Five for the Price of One

I really don't have the time to be blogging right now ... 

yet here I am.

I should have separated all this word vomit into several different blog posts, but the aforementioned time crunch allows for a little wiggle room (in my opinion).

Evelyn is such a little lady these days. Don't get me wrong, she's always jumping off furniture and making messes, but she does so in such a girlish way. For instance, she HATES having her hands dirty, sticky or wet. Anytime they get even a crumb on them she starts begging, "Hand! Hand!" so I will help her wipe them clean. If she sees me putting away dishes, folding clothes, or making the bed, she always tries to help. Then an hour later I will find her doing that same thing on her own. She loves putting things in boxes, bags, or purses (see below). 

She has friends! I know this may seem trite, but I was worried when she didn't really have any friends in nursery or at playgroup. I've heard its normal for kids to play by themselves as toddlers, but she tends to get a bit shy, plus she is terrible at sharing, so I was hoping that someone would be attracted to her magnetic cuteness as I am. Of course she still has problems sharing and sometimes it takes her awhile to warm up to nursery or a friend at their house, but now after we leave church or a playdate she will talk about the friends she saw all day. She will ask where her friends are when she gets up from a nap or run to the door saying "Go! Go!" (She repeats everything at least 2-12 times)

Here is Ev with her friend Isabelle at Thanksgiving dinner. They had their very own little-big girl table. It was precious.

She has to show me EVERYTHING. And she will not stop trying to tell me or show me what it is until I repeat EXACTLY what she has said to me. Sometimes its hard because I don't know what she's saying, but eventually I can decipher using her body language and my mom sense. 

Obsessed with reading lately. We go to the library once a week for new books and story time. When we get home Ev will dump her books out of the bag and say, "Read. Book," and we'll read through them each a few times before I force her to take a nap. She could seriously read all day. The best part of this process is seeing her learn so rapidly. We read a book once and she will ask for it (partially) by name or by the picture on the front. She will fill in the words if I pause and look at her and she will point and call things by name. Its awesome. Sometimes I can't believe how quickly she grasps a word or concept. For instance, we read a book about baking cupcakes and we talked about ovens. The next day she goes to her kitchen and takes the cupcakes off the stove and puts them in the oven, waits patiently (3 seconds) for them to cook, takes them out and brings them to me and says, "Hot. Cupcake." Then she blows on the cupcake and hands it to me, saying "Hot," once more. 

We just talked and read about baking cupcakes, but I've never shown her how to do that with her own kitchen. Granted, she sees me cook all the time, but I just can't believe that children can learn so much from simply observing. Sometimes it makes me nervous. What else have I done each day that she will mimic? Because I know its probably not all as cute as blowing on hot cupcakes.

While she definitely prefers me (most likely by default), she ADORES Nick. She asks for him throughout the day and if I tell her that Dad is coming home soon she'll wait by the door for a few seconds until she gets bored. But the second she hears the door open she'll run to greet him. 

I love it.

She's a ham. A total honey baked ham.

I mentioned in the last post about her sucker/candy cane addiction. I usually let her have several each day because she eats so many fruits and veggies. Seriously you put veggies on a plate full of delicious food and she will always pick the veggies. (Who is this kid?) 

Her faves are broccoli, carrots, peas, french fries (does that count?), and cucumber. 

She will get up from a nap, run to the fridge and beg for carrots. 

Her hair fits in a ponytail! Hallelujah! One ponytail vs two pigtails? I will always pick ponytail since its easier. Now if only her bangs would grow...

She ate MEAT (only once). We were at Costco and she ate like 3 Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets. Of course I was so happy since she normally hates meat, so I bought a huge pack.

She hasn't touched them since.

Luckily Nick enjoys a Mickey Mouse nugget or two because there is no way in Hades I'm eating one of those. 

She loves to play. She asks me constantly to go "play." 

With the rainy weather, we've got to get creative, but it can be done.

Still loving gymnastics every week.

See? A ham.

She's a shopper. She loves to help me pick out stuff and almost always wants to hold things in her hands. I hope she never figures out that life is better outside of the cart.

And of course, she's so Kardashian these days in her cheetah.

Seriously, this girl is giving me competition in the cheetah department. I have more leopard print than anyone I know, but Ev is right on my heels.

So squeezable.

Nick is almost done with finals (one more on Monday!) and its honestly been a really hard couple of weeks. I love being a mom and hanging with Ev, but not getting a break from parenting is hard on me emotionally/mentally. So if I've been acting crazy, that's probably why. In addition to feeling like we live in an estrogen bubble without Nick around, I have been crazy busy with church. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get to everything, which is probably true. I'm learning to accept the joys of a cluttered house while I serve others. Its been so good for me to think about others instead of my gut instinct of myself. That said, its still a lot. And why are the holidays so busy? Its like 35 Christmas parties and shopping and blah blah blah blah and more blah blah blah and sometimes I just want to do nothing but watch Christmas movies, but instead I have all this stuff to do. Love the season, but sometimes its overwhelming. That said, I have so much to be grateful for. I'm incredibly happy despite having some tough trials this past year. Its hard not to dwell on sweet Keith's passing, but Christmas time reminds me of the Savior's atonement, which reminds me that we can all see Keith again. I miss that kid.