When Evie was born, she was so delicate and sweet and quiet that we nicknamed her "the mouse." When she cried, it was a tiny little squeak, and she mostly just nuzzled her little nose into you and went to sleep. Now...our mouse has become more of an untamed, aggressive lion. She can still be sweet as pie, but she can also be a bear when she doesn't get her way--or when someone gets in her way. Evie loves "her people" (i.e., Mommy, Daddy, Charlie, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles, and her cousins), but beyond that, you really have to work to get in her good graces. When we go to the park, she is perfectly happy as long as she and Charlie (and possibly an approved guest) have the playscape to themselves, but if another, unexpected child dares to venture up, Evie is quick to yell "NO" at them and attempt to shove them down (I try to intervene, but I don't always make it in time). She is incredibly territorial, especially about Charlie's things. If another child walks up to one of Charlie's toys or, even worse, tries to use his scooter, she runs over, blocks them, holds on the toy or scooter for dear life, and yells "NO! Caga's!" She can back down just about anyone--even kids who are much older (although they don't seem to bother her as much as kids who are just around her age).
Right now, Evie loves: Caga (more than anything else!), our family, horses (when we look at books or drive around the countryside, the kids seem to have reached an agreement that any horse we see is "Evie's" and any cow we seem is "Caga's"), jewelry (she almost never takes off her necklace from Charlie and loves her bracelets), baby dolls, climbing anything, riding her scooter, playing chase or hide-and-go-seek, music (especially "All Through Town," otherwise known as "Wheels on the Bus"), dancing, pony tails, outside, the park, the color pink (the one color she can name, much to my chagrin :), and her "bobby, bankey, lubby, owl, and hippo" (these are the things that accompany her to bed). Evie really loves to sing and dance. She can belt out Wheels on the Bus, ABCs, Happy Birthday (her favorite), and Rock-a-Bye-Baby with the best of them. I just love hearing her sweet little voice singing along with me. :) She is also the funniest little dancer, and we all can't help but laugh at her earnest, jerky moves.
Evie likes to read, but not in the same, focused way as Charlie. You have to work a little harder to keep her attention--she's more likely to sit still for something interactive than a long story. She likes to point out things she knows, and loves any book with pictures of animals. Her favorite book right now is Charlie on Safari, an amazing book Aunt Meggie made for Charlie when he was about Evie's age (with lots of fun animal pictures). She worries and worries about where she is in the book and is always so happy and relieved when she appears at the end. :) I haven't had much luck teaching Evie her colors, although it seems that what is working best is buying various color plates that the kids can fight over. Evie appears to be finally learning colors, because, by necessity, she needs to know the correct color plate so that she can properly insist on the one she wants. Nothing like a little healthy competition to motivate you. :) Without my help, she has managed to learn her ABCs and how to count to 10. Tonight, she even (with help) managed to make it to 20!
Overall, it is hard to sum Miss Evie up in a blog post. She is full of contradictions--she can be the sweetest thing in the world, giving hugs and kisses, saying "I yuv you," and just loving on us, and she can also be the feistiest little lady you've ever seen, pushing (literally) people around and screaming as loud as she can. She loves to play rough (luckily for Charlie, she is a great tackle buddy), but can also be incredibly gentle with me, with babies, and with her dolls. She is rough and tumble and full of action during the day (her fine, white little hair is always a wild mess), but an amazing cuddler and great sleeper at night. She is not the best eater right now, but will do just about anything for "cwackers," cookies, cupcakes, or stick cheese. She is fiercely independent most of the time ("I walk! I walk!"), but becomes terribly shy in big groups of new people. She has the cutest way of burying her head in my shoulder and "playing dead" when people she doesn't know are trying to talk to her--she goes completely limp and her eyes get a very vacant look to them. There is no way to put her down or coax her out of it, you just have to wait it out. :) Even though she is shy around new people, she is the most outgoing little thing at home. She bosses us all around and keeps us all in line. I can't imagine how many times I have walked out of the house or the car or school and would leave something behind if Evie weren't there to remind me. She always makes sure Caga has his shoes, hat, coat, and anything else she thinks he might need. She is silly and funny and keeps things so light and happy around the house (even if she does take herself just a BIT too seriously at times :). Charlie is pretty boy (I think he'd consider himself a "man's man"), so it has been fun to see the contrast as some of Evie's girly-ness starts to emerge. She is definitely more tomboy than girl, as her primary goal is to keep up with Charlie (in that vein, she loves trains, baseball, football, Legos, guns, trucks, and climbing on anything). But she has definitely embraced some "girl" stuff too. She adores her baby dolls, and takes them everywhere with her. She is constantly taking them for "walks" in her stroller, changing their poopy diapers, feeding them crackers, etc. She also loves jewelry, and will do just about anything for a necklace or a bracelet. If a song comes on, she always breaks out in the funniest little dance moves. And if I put her hair in pig-tails, she breaks out into a hilarious little dance, singing "I have ponies, I have ponies!" She likes her bows (most of the time), and gets very upset if anyone other than her is referred to as a "princess" [this princess business is all Charlie's fault. Thanks to the girls at school, he has decided that Evie really needs to be a princess and know all about princesses. Evie doesn't know much about princesses yet, but thanks to Charlie, she insists that she IS one (and no one else is :). Charlie, of course, is a king.]
