Rapunzel, Rapunzel

Today we attended the Chicago Kid's Company production of "Rapunzel" along with a couple hundred screaming youngish and school-age kids. It was surprisingly good :) - by that I mean, for low-cost tickets and while playing to a kid audience, the cast did a great job of entertaining older and younger kids, and making me laugh a few times too! They were great actors, sang songs that engaged the kids, did several costume changes, used music and lighting to signal changes in scene and emotions, and the experience kept Eva's arms flapping most of the performance.

The five-member cast was also very sweet afterward and greeted the streams of kids who stopped by to meet them. Eva loved Rapunzel's hair, petted it a little, and then talked to the actress who played Rapunzel in order to explain to her (very seriously) that her hair did not grow as long as Rapunzel's did. :)

We went to the play with our family/friends who had seen this company perform before, and we got front row center seats in the auditorium. All three kids did great and seemed to enjoy themselves a lot. Our godson Isaac even developed a mini-crush on Rapunzel; here is his little-too-long hug with her after the show.

Eva wasn't too sure about going to a "concert," as she kept calling it before we went, and wondered if she would like having to be quiet or the lights going to dark between scenes. But - she loved this show. On the walk out she was already asking when we got to go see them perform again. During the show she waved her hand to volunteer information and sang along with the songs when asked, laughed repeatedly, and also jumped into my arms a few times when Nexus (witch/mean gardener figure) was on stage. What a fabulous memory of Eva's first time attending a play!  

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. :)        

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!

Bringing the Summer Fun

This long weekend has been a really fun exploration of trying new stuff, enjoying everyday things, and celebrating a long holiday weekend with four days of family time in a row!

Just today, we got a huge bag full of clearance items from a neighborhood thrift store for under $15.00, then took the el downtown, had a Ghiradelli's Ice Cream treat and visited with the carriage horses on the magnificent mile, before heading back home for naptime. In the last few days, we've camped out by the lake in Evanston to see fireworks (and saw 0.2 minutes of the show before Eva got scared and we went back home), flew a kite by the lake, swam at the beach and collected shells, and swam at two neighborhood pools (where Eva has successfully jumped in, rode on my back, put her whole head under once, and blew bubbles twice!) We've also hit the nature center to see animals and shoulder high plants, set up Eva's new sandbox, watched Mary Poppins (and then sung songs from it almost every day since!), had dinner out and saw a movie with some friends, and taken a bike ride and trips to the park. I happily crossed a bunch 'o things off my summer fun list today - and the long weekend isn't even over yet!

Most of these events have cost us little or no money, have taken minimal planning, and have been very fun for all three of us. It has been a good reminder for me that I can feel "accomplished" in these fun, everyday and family ways - not just through homework or sending work emails. :) It has also been a good reminder that motivating ourselves to try some things that are new, being ok with activities that may take time to get to, or patience to park at, etc. makes this city a great place to enjoy the summer and enjoy each other. Also, we've taken a lot of naps after our time in the hot sun and galavanting around town - that also helps!

Pictures will be coming sometime soon... happy Fourth to July weekend to all!

Summer Fun List '10

We've had a busy and fun start to the summer. So much so that I am not taking photos, blogging or reflecting much about it lately. But that is a good problem... I will update photos and other fun snippets for grandparents soon :) - but in the meantime, I thought I'd quick post the "fun summer list" that has been in my head this past month. I finally jotted it down last week and its been kinda fun to see what we've already accomplished and what we hope to still make time for this summer. I am in a phase of needing to write down details, plan ahead, and make good use of intentional time and relationships - hence, a summer fun list! (Plus it doesn't hurt for me to see things crossed off and associate some accomplishment with a jumbled up summer schedule.) Here is what we're doing - or hoping to do - this summer in the fun category (I also have some impressive "to-do" lists, but those aren't as, you know, "fun.") If you want to help make our fun list come true, lemme know and we can have fun together! :)

