Santa Lucia - Ravenswood Style

Our church is almost 125 years old and has, for many of those years, celebrated the Swedish Christmas tradition of Santa Lucia. Now Peter is half Swedish, I am part Swedish somewhere in the mix, and we are immersed in the Swedish-Covenant culture of not only our church, but the historic ethnic roots that are part of the denomination I work for, am ordained by, etc. North Park U was my first real introduction to serious Swedish people - I had never seen so many Dala horses in my life! (Well, except for at Sheryl Peterson's house :) - but at school they were everywhere!) Anyway...

Eva was one of many girls and boys who dressed up this past Sunday for Santa Lucia Day at church - around the world this is a festival of lights and sweets that Swedes celebrate - yum!  She and her buddy Leah, who is only a few months younger then her, walked in the procession together following the older girls, and right before the star boys came in. They did pretty well too, with only a few tears and wandering steps during the songs and readings.

Then Eva and Leah stood up in front while the older kids did the program and alternately danced, watched the room with curiosity, and fought with their candles. It is very cute to watch how much Eva enjoys playing with her buddy Leah - Leah is one of our best bribes for encouraging Eva to go to church, go to nursery, go to softball, etc. etc. What a great little friend she has - and thankfully for us, Leah's got great parents too. :) Anyway - here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

 This shot of the dueling candles is my favorite, hands down! :)

 Being cute after the ceremony was done.

Buddies! We love you Leah :). 

Check out the memory on this kid!

I have been stunned at Eva's capacity to remember details, stories, and events lately. She regularly recounts things to me that have happened months, or even a year, before with specifics, accuracy, and certain details that stuck out to her at the time - and that seem to still help her recall the tale now. This morning seems to have triggered a bunch of her specific tales, because in the last two hours she has recounted the following stories/details for me:

 - (While sitting in the dining room next to some Christmas decorations:) Look at the carved Santa momma, its carved, its wooden, its made of wood. Do you know who carved it? Jed did! And Santa is holding a birdie, he is not waving, he is holding a birdie. And he is made of wood. (This story is completed by details I gave her about a month ago when we got out our Christmas decorations, and she randomly brings it up every few days or so, almost exactly in this same order.)

- Look at baby Jesus momma, he is sleeping, but he is not inside his house, he is outside, he is in a manger. He is by the other guys, those guys rode camels. Did you know those guys rode camels? They rode camels for a long time to visit baby Jesus, they rode camels a long time. And Jesus was inside his mommy's tummy and she rode a donkey, and then he was outside her tummy, and he was born! (She pulled these facts together from various stories, books, and times looking at the nativity - today was the first telling of this particular tale.)

- Did you know we want to a museum, and there was a scary statue, and we didn't go up the stairs, and Izey didn't want to go up the stairs, and then we went on the alelater (elevator) and we saw colors and books and hats? (Recalling our trip to the Swedish American Museum about a week ago with Izey and family - she remembers him not liking a scary statue and has told many people about this, kind of with the tone of, "So don't try to go by that statue ok? Bad idea.")     

- (Walking through the dining room while we are playing something else, she says:) One time we were at a museum and it was dark, and we had to be really quiet - and look, I was there! (Here I figure out what she is talking about, as she's pointing at our Ravinia poster on the dining room wall that shows a night scape scene of an outdoor concert there.) We were really quiet, and then we heard music, and it was Peter and the Wolf music (I think this translates as classical music in her brain!), and then we sat down, and it was dark, and I was really quiet and there were stars.

- (After talking to Grammy on the phone, the story I heard was:) When Grammy and Gramps come I can ride in their van, and we can all get groceries, and Gramps can sit in the back, and momma can drive, and Grammy and daddy can sit in the back, and we can all ride in the van together, and I wear my seat belt and then I don't fall out of the van and then I don't fall and get hurt, and then I can get to make cookies and ride in the van!

- (In the office, she looks up at the bookshelf and sees my camera and says:) Momma that's your camera, and one time Josh was sleeping and I was with Izey. (I was stumped here so asked a question or two, to which she replied:) I was with Izey and Ando and we heard Josh snoring, you know, big Josh? He was sleeping and snoring and we didn't wake him up, but we were playing and you had your camera and I was at Izey's house! (This was an actual accurate story of her view of a birthday party - either Ando's or Izey's, probably at least one year ago, could have been earlier even, when we were hanging out at Danielsons and Josh snoozed on the couch a little. I was a little floored at this one!)

