Catch-up

OK, I know I am perpetually catching up. I keep thinking, "Next week, I'll sit down and write in Eva's baby book," or "Tomorrow, I'll organize all the pictures since CRL this summer." Yeah, right! On the up-side, you can walk through my house, see the floor, the only dog-hair dust bunnies are deep under the bed, and I have tons of memories of Eva stored up in my head from every day we spend having fun. I am inspired by Annie's blog to post about the latest and greatest in the life and times of Eva. I can't believe it has already been a year. She is still everything I ever wanted, so much so that I am contemplating the next baby. But first, let's talk about my sweet peanut baby, Eva. Since it has been so long since her one-year check-up, and I can't find the summary sheet, I'll have to recite the stats from memory (and it's a little spotty, which is why I try to write things down in the first place). I think she weighed 18 lbs. 7 oz, was 28 inches long, and hmmm... head circumfrence is totally gone. Anyway, she was in the 10th percentile for height or weight, and 25% for the other. And her head was in the 75th or 80th. Needless to say, she is a peanut, and for Valentine's Day, her daddy got her a little yellow elephant named P'nut, which she promptly hugged (first time, and this is one of the milestones on the hand-out from the pediatrician - check).

I am trying to add a video of Eva saying her first words. She started saying "Duuuuue" (Duke, the dog's name) at the beginning of February, and quickly added "baby," "uh-oh," "ni-ni" (for night-night)," and making the "Ahhhh" sound after she takes a big drink. The video is very cute, and she loved watching it on my phone and copying all the sounds, but I just deleted it from my phone while trying to put it on my computer. I hate technology.

Onto the rest of the update. Eva has moved on from her tripod crawling to real crawling, walking along all furniture and with the help of 2 (always 2) hands, she'll run. She will stand up on her own for a few seconds (probably about 15 or so) and then carefully sits down on her haunches and then her bottom. That just started on Friday, after Aunt Annie and I put her hair up in pig tails for the first time. I do have a picture of that.

It makes her look so much older. I think that is why she started standing up - she thinks she's a big girl now. But, she is still a little cuddler. This past week she has had a pretty bad cold, and when she gets up at night (only once or twice for two nights, so I'm not complaining!), I go in and pick her up, blankie and all, and we go out and sit on the couch together. She tucks her head under my chin, sticks her tiny, tiny thumb into her mouth, and sighs. It is the best moment of my day (or night). Even better, she slept on me for an hour the other night - John went in to wake her up from her evening nap and she was still so sleepy, that when he brought her out to me she was still all warm and toasty, and she just curled up on me and went back to sleep. It was like when she was just a newborn and would fall asleep, totally relaxed. And today she fell asleep on Grandpa Dan, who proceeded to join her in the Land of Nod. So, even a standing-up-with-pig-tails-in-her-hair-girl will still sweetly snuggle with you.

The first birthday party was a huge hit - although initially overwhelmed by the total attention of a large crown for the birthday cake eating, the kids got over it and enjoyed their cakes. Thanks to Grandma Jackie for making the best first birthday cakes - EVER!

The toys from said party overwhelm our house each day, but I have purchased enough storage bins (let me count them . . .11) to contain them all after she goes to bed. We are working on "picking-up" and not just "getting-out." Still a new concept, and not totally accepted. I am also working on adding "please" and "thank you" where appropriate - I find it very putting off to hear kids demand things of their parents or other adults without the use of politeness. You can all scoff at me in 18 months when Eva orders me around like a mini-dictator.

Let's see, what else? It is funny to watch Eva crawl over to Duke - she is learning to be "pat" him and not "pull all of his hair out repeatedly." He is a very tolerant dog, but we stay close. It does not take long for 90 lbs. of sharp teeth to do some serious damage. So far, he is very good, and Eli also enjoys playing with him - unlike the cats, Duke just sighs and curls up in a tighter ball when the kids approach him.

Eva loves peek-a-boo, anytime, anywhere, using anything to hide. Even hands over eyes will work - she tries to copy you, but currently this results more in a gouging motion than a covering of her eyes. We play with Daddy all the time when he comes home from work and he crouches down below the window or sneaks up behind the couch. She opens the shower curtain (while I'm in the shower) and hollers until I open the liner and say "peek" or "hello." She laughs and giggles hysterically when I put her towel over my head at the end of her bath. This game never gets old, and the laughs always tickle me, too.

Funny faces and sounds are a specialty - I wish I had video of some of them, but alas, once the camera comes out she goes stone-sober and will only sit and look at you. Annie's favorite is the smooshed up lips with the "shoosh-shoosh" sounds. It is pretty hilarious, if I do say so. Eva is quite the mimic - she'll try to do a lot of the things she sees us do. She watches everything, and doesn't miss a thing.

She is a turbo-crawler and can get lots of places pretty fast. Fortunately, nearly everything dangerous can be shut behind a door. One day last week, John got in the shower while we were playing out in the living room, and as soon as he closed the bathroom door, she jetted down the hall and sat outside the door, hollering to get in. We thought it was hilarious.

Actually, the bathroom is one of her favorite rooms, as bath-time is such a good time! The first thing we do is turn on the water. Eva stands at the side of the tub and watches, and waits for me to undress her. Today, while I was trying to get some new lotion out of the cabinet and apparently took too long to begin the next step in the bath-time regime (which is undressing), she crawled over and tugged on my leg, then started trying to get her shirt off. What a little smartie! She will take her arms out of her sleeves if you hold the end, and will take the shirt off over her head, and she will step out of her pants, one leg at a time. It is so darn cute, I should get video of that, too. At the end of her bath, she loves to look at herself in the mirror and give that cute girl the biggest smile, showing all 6 of her teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom).

I just realized I have written about Eva hollering - I must clarify. She does not scream, or anything rude like that. It really is more of a "hey - hey, you guys" kind of sound. It is still funny, so I don't think I will count it as a tantrum.

Eva spent her first over-night with Grandma & Grandpa Piper while Mommy and Daddy went out of town for Valentine's Day. She has spent the night at Annie's house before when I had to work while John was gone, but we have never both left her and gone to another state. Granted, it was a state only 45 minutes away, but still, boundaries were crossed. It went very well, and I didn't even call until after she was all tucked in for the night. She was not sad to see us go, but very happy to see us come back. Maybe next time I'll be able to leave for more than 18 hours. Or not.

That's all for now folks. Thanks for being patient and waiting for my Q month blogs.