Music Recommendation :: Carnival Day

I am always on the hunt for fun children's music that Evelina, Chris and I can ALL enjoy.  When a friend of mine told me about Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys a few months ago, I thought I would pick up the CD to add to Evelina's collection.  We have not been disappointed by Carnival Day.  Evelina LOVES it and the tunes are so catchy and fun that Chris and I find ourselves singing (and dancing if you're me) certain tracks all day long.  It is one children's CD that I don't mind listening to over and over and over again, within reason.  I've downloaded the tracks to my iPod and Chris has the CD in his car so fun music is always available on car trips with the little one.  I definitely recommend this CD to all of my mama friends out there who read the blog.   

Oh, and Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkey are going to be in Natick in February, so we just may need to go!!  Evelina's first concert :-) 

Another one of my favorites You are my Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell.  Not as upbeat as Carnival Day but still great. 

Playroom :: Almost Complete

We've made some great progress on Evelina's playroom over the past few months.  It's been slow going but it is really coming together nicely.  I love the space and Evelina seems to enjoy it as well.  She loves coloring at the table, reading books on the bean bag and investigating all of the storage baskets trying to decide what the toy of the moment will be.  We do still play in the family room and the area between the kitchen and family room as well since it is nice for a change of scenery. 

Without further ado, here are some photos of the {almost completed} playroom:  

What remains on the to-do list:

• Hang wire to display Evelina's future art projects - I think I've decided to put this on hold. I have some other ideas for displaying her art work in other parts of the house. 
• Paint A and Z bookends so they pop a little - I'm thinking red or even lime green to stay within the color palette. 
• Purchase and hang mirror for future dress-up activities
• Bunting for the ceiling - a good winter project (get ready Mimi!!) 

Click HERE for source list. 

Can't wait for warmer weather so Evelina can wear this adorable dress I just snagged from Zulilly.  I wish it came in my size, looks so comfy.  

PS:  I made a goal for myself that I wouldn't buy any books or clothes for Evelina this month.  I am failing.  Not miserably but I did pick up a few books on colors, a few Valentine's Day related tops (love GAP and Old Navy sales!!), in addition to this dress.  Pretty good for me.  Chris would disagree :-)

Memories

I just got back to my desk from a meeting and this picture was circulating through my slide show.  Chris took it back on 9/13/2010, Evelina's first day of "school". It has always been one of my favorites, despite the fact that I look exhausted and was so very sad to be going back to work in a few days, leaving the wonderful days of maternity leave behind me.  My tiny and sweet baby girl with her cute little smile, cleft chin, bald head with only a hint of eyebrows, barely 10lbs wearing a 0-3 month outfit.  

As each day passes, it becomes harder and harder to remember Evelina as a little wee one, immobile, helpless, toothless, able to be held with one arm.  I'm so very glad I have pictures like this one to remind me.    

Not Feelin' It

I haven't been feeling the blog lately, as can be seen by my lack of posting over the past month or so.  Every now and then I go through a phase of not wanting to pull my laptop out when Evelina is napping/sleeping.  Instead, I chill with the hubby, organize (the kitchen cabinets and pantry needed some help), attempt to plan fun crafty projects for Evelina, work on improving my abdominal strength (oh my aching back), and/or cook.

Here are a few new recipes from the past week: 

Spookie Smoothie:  It doesn't need to be Halloween to make this!!  A great option to include veggies at breakfast.  I really enjoyed it and Evelina also seemed to like it at first.  I had never tried rice milk before and I think it has a strange aftertaste so I plan to use almond milk the next time. 

Mini Sweet Potato Muffins:  Yum!!  Two thumbs up all around.  Great for any meal including snack time. I used 2/3c whole wheat flour and 1/3c white flour, and also substituted steel cut oats instead of old fashioned. 

Grilled Corn Guacamole:  I love me some guac.  I thought I would try a new take on an old favorite.  It was yummy but the corn didn't add much to it, perhaps because corn isn't in season.  Maybe I will try again in the Summer. 

An old favorite, Chili Chicken Tacos. Perfect game day cuisine, especially with the guacamole.  Yum. 

Slow Cooker Beef Stew:  This was delectable; the perfect chilly winter night meal. 

Yesterday, I made Chicken Parisienne in the crock pot (forgot to snap a pic).  It was pretty good over egg noodles.  Chris really enjoyed it and Lina stole a few mushrooms but didn't love the chicken...nothing new. 

I plan to give this Crock Pot Meaty Pasta Sauce a try this week as well. 
Thanks heavens for slow cookers!!  