- And my all time most amazed memory example from this kid happened a month or two ago, when she and I drove out to a suburb to the JCPenney photo studio, which we only do once a year to get her picture taken. We drove into the parking lot, and got out of the car, and she started to ask, "Where is Kara?" (that is her Aunt in Minneapolis,) and I was confused and said something like how Kara isn't here, she lives in Minnesota remember? But we can skype her if you want later, etc. But the girl keeps asking for Kara, and says Kara is here, Kara is here, where is she? And then I remember - Kara came with us, one year ago, to pick up our portraits at this same store. We had not been there since then, and somehow, even though it was hazy in my own head, Eva connected the parking lot of this mall store to who we came with last time. Unreal to me! She also asked for Meghan once we got into the studio inside - her Auntie who came with to help her smile for the photos the past two years when she was in town. So the parking lot is associated with someone, the studio is associated with someone else, and somehow being in those surroundings pricks her memory from a year ago. Crazy!     

It's the Little Things

Little things that have reminded me that our two year old is rapidly growing up lately include:

- needing to dry her long and ever-thickening hair before going to bed at night, and hearing her say, "I have blond hair! It is called blond!"
- having her look at me with her intense lowered eyes face and say, "I am disappointed," when I tell her she can't climb over the couch.
- watching her at an adult birthday party tonight and seeing her introduce herself, ask about the Christmas tree, listen and have conversations with people of all ages, and mostly just blend right in! (well, along with entertaining people, spinning, and dancing during the singing)
- reading her longer and longer books and having them hold her attention
- hearing her remember things from up to a year ago that she recounts in great detail to me
- watching her connect with friends her age and kids a little older with absolute glee - she always goes for hand holding, playing chase together, and laughing while dancing. I can just see her doing this as she gets older!   
- hearing her call me "Mom" sometimes, along with the regular momma/mommy
- hearing her say, "I will do that myself." :)

There is Nothing Sweeter...

...than hearing your two year daughter laugh and chatter and happily cherish playtime with her daddy. Just outside the closed office door, I hear him join her in pushing dolls in strollers and walking pretend dogs on their leashes and taking amazing and imaginative horse rides; I hear their stories, the places they're visiting, the squeals of glee.

I walk out into the hallway with a broad smile and find super daddy cradling his girl while they rest together, wrapped in warmth within our Christmas-tree-lit living room.

Insert sigh of contentment: here. 

Advent, when the stars held their breath...

"Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath,
when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second,
and the Word, who had called it all into being,
went with all his love into the womb of a young girl,
and the universe started to breathe again,
and the ancient harmonies resumed their song,
and the angels clapped their hands for joy?"

- Madeline L’Engle

Giving Thanks

We were lucky this year to get to celebrate Thanksgiving with several groups of people - we had a bunch of friends over in Chicago, we saw Alicia and Dave in town for a quick and delicious meal, and then spent time in MN with family, where we also saw my Grandma Marly and caught up with some friends in town at the Danielson's house. Jed also came down for a couple days for family time (appropriately), and we explored a new (to us at least) local hangout that had a fab live band (which reminds me that I need to track down their name...)   

We had a great weekend with Mosbo family and friends over the holiday - here are a few pics from our trip:

This shot was taken during a break in the middle of the jumping/dancing festivities with Bo and Megs!

 Beautiful table!

 The guys...

 ... and the girls! (Minus the little girl who was sleeping.)

Fun with Grammy.

This trip was the first time that Eva seemed to get how time leading up to a drive and time leading up to leaving worked; she would ask how soon we would be there, or how soon til she had to leave. She also talked about going to "Miny - sohta" a lot beforehand - she somehow even has the MN accent down!

Happy start to the holiday season - there is so much to feel grateful for!

(This is a gratitude tree that Eva and I made together; each branch has something written on it to be grateful for.)

Joy in a Box!

Eva got a fun package in the mail this week from Godmomma Linnea in Colorado. It contained several fun treasures, but the first gift that captured Eva's attention was...

... a set of fairy wings! What a smile on this 2 year old's face. :) Next, she discovered the rest of the ensemble wrapped up in the box....

...a fairy dress with ribbons/belt, and a fairy wand!

Fairy play ensued for quite a while - including dancing, flying, singing songs, and teaching us parents how fairies run. :) Thanks Lin, for the box of joy you sent our way!

Everyday Personality Moments

There are definite personality trends that have taken root in Eva that seem to be constant themes, even as she grows older and her personality tweaks a little through each stage. 

Eva is very tender-hearted and sweet - with her dolls, with me and Peter, and with friends. Quick to hug, cuddle, or curl up in a lap, this little girl is also usually very kindhearted and encouraging. She's been lovingly putting her baby dolls to bed , over and over again, and singing them songs, telling them she loves them, etc. as a new game. She made it up and all the details involved; sometimes it strikes me how much she is already internalizing and/or expressing care for others and an awareness of what love is. 