She has had so many funny little sayings recently that it is hard to transcribe them all. One of my favorites was the other day, when she was worrying over what we were going to give the baby when he arrives. She decided that he had to have a "bobby," "a new lubby," a "banker," and an "owl" (all of which Evie must have to sleep). Then she remembered that the owl is her's, and she started to panic. "Not owl! Ebie's owl!" You could see the wheels spinning and she finally said, "how 'bout gunkey" (referring to Charlie's monkey). She was so pleased with this resolution, but of course, it sent Charlie into all kinds of fits. :)
She also has a tendency to always have someone on her bad list. Whether it is choosing one grandparent over another or one friend over another, Evie (frighteningly) seems to have trouble with inclusiveness. Clint can easily get on her bad list when he's working too much, which happens fairly often. I was trying to get the kids out of a playgroup the other day and suggested we head home to see Daddy. Evie not so sweetly said, "I no want Dada. Dada yucky!" Charlie was horrified and said, "Evie, that's not nice! Daddy is so nice and does nice things for us like read us books about witches! [The Wizard of Oz] We love him!" This only got her going more and she became very adamant that "Dada yucky!" after that. Luckily, a weekend at home seems to restore Daddy to top status. :)
Evie's 2-year stats:
Weight: 26 pounds, 13 ounces (55%)
Height: 34.5 inches (70%)
Head: 19.25 inches (75%)
I took these pictures when my parents were in town for Evie's birthday party and these first ones just crack me up. My dad was teasing Evie, and it is so easy to get her going. She has her pouty face on in this first picture--this is what she looks like right after she shouts "NO" at my dad for teasing her. I love her sheepish look here--she knows she is being silly, but can't stop herself... :)
This girl LOVES to push her baby strollers!
Here is Evie playing in our yard. Her very favorite thing to do is swing!
Evie likes to read, but not in the same, focused way as Charlie. You have to work a little harder to keep her attention--she's more likely to sit still for something interactive than a long story. She likes to point out things she knows, and loves any book with pictures of animals. Her favorite book right now is Charlie on Safari, an amazing book Aunt Meggie made for Charlie when he was about Evie's age (with lots of fun animal pictures). She worries and worries about where she is in the book and is always so happy and relieved when she appears at the end. :) I haven't had much luck teaching Evie her colors, although it seems that what is working best is buying various color plates that the kids can fight over. Evie appears to be finally learning colors, because, by necessity, she needs to know the correct color plate so that she can properly insist on the one she wants. Nothing like a little healthy competition to motivate you. :) Without my help, she has managed to learn her ABCs and how to count to 10. Tonight, she even (with help) managed to make it to 20!