Fun Stuff for Summer List:
 Visit the Library
Fly a Kite
Visit the Beach
 Go to the Zoo
Go to the Children’s Museum
Go Camping – with Eva? Without?
Visit a State Park/go Canoeing at park or in the city
Take a long bike ride and picnic
 Play Nerts - lots
Play an outdoor lawn game we haven’t played before
 Plant flowers on deck/backyard space with Eva
 Take a (big) boat ride on Lake Michigan
Find a friend with a (small) boat on Lake Michigan
See fireworks
Go to a new discount/thrift store
Go to garage sales in our hood or Evanston
 Make homemade popsicles
 Do crafty-something-super-mom-ish with Eva
Play softball
Go to Ravinia
Do something at a Covenant Camp
Go to Chicago Fire Game and/or Cubs Game
Visit Shedd Aq
Go Dancing at Night
Train for and/or run a 5k (by October do the actual run)
Do Karaoke
Go swimming in a pool for first time with Eva
Do gymnastics with Eva
 Take Eva to dance/music class
Pick fruit/veggies from a garden
See at least two movies in the theater
Date night seeing a play/musical/performance/downtown
Paint one room in our apt.
Find great salsa/pico de gallo recipe – make it
Make at least 2 kinds of cordials/liquor for the fall
Visit somewhere new that is nearby – MI vineyards, or WI somewhere…
Go bowling
Play mini-golf
Watch Mary Poppins, Music Man and/or Sound of Music as a family
Go to Farmer’s Market
 Volunteer at church event/community event as a family
Try one new neighborhood restaurant
Read (at least) one great fiction and one great non-fiction book
Find new devotion/reflection book to use ongoing
Record something for fun with friends (singing, piano, etc.)
 Have fun grandparents weekends planned with both families
 Pick out fabric/clothing design for handmade Eva outfit
Spend quality time with a friend from out of town who I don’t see enough
 Spend quality time with a friend in town who I don’t see enough
Enjoy a campfire/backyard fire
Go to street festival/neighborhood carnival
See the view from the Sears Tower
 Take Eva on the el/bus ride

Good Bye 2009....

Happy New Year Everyone!

After some tastey homeade liquers to celebrate, and recovering from getting our car towed tonight from Lake Shore Drive (bad alternator cut short our downtown drive/sightseeing stops), I started slowing down to reflect some on this past year. It's been a year full of changes and also waiting for change; full of the same everyday and small things right along with the unique and deeply significant events. It's been a complicated year in some ways - but also a very simple one. I think I am ready for 2010, ready to welcome whatever is next.

I've been loving making collages of my fave photos lately, since the visual connection of where we've been and what has happened helps me remember and organize (at least some of) the random thoughts in my head. I find myself looking back at the collages when I can't remember when something happened, or where the time went. So here is our past year in photo review form. :)  2010 - here we come!

Winter 2009:  (photo above) New yrs at our apt, wedding, mtng Linley/Ando/Wyatt, midwinter Sankofa reunion, trip to FL to lead conference, helmet was finished!, a gets very chattery and expressive

Spring 2009: weddings!! fun with family and visits, Izey turns 2, Eva starts to walk, Tim and Megs leave :(

Summer 2009: traveling to the cabin/MN/MI/Door County/all over, discovering stickers and the deck, started house hunting, saw cousin Sarah and visiting godparents, Eva's first sprinkler and paint set, OPRAH!

 Fall 2009: trip to Thailand, fall fun, visits with fam, more Lincoln Park Zoo/Children's museum, Ando's dedication, seeing Eva turn into a comedic little toddler!

I Don't Know What YOU Did Today, But...

...Eva experienced her first real snowfall!  This goes under the category of "things I would never do if I didn't have a toddler" - but we had some fun mom and daughter time as I bundled up Evie late this morning, complete with snowpants, puffy winter coat, hat, and layers of warmth to keep her warm in the frigid air. Right after the new, heavy, beautiful bright snow had settled over our fair city, we went across the street to meet Dad in the 'winter wonderland' play yard that is NPU. So. Much. Fun! 

So far, Eva calls snow both "so" and "so-man" - snowman - pretty interchangeably. So she was overwhelmed with delight as she explored the 'so-man' with her hands, kicked it around with her feet, and made trails all across the hump (open space on campus) while smiling people walking by looked on. I enjoyed frolicking around a bit myself - and then noticed a bunch of people we knew walking by and chuckling as I ran around in my own boots making the outline of a person with hair, arms, and a face in the snow with my tracks. Mom gets to have fun too, right? :)

 

HOO-RAY!!

After almost seven months of being in Thailand, my brother and sis-in-law (aka, two of my favorite people on the planet), returned to the States last week. :) While we did see them just last month on our trip over there, having them back in Chicago where they could hang out at our place, play Zuma on our couch, cuddle with our girl, and just enjoy some everyday life together again was precious time indeed. Above are Tim and Megs looking way too rested and tan for just getting off their marathon flight home.

Above is Eva excitedly waiting for them at the airport!

We had a great time with them in town, and I am convinced that Eva remembered them - she had a lot of fun with her 'Unca Poop' and 'May-guh' - we all thought we heard her refer to them that way. :)  

Even though they won't be in town again for a little while, or live up the street (or up one flight of stairs) from us anymore, just knowing they are back on US soil, with access to someone's cell phone that we can call them on, makes us all a little happier here in our household. :) Hoo-ray!

One and a Half?

We crossed another milestone last week; Eva is now 1 1/2. To me that sounds old somehow - which I think is more due to the fact that our little girl is fully a toddler and seems to have lept ahead in several kinds of growth spurts recently, all of which remind me how fast she's growing up.