This photo and video are of a typical play afternoon - this day she wanted to have a picnic with her dolls, where she carefully fed and cared for each baby doll and then put baby Maya to sleep.

Another tender-hearted memory that made me smile today was when we were in the car, and before we even left the garage, Eva was telling me that she liked my hair, she liked driving with me, and she loved me SO MUCH. So I told her that she was very encouraging, and then explained what the word meant. And after she thought about it for awhile, she said that everyone is encouraging, and everyone needs encouraging, and she loved me SO MUCH. :) Well, she kind of got the meaning of the word; halvsies counts, right?

Another trait I see lately is that Eva is very strong, active and a quick learner. She masters every trick at gymnastics near the front of the class, if not first, and is willing to jump/twirl/run/skip/hop the whole class through. She waits in line for the teacher to give her a stamp (reward each kid gets), plays with other kids when they want to and then runs off and starts anther course when it gets slow. She seems to be both pretty independent and careful to listen (usually). Today in class I was noticing that out of the 15 or so kids in her gymnastics class that are of similar age, she was - by far - listening and responding the most consistently to me and to the teacher. I had a little mommy moment of pride when I realized this was really often true week after week in her class - although I think a lot of it is just her wiring, along with some of it is coming from our parenting. (She now also has her front and back rolls, hand stands, and trampolene skills well-honed from this class, btw!)

She also loves most sports or active games we do together. She played t-ball for the first time this weekend with Peter very well, hitting the ball right off the tee over and over and then running to go get it. Today she and I practiced bowling (in the kitchen), and she routinely wants to run/chase, flip and dance, and "hit the ball and run the bases" inside (throw the squishy softball in the playroom and then run from the back to the front of the house for her bases.) She's got the basics of soccer in the backyard down, and lately has been climbing up the wooden climber at the park (5 ft tall) on her own, and up the slippery side of the slide over and over with no problem.  I'm amazed at how strong she is sometimes and how quick to pick things up and respond to learning a new activity.

The third trait I keep seeing her display is her deep empathy and emotive streak. The girl knows when anyone is feeling sad, mad, happy, scared, etc. and will ask me/you/anyone about those feelings!  She started announcing that she was getting sad at around age 1, which I later learned not all kids do. She still tells us and expresses just about every feeling she goes through, having a wide range of looks go across her face and also a fairly wide range of vocab to describe it all (common looks include her frustrated glower with chin down, her frantic flapping arms full of excitement, her wide open eyes and mouth in surprise or surprise, her deep chortle and giggles at all kinds of provocations, her impish nose wrinkle and grin when she's being mischevious, her hand up and waving with wide eyes rationalizing to us what she wants and how it is a good deal, and her all out full body frustration tantrum!)

She also asks us how we are feeling, or if we are having a "discussion" says "What's wrong?" right away as soon as there is any tone shift in the room. If a friend of hers is sad, she will hold his/her hand and say, "It's ok." If we walk by total strangers she can tell are sad or angry or excited, she will ask me what's wrong until I explain what their feeling may be or what caused them. I realized the other day that I was explaining life and meaning to her at a very basic level when we do this exercise. Why is that lady mad mommy? Well, she might be tired because she is working so hard. Why is that man scared mommy? Well, maybe he is worried about that old lady he is with and if she is feeling ok. Why is that little girl crying? Well, she misses her mommy and wants her attention. Why are you sad mommy? Well, it was a hard day and I am just tired honey. You okay mommy - you want a hug? Yeah honey, I am great, give me that hug. How to let her have her feelings but still express them and understand them appropriately, I often wonder? How do we model expressing our emotions and letting others in to help, but also not spilling stuff all the time and and still dealing with what is ours as adults to just deal with? Sometimes we pray together over sad or mad feelings, but its not as often as it should be; I don't think I would notice that unless I was explaining life to another little human being. But now I do notice that.                    
   
When she is excited or happy, she also positively vibrates!  As empathetic as she is to so many negative feelings around her, she is also very developed on the happy side of the spectrum, much to my relief! She jumps up and down over many simple pleasures, like 'new' boots from the thrift store or getting two star barrettes in her hair today instead of just one. When we suggest a fun destination, or tell her great job for cleaning up, or tease her in the middle of a game - her whole face lights up, you can see the wheels turning inside her head, and she jumps full force into whatever the next thing is.   

I am very aware lately of all that I love about this little person and how she shines through these everyday personality moments. She's also still very creative, smart, loves music and movement, people and art projects, has a wild imagination and tries to convince us of things all the time! Taken together, these qualities are forming our little 2.5 year old into a delightful girl who teaches me something every day and challenges me in ways I never knew possible - and that is a beautiful thing to witness. 

