Chatty Cathy, Part 5

A lot of people ask me if I've done anything special to help Ev learn so many words. The answer is mostly, no. She's just a talker - I feel bad for her teachers already. The other day I said "Crap!" and she totally repeated it seconds after I did.

The only thing I can think of that we do that is different is flash cards. I found a bunch in the dollar section at Target (you know, the section that I spend at LEAST $5 in every time I go) when Ev was about 5 months. Before she could sit up, we'd read through them (I actually learned a ton about National monuments and bugs) while she sat in my lap. Then when she was learning to sit up (8 1/2 months) I would see how many I could read through before she fell over (don't worry, it was onto a pile of pillows ... most of the time). Then when she was scooting, I would see how many I could read through before she could scoot over to me. Now we just read through them. She obviously can't say, "Grand Canyon National Park," but she usually says, "Rock! Rock!" And she's learned quite a few words from her flash cards.

That said, I think even if I hadn't done any flash cards at all, she'd still be repeating "Crap!" after I say it. She's just a verbal girl. In some ways, it makes things a lot easier. For example, I almost always know what she wants or what she means based on her hand gestures, what she's saying, and the basic context of the conversation. She almost never gets frustrated with me for not understanding her because I usually do. However, she knows that I understand her perfectly. For example, when she gets up from her nap and says, "Candy," or "Chocolate," there is no pretending I don't know what she means. If I try to act like I don't hear her or change the subject, she will continue to repeat chocolate until I say no. And once I say no, she usually throws a fit. And after letting her beg for a few minutes, I usually give in (such a hardballer, I know). When will I learn that I should just give in initially?

Even with the fits though, I love being able to sort of talk to my kid. We've been working on saying prayers on our meals and I know Heavenly Father appreciates Ev's way more than mine. Her prayers usually go like this, "Heavenly (take a swig of milk), Thank you (start eating what's on her plate), silence while she chews, Jesus, Christ, Amen." Needless to say, our food has been especially satisfying and delicious since Ev has been blessing it.

She makes everything hilarious. I know the things that she does on a daily basis probably aren't interesting to anyone else, but I think she is literally the funniest little person ever.

She is obsessed with shoes. She always says, "My shoe," as she puts her feet into my slippers or Nick's dress shoes.

Also obsessed with Nick. She asks for him constantly throughout the day. She always says, "Dad. School." She knows that there is a 100% chance that if Nick isn't as home, he's studying.

When Nick gets home from school, they usually play until dinner is ready. Then after dinner they watch a little bit of a show and she goes to bed.

Lately, when I get out of the shower, I find her like this:

She dumps her blocks out, turns the container over, stands on it, and puts her face about 8 inches from the screen. Mother of the year!

She weighs 21 pounds, 0 oz and is the tiniest thing still. (She's rocking the 3rd percentile)

Her favorite foods currently are: Cucumbers, carrots, lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, popsicles, yogurt, and frosted mini-wheats. There is obviously a reason why she's rocking the 6-12 month leggings. 

She HATES the tub. Absolutely hates it. Its a recent development and I'm not sure why. She used to love coloring in the tub and playing with toys. Now she claws at me when I put her in and cries and begs for me to take her out the whole time. I think that she'd just rather play than be trapped in the tub, but she usually runs away from me after I take off her clothes. (See picture below)

When I finally get her in the tub and I'm able to distract her with a crayon, there cannot be ANYTHING in the water. No bubbles and definitely no specks. If she sees a little floating speck she'll say, "That! That!" and I have to scoop it out or she'll try to jump out of the tub. Its weird. 

I secretly love when she runs away from me stark naked. Her little buns are my favorite.

She has also acquired a lot of "friends." Everyone knows about Ket (Blanket), but the crew has grown exponentially. I swore I would NEVER let my kid sleep with a bunch of crud, yet here I am eating my words. She has 3 Kets, but only the one Ket is her favorite. The other ones have to be in the crib, but she won't snuggle with them or rub them against her face like she does Alpha Ket. 

Here are her friends from left to right (she has named them):

Baby, Bear, Baby, Goose, Duck, Evie, Ket, Ket, Ket, Guy, Turtle, Sheep, Bunny, Sheep.

We finally bought a little baby crib and put it next to her crib and have been trying to encourage her to put her friends in it. So far its worked okay. She still sleeps with at least half of her friends, but if a couple end up in the baby crib, I'm chalking up a win.

As you can see, our world revolves around Ev and we wouldn't have it any other way. She is the comic relief all day, every day and we love her for it. 

And as exciting as we think Ev is, we are probably equally as boring. Nick does school, work, church and exercise. I do motherhood, reading, church and exercise. I've been sewing a little too, but not too much. I recently learned how to crochet and have subsequently taught Nick. We (THIS IS NO LIE) typically clean up and sit on the couch while we crochet and watch our favorite TV shows. 

I told Nick that I thought he would like it since he loves tying knots and crocheting is basically tying knots. He agreed and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me when we watch The Bachelor and crochet together. That's true love, right? 

Then at 10 PM, we go to bed (I usually stay up reading for an hour or so). 

I realize after saying this that we seem like the lamest people on the planet. But I'm convinced that we are really cool and nothing will ever change my mind.