Personality at 18 months:
- Eva knows what she wants and is more adept at telling us what that is. She yells often and speaks loudly to command our attention - but then easily adapts if you listen to her or talk with her enough so that she feels hears. She still yells back at honking horns or loud animals - maybe she will always be a fiesty "right back at you" kind of verbalizer. :) That would be kind of fun.

- Evy also does her fair amount of falling apart into tantrums for now real discernable reason - but is usually distracted into being happy again by stickers, songs (especially Old MacDonald Had a Farm,) or fun fruits. These are magic bullets people!
- Eva has intense looks! Strangers in stores will point out how cute she is, AND how cold and steely her glare is. She does the glare for lots of reasons, I can't always figure out the why - but it does communicate volumes! Her looks now tend to match her feelings and gestures/words much more.

- Eva will take a bath, jump in a pool, play with water or in water, splash with a bowl full of water - do just about anything with water for as long as we will let her. HOURS in a pool and this girl loves it. Dumping water by little spoonfuls (and large bucket-fuls) over the side of the deck - never gets old.
- Eva is much stronger lately, pulling herself onto chairs, shelves, couches, beds, up and down her nightstand and window ledge- whatever she can manage to get access too. She is also more sturdy on her feet when she does climb up and down, and is also almost always excited to be chased, swung, twirled, danced with, thrown around, etc.

- Eva likes being tickled! (Which is good news for her tickle-happy dad.) If you start to tickle her, say rubbing the bottomof her foot, when you stop, she will lift her foot up in front of you and say, "go, go, go" until you tickle her again.

- Eva understands my basic discipline and limits I tell her; not that she always obeys, but I can tell she knows at least 90% of what I tell her and she follows complex directions or requests easily. She wanders away when we are out together, but looks back to check for me. Sometimes she will run farther then I told her she could, and then stop to see me come get her and tell her no.

- Eva is genuinely delighted to see us (me and Pedro) lately. She will wake up in the am/after naps or come home/see one of us return back home and literally pump her arms with full force, or squeal in delight, or run over and forcefully give us a leg hug, or smile super wide and jump into our arms for a squeeze, usually all while chattering and talking Eva-speak to us. It is amazing to me how cool this reaction feels as a mom; such genuine feedback and connection from this little girl! Love it.

No doubt about it, she's getting to be her old regular little person!

Language Development*

Favorite new phrases:

- mow, lee (more, please)

- go, go, go, go, go (when she wants to go - mainly leave the house for the park or car)

- noo-ow (no way)

- yum-um, yum-um (yummy, or I am hungry)

New words:

- uh - uhp, uh - uhp (up, up)

- ow... ow-tuh (out, out)

- caw (car)

- coh (cow)

- moo (moon)

- wah-ow (wow)

- stick (stickers)

- ah-boo (apple)

- choch (clock)

- chram (grammie-grandma)

- doe (door)

- bah-bah-bah (lamb)

- yee-a (yeah)

- poo, poo-uhl (pool)

- bah/buh-boo (bath - keeps adding words for this one!)

- ah -may (amen)

- ah-do (all done)

* I could write a whole chapter surrounding just this area of 'language development;' it would include emails I should not read from 'linguistic specialists' who scare moms of toddlers, emails I should not read from moms who try to compete with the universe through their kids' early language skills, and my own surprise at being affected by Eva's quirks in her timeline for this developmental area. But, suffice it say, I've been happy to hear her reading, talking, pointing, and listening to more and more words each week. I think she is probably soaking in a lot about her world right now, as she should be, and will not be destined to remain in special ed her whole life, despite not speaking in short sentences by 12 months (as one of the aforementioned emails enticed me to believe.) Sigh. :) Being a mom is nuts sometimes, nuts!

I have lately returned to being able to notice and encourage her word acquisition and growing comprehension, but chill out about the speed and accuracy with which she connects it all together. So now it's fun to reflect on how she says words and which words are common in our house, because already her vocab is so different then it was a few months ago.

It feels good to stop and reflect/remember who she is lately, and who she seems to be becoming. I now understand why parents always say 'they grow up so quickly' - I think time is forever different when you nurture a little person literally from their entrance into the world into becoming a walking, talking, hugging, school-attending, school-graduating, home-leaving person of their own. I never got that before Eva! Ah, I have a one-and-a-half-year old. :)

Labor Day Weekend

I know its been several weeks already, but I had to share some of the great photos and fun times that we had over Labor Day Weekend on here! My college roomie and a godmomma to Eva, Linnea, came into town from Colorado so we could play, talk, eat, sleep in, laugh late at night, and take a bunch of pictures together for a weekend.

Most of these photos Lin took on her fab camera (thanks, chica!), which helped make a fun walk in the park a photo shoot. These first few shots are of us in Gomper's Park by the fishing pond - it's Eva's new fave park (and there are many more good pics from the park and the weekend in our online photo albums as well.)