Quoteable

Tonight, while watching Sesame Street before bedtime, Eva called out, "Daddy! Daddy!" with some urgency.

Peter: "Yes honey, what is wrong?"


Eva: "Daddy, but I don't have any fuh!"
Peter: "You don't have any what?"
Eva: "But I don't HAVE any FUH!" (said with increasing concern)
Peter: "Any what honey?"
Eva: "I DON'T HAVE ANY FUH-R!"
Peter: "Ooohh, FUR. I think they want you to just pretend you have fur, Eva."



Apparently the monsters on tv were asking the kids to mess up their fur along with them; and Eva didn't have any fur and so couldn't play along.  

I just stopped laughing... right about... now. :) 

Sneak Peak at Halloween

This weekend our gracious neighbors invited us upstairs for drinks and pumpkin carving (after Eva's bedtime.) These fun people had compete pumpkin-carving sets, patterns, tools, and one pumpkin even ended up with jewels, shoes, eyeliner and a hat!

Peter and I tackled a funny faced pumpkin shape, which yes, took me/us a while to do. But it was amazing what the finished product looked like!

Then we brought home a kid-friendly pattern of a kitty-cat to carve on another pumpkin with Eva. She LOVED it - well, the idea of it at least; and the finished product. The in-between actually carving part, she didn't care for much.

After carving her cat pumpkin, I wanted to try on her outfit for Halloween since I am heading out of town and will miss her dressing up for our church party on Saturday. Again, she LOVED the idea of it - but did not cooperate too long for a good picture. I did, however, get one side picture of her get-up, and then a funny video her practicing her hee-haws with her dad. :) We have a pretty cute cow-girl at our house!   

A Day in the Woods at Camp (with Jesus)

Our family had a short trip up to WI for a pastor/spouse retreat, and P and I decided to bring Eva with us. We enjoyed the bright fall leaves, the cool winds creating crunchy forest noises, seeing the lake during the day and learning about paths at night, and the full moon and sparkling stars that were out. Eva loved playing with a little girl almost exactly her age (Ela), along with some other kids at the retreat, Ela's grandparents and our friend Hannah (who all graciously helped out from time to time with child care.)

After our whirlwind visit to this new place, complete with the kindness of new friends, exploring new buildings and toys, and walking around with mom and dad amidst north-woods beauty, I told Eva that people come to this camp because we all are part of the same big church, we all love Jesus, and at camp we all learn more about God and make friends. She looked at me, seemed to think about it, and asked again, "All from the same church? All the people know Jesus?"  I answered yes, and we kept on walking. 

That night, and then last night, Eva wanted me to sing her "Jesus Loves Me" at night - which I didn't think much of, even though it is a new song for the bedtime rotation. And now since getting back home, her mealtime prayer has changed from the regular, "Dear God, thank you for food, A-Men!" It has now been replaced with, "Dear God, Jesus loves me, Amen."   I think maybe camp has already started to have its affect of helping my girl meet people who know God and love Jesus - and feel that love in return.  :) And I am feeling grateful.  

Happy 40th!

Peter's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this last week - woo-hoo!  All 4 kids, 3 spouses, and a bunch of friends and family celebrated together at an open house party a their church Sunday afternoon.

One of my contributions was decorating and arranging photos for the big day. It was pretty fun to look through old snapshots of Tom and Karen from 20, 30, 40+ years ago and arrange them for others to look at. Whenever I look at old family photos, I am always struck by how similar people look at various ages. Like one shot we displayed of Karen and Tom when they were in their twenties - she was laughing, holding a can of soda, with Tom being mischievous behind her - that could be them today! And it looked just like any young couple today would, on a camping trip, being goofy  and having fun. Looking at them on their wedding day also reminded e of how fast time does move, and how we never know what the future's specific will look like til we get there. They are so young, so ready for anything in their old photos! Then marriage happens in the midst of real life, and you work at things, learn things, get better and worse at things - and, poof! 40 years have gone by. It reminds me of a quote - "No one is made overnight; our real lives are a lifetime of choices in the making."   

It is also always fun to see the extended family and friends in Michigan - Eva even made some new friends (including Jackson, who was such a great sport/older playmate!)

Congrats again to Tom and Karen on 40 years of family, faith, struggles and joys; what a fun day we had celebrating you! (This is one of my favorite shots - it is after feeding each other cake. Hee hee.) 

PS - VerHage family, my photos from the weekend are now on smugmug, fyi. If you have other pics I would love to see them sometime!       

