I didn’t want anything to heavy or bulky, I wanted her to be able to walk around easily, and I wanted to avoid any hats or hoods since I knew she would rip them off anyway. I think she made a darn cute ‘50s tot that’s for sure…and I didn’t see anyone else in the same costume which was a bonus.

Ashland Mom's Club Annual Halloween Party.  There was a professional photographer on site to take fun pictures of the little ones. 

 

Evelina and her friends a school enjoying yummy cookies
after the Halloween parade.

Halloween 

 Hmmm...what shall I try?  

We gave Evelina some M&Ms for the first time and she loved them.

Click HERE for more pictures of Halloween 2011.