Overall, it is hard to sum Miss Evie up in a blog post. She is full of contradictions--she can be the sweetest thing in the world, giving hugs and kisses, saying "I yuv you," and just loving on us, and she can also be the feistiest little lady you've ever seen, pushing (literally) people around and screaming as loud as she can. She loves to play rough (luckily for Charlie, she is a great tackle buddy), but can also be incredibly gentle with me, with babies, and with her dolls. She is rough and tumble and full of action during the day (her fine, white little hair is always a wild mess), but an amazing cuddler and great sleeper at night. She is not the best eater right now, but will do just about anything for "cwackers," cookies, cupcakes, or stick cheese. She is fiercely independent most of the time ("I walk! I walk!"), but becomes terribly shy in big groups of new people. She has the cutest way of burying her head in my shoulder and "playing dead" when people she doesn't know are trying to talk to her--she goes completely limp and her eyes get a very vacant look to them. There is no way to put her down or coax her out of it, you just have to wait it out. :) Even though she is shy around new people, she is the most outgoing little thing at home. She bosses us all around and keeps us all in line. I can't imagine how many times I have walked out of the house or the car or school and would leave something behind if Evie weren't there to remind me. She always makes sure Caga has his shoes, hat, coat, and anything else she thinks he might need. She is silly and funny and keeps things so light and happy around the house (even if she does take herself just a BIT too seriously at times :). Charlie is pretty boy (I think he'd consider himself a "man's man"), so it has been fun to see the contrast as some of Evie's girly-ness starts to emerge. She is definitely more tomboy than girl, as her primary goal is to keep up with Charlie (in that vein, she loves trains, baseball, football, Legos, guns, trucks, and climbing on anything). But she has definitely embraced some "girl" stuff too. She adores her baby dolls, and takes them everywhere with her. She is constantly taking them for "walks" in her stroller, changing their poopy diapers, feeding them crackers, etc. She also loves jewelry, and will do just about anything for a necklace or a bracelet. If a song comes on, she always breaks out in the funniest little dance moves. And if I put her hair in pig-tails, she breaks out into a hilarious little dance, singing "I have ponies, I have ponies!" She likes her bows (most of the time), and gets very upset if anyone other than her is referred to as a "princess" [this princess business is all Charlie's fault. Thanks to the girls at school, he has decided that Evie really needs to be a princess and know all about princesses. Evie doesn't know much about princesses yet, but thanks to Charlie, she insists that she IS one (and no one else is :). Charlie, of course, is a king.]
She has had so many funny little sayings recently that it is hard to transcribe them all. One of my favorites was the other day, when she was worrying over what we were going to give the baby when he arrives. She decided that he had to have a "bobby," "a new lubby," a "banker," and an "owl" (all of which Evie must have to sleep). Then she remembered that the owl is her's, and she started to panic. "Not owl! Ebie's owl!" You could see the wheels spinning and she finally said, "how 'bout gunkey" (referring to Charlie's monkey). She was so pleased with this resolution, but of course, it sent Charlie into all kinds of fits. :)
She also has a tendency to always have someone on her bad list. Whether it is choosing one grandparent over another or one friend over another, Evie (frighteningly) seems to have trouble with inclusiveness. Clint can easily get on her bad list when he's working too much, which happens fairly often. I was trying to get the kids out of a playgroup the other day and suggested we head home to see Daddy. Evie not so sweetly said, "I no want Dada. Dada yucky!" Charlie was horrified and said, "Evie, that's not nice! Daddy is so nice and does nice things for us like read us books about witches! [The Wizard of Oz] We love him!" This only got her going more and she became very adamant that "Dada yucky!" after that. Luckily, a weekend at home seems to restore Daddy to top status. :)
Evie's 2-year stats:
Weight: 26 pounds, 13 ounces (55%)
Height: 34.5 inches (70%)
Head: 19.25 inches (75%)
I took these pictures when my parents were in town for Evie's birthday party and these first ones just crack me up. My dad was teasing Evie, and it is so easy to get her going. She has her pouty face on in this first picture--this is what she looks like right after she shouts "NO" at my dad for teasing her. I love her sheepish look here--she knows she is being silly, but can't stop herself... :)
This last picture is so Evie to me. She is wearing her necklace (that she proudly declares, about 10 times/day, is "from Caga"), has three bracelets layered on, has her bow, and is eating cottage cheese (yogurt, but she calls it cottage cheese because Charlie eats cottage cheese in the morning and even though Evie doesn't like cottage cheese, she has to do what he's doing :). She doesn't have the tiny breakable spoon, but she does have her second favorite--PINK.
I have had so much fun this year really getting to know Evie's likes, dislikes, and quirky little personality. She is the best little daughter and companion I could imagine, and I cannot believe how much I love this little monkey. Evie Kate, we are so blessed to be your parents!
Sweet Evie, she is such a delight!
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