Being Born and Growing Up

While in the car on our drive to MI this past weekend (more photos and stories from that adventure coming soon), Eva told us quite a long story about being born and growing up. It was fairly random - she started the story while we were on 90/94 downtown and she was looking at the skyscrapers, and it was fairly long - what follows is the general recap of what I remember, wit direct quotes where I remember them. It was a very sweet little story that had Peter and I both grinning though, and I wanted to remember it. Snippets of her story relate to us having a friend over last week that was 9 months pregnant and talking about that, and she and I visiting the pharmacy together in the hospital where she was born and me pointing out the floor where my doctor was. Eva's little story went something like this:

"Momma, did you know I was born? And I was just a little baby, a teeny tiny baby, but not right now. Long time ago, I was born. And I was born at the hospital, and I was in Mommy's tummy, and I was sleeping. And then, I WAS BORN! Now I am not baby. Now I older, I am big girl. I am getting bigger and bigger!"

(me) "That's right babe, you were born just a tiny little baby. And how old are you right now?"

"I am two and half, I am big, not like when I was born. But then I keep getting older and older, and older and older, and then I can go to school and play outside and see my friends! When I get older though, I not older now."

(me) "That's right hon; did you know that everyone starts as a tiny baby and then gets older? Daddy was a baby - and then he got older - and now he's grown up. Mommy was a baby - and then I got older - and -"

(Eva cutting me off) "..And now you're MOMMY! Awww, mommy is all grown up. Are you two and half?"

"No, I am older then that. I am thirty-three!  Really old!"

"Wow, thirty-three?? That is WONDERFUL!" (said emphatically!) 

Super Grammy!

Last week was one of those whirlwind weeks, followed by a full weekend, and then followed by crazy full start to another week. It was just one of those sequences where fun, and work, and church, and household-ey things, and two flat tires, and deadlines all piled together to make a very full week and a half. In the middle of this full calendar, and contributing to the fullness, Peter left town for a conference for 3 days. I was planning on just using extra sitter help and winging the Sunday-Wednesday stint on my own, but then my mom got off of work and fabulously volunteered to come to town and help out while he was gone. Tonight, now that she's gone, I am realizing just how much she did while she was here!

Grammy Lou did all the dishes and almost all the meals for me while she was here. She left us homemade apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and shelves full of groceries and Target items. Grammy cleaned up the playroom and kitchen each day, and tidied up other rooms, clothes, and stuff on tables strewn around hourly by our two year old. She re-sewed two pairs of curtains for our bedroom, hemmed my dress pants, and took us girls out for Chinese and shopping at night. She helped me pick up our car from the mechanic's lot, provided a second car for a few days in general, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean with me in the evening. All this was on top of, and not an expected/required part of, me asking her to come and help out with Eva while I was pretending at single parenthood. She got up with Eva in the mornings, watched her while I was teaching or at work, and made up games, songs, crafts, and homemade cocoa with marshmallows for her grand-daughter. It was SUCH a relief to have her help and I kind of can't believe all that she got done. BIG THANKS to you mom. :)

I told her when she was leaving today that I should get her a cape - since she's Super Grammy!      

         

I love that...

... every night at bedtime, after Eva and I read two stories together, she wants me to sing her a specific sequence of songs. First, it's (a short version of), "Chim - Chiminey;" second, it's "Feed the Birds;" and then the grand finale is her favorite, staple, always and seems ever will be the last song she wants - "Baby Mine." She visibly relaxes when we get to the last song, closes her eyes, sighs out loud dramatically, clutches her lambie and looks up at me so gratefully from her little bed. Then she gives me a big sloppy kiss, then a cute little nose kiss, and then she turns over under her covers and says, "Good night Mommy, I play with you in the morning."

I love this little girl. I love that she knows the words to each of these songs. I love that she sings "Baby Mine" to her babies when she's playing. I love how tender and sweet and creative she is, and how all those things flavor our bedtime rituals. I love how she scrunches up her nose for a nose kiss and then giggles. And I just love that I get to be her mom. :)

    

Literalist

We recently started trying potty training around here - very recently. Eva picked out a treat at Target yesterday for her to get whenever she successfully used the kiddo potty, and she chose gummy worms! So last night we got home and headed for the bathroom, after talking up using the potty all day and now there was the promise of a gummy worm. So, Eva quickly took off her pants, had me help her pull off her diaper, and then sat down on the top of her potty with the lid down while saying, "Ok, I get a gummy worm now!" I said, "Babe, you have to go pee or poop in the potty, remember? That is why you sit on the potty." She answered, "No, you said worm if I was on the potty. I am on potty but I don't PEE on HERE??? Worm! Worm please!"

So yeah, we have a little ways to go.... 

