About those resolutions. . .

Ah, yes. It has been over 6 weeks since my last blog, and to think I once had grand plans to have multiple blogs! Ha! Having 2 kids has ended being approximately 45.267 times more busy than having just one. Throw in a birthday party, going back to work, and Daniel's baptism and I feel I have more than covered the excuse bases. But, there are a few things I want to write about, so since my best husband ever is home with the kids while I sit in Panera (best Valentine's gift ever, right here, folks, I'm not lyin'), I finally have the time.
I am now the proud mama of a two-year-old. I can't believe it, myself, but it turns out that even if one is too busy to record such moments in writing, they still happen. It was a fabulous birthday extravaganza that lasted nearly two weeks (the joys of having a cousin just 13 days younger!). Eva really got into the whole birthday thing this year - presents, candles, cake, and singing the song were all enjoyed with equal excitement. She and Eli can both almost sing Happy Birthday themselves, though of course they won't do it on command, so no video evidence exists. On her actual birthday we had a cake I decorated myself (not a craft I'm any good at, as you'll see in the pictures I post later), but she loved it, and somehow she knew that you wait until the end of the song to blow out your candles! With each subsequent candle-blowing experience (there were 3 total), she got less effective, and the cake got more spit on it. Yum! Sorry, Eli, that last cake was yours :) Here are the things I most want to remember about Eva right now:
1) Hugs - anything can be hugged. A friend sent a Valentine's card, which she pressed tightly to her chest and squeezed, and just today she hugged my computer as I was editing pictures of Meemaw and Pawpaw (Grandma & Grandpa Piper). Her brother is a frequent target of her hugs, and while he doesn't mind the body squeezing, when she gets his head in that vise grip, he senses that her intentions are not totally innocent. She gives great hugs to me, though, and there is nothing better than having a little person squeeze you with all her might.
2) Mothering - Eva is the best 2-year-old mom I know. She carts her two babies around everywhere. They are so much work! She has to put them in her shopping cart, take them out and put them to bed, wrap them up (repeatedly, because they get dropped out of their blankets constantly), bathe them, feed them (and we don't use bottles - uh uh - these kids are breastfed just like her little brother!), and of course, they cry a lot. Her face when she says "Baby, kwy (cry)" is so cute, a little sad, and pretty much my favorite face at the moment. Actually, pretty much anytime anyone cries, Eva is on top of it - paci's for Daniel and mimi's for Eli, she runs and finds what the person in distress needs. Of course, about 89% of the time, she's the reason the poor kid is crying in the first place . ..
3) Words - boy, has she ever started talking. She'll say anything (so John really needs to get that road rage under control!). She has a cold right now, so about every 10 minutes she comes to me and says "Nose runnin'" and if I am otherwise occupied with Daniel, goes to get a kleenex so I can wipe it. She also likes to tell John and I want to do - "Daddy, giddup" when John is trying to sleep in, "Mama, couch" when I am trying to get her to eat her snack at the counter (and do I give in to that - oh yeah, because where would I rather be - standing at the counter or sitting on the couch?). I love that she can tell me what she wants (even if she's not going to get it! "Chokit" (chocolate) is one of her favorite things to ask for).

And now for Daniel - who is already 3 months old! We are getting ready to start cereal - yikes! Where did the time go? I am not sure, but hopefully I can soon stop blaming my memory problems on lack of sleep. He slept for 11 hours last night - which would have been even better if Eva hadn't woken up at 3:30 for some unknown (but luckily easily remedied) reason. I forgot how quickly babies grown and change - and looking at my pictures of Daniel, I realized that he is not going to have quite the same photographic record that his sister had. Poor second kids - they get the short end of the stick. I'm still just about start writing his milestones down in his calendar - whoops! He is a big guy - already growing out of 6 month clothes. Hopefully, he'll slow down soon, otherwise, Eva's going to have to a BIGGER little brother. He is a smiley guy, and we just started using our Bumbo seat, so he's been joining Eva and I for tea parties. He doesn't enjoy them for long, mainly because his sister keeps trying to feed him fake food with a little too much enthusiasm. He is a cuddler, and loves, loves, LOVES to be held. It is both gratifying and frustrating to pick a crying boy up and have him immediately smile up at you - but I am try to enjoy it more than resent it, since he's growing so fast I'll soon need back support to carry him around!

Well, that's all I got for now - John is probably getting a little lonesome for his partner in parenting about now.

Enjoy our Walgreens pics, too - all 140 of them! Guess it's been a while since I unloaded my cameras, yikes!