The Ball Popper || Part II

Back when Evelina was around a year old, she LOVED the ball popper.  It would always keep her busy, but it made Chris and I go insane.  There was no way we could listen to the songs one more time, not to mention, we wanted Evelina to play with other toys, so down to the basement it went.  

Over the weekend, we were watching some of Evelina's old videos with her (she loves watching video of herself!!) and as soon as she saw the original ball popper video she demanded the popper be resurrected from the basement. We were not surprised that her love for the popper continues.   

19 Months!!

Dear Evelina,

You are 19 months old!! You never cease to amaze us as we watch you learn new things every day, all while making us laugh so hard our stomach muscles start to ache. I never thought I could love you more than I do, but each day I just love you more. You are the best.

So, what’s been happening this month?

• You celebrated your 2nd Christmas and were spoiled by your grandparents, aunts and uncles. You are such a lucky girl to have so many wonderful people in your life that love you so much. Your favorite new toys are a monkey jack in the box, Mega Bloks, Bitty Baby stroller, Llama Llama Red Pajama book and Baby Einstein Alphabooks, among others.
• Most people think that you are younger than you actually are since you still don’t have much hair growth. Little do they know that it has grown so much in the past few months!! During bath time we can actually make a Mohawk when we wash your hair. That is quite an accomplishment. I’m still waiting to see if some curls will pop up. I sure hope so.
• You are using your words so well. Some days you will even say up to 5 new words!! It is so exciting to hear you speak and attempt to say something new. You watch our mouths very intently when we speak (or read) as you try to figure out how to produce the same sound. Some times you get it, some times you don’t, but you always try and we are very proud of you for that.
• You are still picking up new signs for words that you can’t verbalize. “Grandpa” is a tough word for you to say but you will sign “grandpa”. Your favorite signs these days have got to be "drink" and “bath”.
• Yup, you read that right, you love signing “bath” because you LOVE THE BATH!!! I never thought in a million years this day would come considering you had a rough few months with the bath. Screaming, crying, grabbing onto us, trying to get out, and protesting being put in the bath. These days, you request a bath, you try to get into the bathtub with your clothes on, you never want to get out and if we ask you if you want to, you say “No”. You have taken a complete 180 when it comes to bath time and it has been so great for all of us. You love when the water comes out of the facet, you love playing with your bath toys, and you even attempt to wash your own hair and body when we put soup on your hands. Hallelujah!!!
• You are in a “No” phase. I thought we may have dodged a bullet with this phase since you were in a “Yeah” phase for some time but that changed this month. “No”, “No”, “No”. We hear it a lot. You have even been known to say “No” when you actually mean “Yeah”. It is quite funny. You change your mind on a dime.
• Everything is "mine".  
• One of my favorite expressions of yours is "Whoa".  You are always perfect with your timing, whether it be when you trip over a toy and almost fall over, almost topple over when sitting, or even if someone else missteps while walking. 
• When we ask you to smile, you will smile and say "cheese".  It is too cute.  
• We continue to work on your colors, shapes, letters and numbers. In the right context you will point to or select the correct color or shape. Of all of the words you say, you aren’t interested in saying any names of colors or numbers but you will get there. 
• You love building towers and structures, taller than you, with your blocks.  Sometimes you knock them over and other times you just keep going, saying "yay!!" when you place another block successfully.  
• Your find motor skills and matching skills are improving as well, and you are able to successfully complete puzzles (with little help), including your shapes and colors puzzle, farm animal puzzles, and bug puzzle.  
• You can read your first book, Baby Talk.  Each page includes a picture of a baby and a word and if we underline the word with our finger, you will read it. 
• You are such a book lover and could look at pages/be read too constantly.  Some of your favorites this month are:  Llama Llama Red Pajama, The Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You, Poke-A-Dot 10 Little Monkeys, The Very Lonely Firefly and From Head to Toe (you love completing all of the motions).  

Is that Mimi?; "Smile"

It is now 2012, a whole new year. I can only imagine how much you will grow this year as you evolve more and more into a 2-year-old little girl. We can’t wait to see what this year will hold for you.

You are the sunshine of my life,

Mommy

Papa's Shoes

Evelina loves shoes.  Her shoes, our shoes, strangers shoes.  I was making breakfast the other day and turned around and she was walking toward me with Papa's shoes on.  Sometimes the phone isn't close enough to capture complete moments but she is still such a doll.  A doll who gives in to easily to ask for "elp" (aka, help).