Reasons that 2.5 Year Old Eva Cracks Up Her Mom

1. She often pronounces "I love you," as, "I lub you." Still 'bery' heartfelt though.

2. She makes deals with me - in similar fashion to how I sometimes talk to her. Although my deals go like this: "If you eat two bites of veggies, you can have some ice cream - deal?" Her deals go like this: "Oh-KAY, here is a deal, I will watch TEE-vee, not a lot, just a little, and then go to sleep, and then wake up, and then watch TEE-vee, and then we can play together, and then watch TEE-vee - is that a deal?" 

3. When I picked up her cup that had fallen on the floor of the car's back seat, she exclaimed, "Momma, I am SO proud of you!"

4. She dramatically uses the phrases "I promise" (sometimes accurately, often when telling stories about herself), "That is just terrible!" (when trying to type her name and struggling), and "Don't say that!" (when I say no to something.)

5. She tells intricate stories to and with her toys, dolls, and me and her dad - most of the day. Some of them I can track, those that have characters and plot lines - some I can't so much... Regardless of the story arc, her little voice recounting the adventures  of a bunny going to school or a little girl driving with Diego to the grocery store are pretty darn cute - and funny - to overhear. 

6. Am pretty sure she has two imaginary friends, Galla and Holly; sometimes they are her friends, sometimes they are called her sisters, and sometimes she says, "My sister and my brother" - names and person-hood changes are fluid it seems.   

7. She plays a game lately that usually signifies that she wants to held, cuddled, or reassured in some way - I call it the "The baby animal game." It goes something like this: "Momma, are you a momma bumble bee?"  I say, "Yes," so she can say, "I am a baby bumble bee, and I need you to hold me, I hurt my wings, I can't fly." (Then she lays down face on the floor, flapping her "wings" until I pick her up and hold her.) Or another common version of the game is:" Momma, are you a momma polar bear?" "Yes, I am."  "Oh, I am a baby polar bear, I hurt my foot."  This morning it was, "My foot fell off - help me, help me - oh, there it is, silly! It was in the water. Got it! Silly polar bear!"

8. She apologizes at silly times - like when others make a mistake (I drop something and she says, sorry!), or an inanimate object runs into/get run into by/  her (like say, a pole in an aisle at Home Depot, which she runs into and then chuckles, saying, "Oh, sorry pole.")

9. She can tell the story of Lady and the Tramp in a reader book of hers almost word for word; its actually impressive/ little scary how much she knows what detail comes next and in what order. My favorite lines are the repeated ones that Eva retells with exaggerated intonation and smiles. "What's that noise, Lady assssssk-ed." And, "Lady, we are safe and sound, I'm the bravest dog around!" with a rhythmic punctuated thing going on.

10. She dances, a lot, all over our house, in the yard, at stores, while waiting for food at restaurants, etc. Her latest new place to dance is in front of the mirrors on the doors at our new apt. - and she GOES for it, talking and singing to herself, admiring her bad skills pretty happily. :)

11. She pronounces some words really cute - like "a-pot-mint" (apartment) and "wool-pill" (whirpool) - random ones I just heard tonight and remembered as so funny... should remember more later on. 

12. She plays giggle, tickle, hiding and sleeping games with her dad ALL THE TIME. One of her recent ones includes hiding under a towel or blanket, saying "Shh, I am asleep," and then throwing off the cover to exclaim "Surprise! I am not asleep!"

13. She pretends to put us to sleep. Complete with tucking us in bed, kissing us, saying "Good night sweet-art," then closing the door - and a split second later, opening it grandly saying, "What's wrong? What's wrong? Do you need a song?" Then she sings an abbreviated version of one of her favorite nighttime songs, and does the whole routine again, closes the door, and then opens it abruptly again, asking, "What's wrong?" She can do this up to about twenty times if we go along! (Keep in mind that as far as games go, laying in bed while she sings to us and hands out kisses is an okay one to play along with.)

14. She remembers words to songs like its her job; I catch her singing large snippets of Chim-Chiminey, Feed the Birds, Baby Mine, Sesame Street, Jesus Loves Me, Clang went the Trolley, and standards like Twinkle and ABC's at random times. I don't even know that she know these songs until she sings them back to me. (Then I secretly start to think about what songs I better sing more of so that she will know them and repeat them back!)

There are so many more, but I wanted to remember some of these hilarious little quirks that make Eva M our little joy. I am loving this girl's personality and all she teaches and reminds Peter and I about - I can't wait to see how she continues to develop and entertain us with her sweet, funny, emotive and larger the life expressions!       

Moving - and Finding Home...

Last weekend we made the official leap over to our new apartment, a few doors north of our previous one. With the help of some friends and cute short people running around underfoot, we hauled all of our big pieces and much of our small stuff up the road (thanks again helpers!!)  We had been moving over bookshelves/books, artwork, ktichen stuff, etc. before this weekend, but now - we really live in our new digs. As in, we sleep, shower, and have most of our life set up over here. And so far, we like it. We have plenty of work left, including continued cleaning and unpacking and moving in both spaces - but, its been pretty fun so far and our new apt is MUCH larger and fits our life really well.

Eva loves her new bedroom and has slept through the night without any trouble in her new big girl bed! woo hoo! She is, however, waking up a little earlier and starting her signature call for us; "Can you hear me?  Hello - can you hear me? I am awake! Let's play!" Her room is now definately a big girl room - no baby stuff, a full dresser full of big kid clothes, dresses hung up in her own closet, her cuddly toys in her own little bed - no dual space use in her room either. The only time I got nostalgic while making this move was when we started packing up her old bedroom, the office turned baby-space that we so carefully painted, hung up pcitures in, built her crib and stocked it with diapers, in. It kind of hit me that we brought her home to this empty room crafted so carefully and then she became part of our home/family after that. When we first brought her home it felt so foreign and like an experiment! Who is that bundle laying in that other room? Now, every move we make, she will make it with us and define a lot of where and how we set up home. Kind of crazy for me to think about.

Overall Eva's done great with all the moving transitions, but she did have one meltdown the day after all the excitement of the move that kind of broke my heart. She had been going back and forth between the two apartments while we moved for about two weeks now, and after her first night over here in the new space, was fighting a cold, a little whiney, and I think unsure of what else was going to change. She started crying at breakfast over nothing, and then said, "I want to go Home!" I said, "Babe, we are home, remember? This is our new home where mom and dad and Eva all live togeher." (For awhile ther was confusion about if we would all stick together for the move, so I thought I'd reinforce that again.) Then she said, "NO, no, no, I want to go HOME." And I said, "Where is home, babe?" To which she tearfully exclaimed, "I don't know where home is! I am just sad."  :(  Here is where I started to cry a little and both Peter and I did some hugging and holding and then played in her new playroom together for awhile. She recovered fine, but the poor girl reminded me that having everything change and feeling unsure about where you belong is a tricky thing. I can't imagine kids who have to move a lot, or never get to be grounded or steady somewhere - like in refugee camps, shelters, or even on base camps or on the road all the time. We all adapt in some ways to any kind of move, but in a fundemental sense, HOME is where we are safe, secure, connected and loved. And what surrounds us physically in whatever space we're in reinforces and helps define that sense of home. As we set up this new space called HOME I am reminded of that - and so grateful for this space that helps shape our home and the people that fill up our sense of home.

Ok, back to unpacking. :)        

Summer's End

It feels like the real end of summer around here lately. Classes are back in full swing now at NPU, the weather doesn't stay warm without it getting nippy by dinner time, leaves keep crackling under the stroller whenever we're out, and all our schedules and routines are in the process of being switched around for this new season. I feel like we "accomplished" so much this summer - seeing people, places, making memories, trying both everyday and wild stuff with our willing toddler.  Here is my seasonal collage to remember some of the highlights from summer 2010:

Quoteable: There could be trouble

"Hey, I am just going to go get in some trouble, o-KAY? Don't worry about it, just keep typing."

Then, "giggle, giggle," followed by the pitter patter of her little feet, and a door slamming. 

This was an actual quote from Eva as she craned her neck around the corner and looked at me while typing on the computer... and don't worry, I did go check on her and took away the toothpaste she was trying to eat. :) After I laughed, hard, at her pre-emptive warning to me about getting into trouble.

I love this girl.

Once upon a time...

Eva loves to tell stories and make up silly plot lines lately. She usually talks about something that we've done lately, or that she's seen Dora do lately, and mixes it up with new characters and some crazy connections. Her stories crack me up and are also very good diversions when she's crabby or doesn't want to do ________ activity. She also starts her stories with the prerequisite, "Once upon a time," although sometimes it doesn't come at the beginning. Here is just one example of the "power of story":

This past week we were packing a lot and she got a little frustrated one afternoon since we weren't playing together very much. It had been raining the day before and so we had been cooped up a lot - and she decided that she wanted to tell me a story. So, using her cherished angel mouse that she only gets to hold once in awhile (it's Peter's breakable childhood toy), here is a story about an angel, being in the rain, flying, and going to sleep (sort of). I give you, Miss Eva M, storyteller!  

Moving!

For those of you who have not heard already, we are moving soon! We found a great apartment literally five buildings north of the one we've been in for eight years total (five years when we were first married, three years since our move back to Chicago.) While we've loved many things about our current apt, the 2-bedroom and second-floor space with a growing and loud two year old has been increasingly frustrating. We're the only family in our six-flat building with a kid, so I also feel bad for our neighbors who have endured hours of running feet, talking Elmo doll, and her loud stories and songs on the deck! (She's also endured hours of traffic noise, late night party noise, cigarettes on the back deck, etc.) So, after our quest to find a house for over a year ended with no great choices and a still limited budget, we were very fortunate to find a perfect compromise to our current living situation - we found MORE room, MORE liveable kid space, and LOWER rent - all in our same little neighborhood (across the street from where Peter/sometimes I work!)

The more we move our stuff over, the more I am getting excited about our new place. We will have about three weeks overlapping of having both apartments, so we've been taking trips over when parents are in town to help or we have time on the weekend. Today I wiped down just about every surface in the apartment. For some reason, it feels more like home now that I've removed so many layers of grit, grime, dirt and sawdust. Now those doorknobs, bathroom tiles, closet shelf corners and dusty tops of the curtain rods are not only clean - they are mine! :) The new place will hold our stuff really well and is a great mix of big space, liveable lay-out, lots of charm and Chicago-esque built-ins and storage - right alongside modern updates (like central air, new appliances, our own laundry, redone hardwood flrs, etc.) It has three bedrooms + a den/playroom, a small backyard and side yard with patio and flower spaces, a garage we will get to use half of (!!), huge storage spaces in the basement, seven closets, two built in bookshelves by a fake fireplace, one built in buffet/hutch, one built in butler's pantry, and loads of character/beautiful dark walnut wood trim. There are some things I don't love about it - the top of my list includes gold lights in a few rooms and the landlord's rule that I can't paint the newly redone walls. But - I really can't believe how great this space will fit us - even though its consuming a few weekends of life right now. It is also so fun to re-decorate, re-imagine life in a space, and re-set up our home, even though its a lot of work. 

I am reminded today that God is good - options feel good - and that living in a city with a small child on a budget can surprise and reward you from time to time. :)

We'll send out a little "We are moving" update sometime too with all our new stats, but just thought I'd share some details for those who have asked to know more. (Also, to explain why I haven't written more/emailed you or called you back lately... hee hee.)

I put couple photos below that I took when we walked through the new place the first time - so they are from before the space was finished getting redone, but you can get the general idea of what our new little home looks like at least. We really do love it so far!

Laugh-out-loud Quoteable

While Eva and I were at a well-known department store the other day, a voice began speaking over the intercom and said something close to this:

"Thank you for shopping at Kohls. Please go online after your purchase is complete and fill out a survey to let us know about your shopping experience. Your satisfaction is important to us. We want to hear from you. Please remember to fill out a customer satisfaction survey. Thank you for shopping at Kohls."

To which Eva replied, with her head turned up toward the ceiling, and in a LOUD voice: "Okay, OKAY guy, I heard you the first time!!"

How many times have I wanted to say THAT in response to an overly long intercom message myself?

I couldn't stop laughing, for awhile; Eva kept walking next to me, totally unfazed.

Good, Clean Country Fun

All three kids (Eva, Hannah and Jacob) on their friendly horse. Eva hopped right up there, and Hannah and Jacob are pro riders!

As I've mentioned, we've been rounding out the summer with a lot of trips recently - including a weekend in MI with Peter's parents. We had the ultimate countryside fun weekend, and I finally got the rest of the photos uploaded and edited. Eva got to play with two new friends her age (2.5 and 5 yrs old), AND ride a horse for the first time, go swimming, and just all-around enjoy herself. Here are just a few of my faves that show our amazing hosts - Amy, Jacob and Hannah (and Dale), at their horse farm/pool/house, and a few from the church fun fair later that same weekend. Such great people, on a great August weekend...


Hannah and Eva brushing down his legs and spraying for flies.


The two girls had a blast together - although this shot doesn't show it!


The kids took turns using the helmet out in the pasture - Jacob was a great big bro and friend with the girls.


Eva LOVED trying on goggles and flippers! hee hee


Eva and Jacob floating on the frog.


Bouncey castle at the church fair.


One happy girl!

Quoteables

Eva: (yelling) "Lambie, WOO!! Lambie WOO!!"

Peter: "Eva, can you please say 'Lambie Woo' quieter?"

Eva: "Lambie WOO QUIETER!! Lambie WOO QUIETER!" (still yelling)

Then Peter says, "Well I guess I meant more quiet-LY, but..."

Second Half of Summer Pics...

FYI family, our smugmug account is finally caught up on most of our summer fun. (And I also have two great videos of Eva from this week, but am still having trouble loading videos on here. It did work on facebook, however, so I am still exploring how to easily share videos with you all...)

So below are a few of my favorite photos that recently got loaded online - reminding me of what a rich and fun summer we've had this year! 2 1/2 is the perfect age for experiencing the simple joys of summer I've decided. :) Eva LOVED it all.