We also spent an afternoon with Lin at Danielson's *new* house for their block party - meeting all their new neighbors and chillin with the chillins. My favorite pic is the one here, of the two toddlers sitting on the front stoop - so cliche, and so cute! They were swapping sunglasses, drinks, and some kisses that afternoon. Gotta love 'em!

Over the long weekend, Eva and I also got to see Molly, a dog that Linnea was meeting so she could consider bringing her back home to their family in CO. Molly is a cute, smart pup that we watched fetch tennis balls in the lake and run all over the hillside; she is flying on "Pet Air" to join Lin in her new home next month! Needless to say, Evy was pretty excited about a dog who could swim AND chase balls.

Labor Day also marked ten years of marriage for Peter and me! TEN YEARS! We've done several date nights to celebrate our anniversary together already, and are taking a big trip to Thailand in a week or so that is in part to celebrate - but it was kind of cool to actually pass the official day and think about all that has happened in ten years of being married to my best friend.

How lucky we are to be able to share everyday moments - and big milestones - with friends that we love so much! :)

I. Met. Oprah.

Well, along with an audience of 150 or so other people!

My ever-vigilant online mom snagged us tickets to attend a taping of an Oprah show last week - woo hoo! Mom was spending a chunk of a week with us for babysitting help, and while she was in town, she and I got to spend an early morning/afternoon driving down to Harpo Studios off Randolph Street (did you Chicagoans know that her studio is two minutes from the highway where we all drive all the time? I didn't.) While waiting for the taping to start, we were told that we were part of the first audience to tape for the new 24th season - so we of course thought we'd get to hear Whitney Houston or someone amazing to kick off the season. But, I think we were the first show they taped, not the first show that will be shown (they didn't tell us when our show will be aired, as mom kept pointing out - over and over - and again.) Sadly, we did not get to hear Whitney sing (or win a free car), but it was still a really cool morning!

The whole experience was really fun and seems only fitting for someone who a) has lived in Chicago for over a decade now, and b) loves all things Oprah. The show we attended was about international stars - famous people from around the world that Oprah wanted the US viewers to be introduced to. We met "the Chinese Oprah" - Chen Lu Yu - and her live audience via Skype; the "most famous couple in the world" - Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were in studio from Bollywood (the 'Indian Hollywood'), and an Argentinian polo player turned Ralph Lauren model named Ignacio 'Nacho' Figuera also joined Oprah on stage for an interview. The guests were all very interesting - and funny! - people.

A few favorite memories from the day include:
- when we drove up to a nearby parking lot on our way into the studio, and mom rolls down her window to tell the parking attendant, "We're with Oprah - where can we park?"
- when we found *free* street parking (after said parking attendant told us his rate was $30.00)
- when we met two other people from Rochester, MN, sitting one row over from us in the waiting room for the taping
- when we met a couple who spent $1,000 just on their last minute airpane tickets from California to come use their Oprah tickets and visit Chicago for the first time (yes, we spent $0.00 to use our Oprah tickets)
- when we first walked into the actual studio, on the same plastic, white and silver hallway on the set that you see Oprah walk on every time, and found our seats under the hot overhead lights while Mary Blige was pumping on the stereo - it felt electric!
- realizing just how many famous people are doing cool stuff around the world that we don't hear much about
- seeing Oprah and her whole team in the studio in action; I was really impressed with her voice-overs, interviews, how she read people intuitively while interviewing them, responded to tricky questions, etc. She is GOOD at her job; from the eensy-weensy amount of work I've done speaking on camera and writing communications material, you can tell she has done this for years and is a PRO-fessional at it - very cool to watch.
- hanging out with my mom and having a crazy-lucky morning 'with Oprah' together!

Good News, Bad News - it's all mostly good

The past week or so has been a whirlwind at our household. We've had visits with two grandmas - one bringing homeade dollie clothes (see picture), one bringing a suitcase that Eva likes to sit in! (see second picture) We've also taken some steps toward becoming first time home buyers (yikes!) and I (Liz) found out that a job I was really hoping would pan out for this fall did NOT work out (boo). Peter's work has ramped up as school starts again on campus, and I am newly job hunting, working on my dissertation writing, and learning a little more about historic Chicago bungalows and lawyer fees! We have a trip to Thailand to see my bro and sis in October to look forward to (yeah!) and of course Eva is changing every day. She is now into climbing onto everything, saying her 'alphabet' constantly (sounds something like "a, eee, ahh, yo, bee"), and being outside as much as possible. Whew - when I write it all out no wonder it seems like a lot. Some good, some hard - all of it seemingly "normal" these days.

I am grateful for all the good that is mixed in with the hard, and am trying to intentionally look at all of it lately. Peter and I have both been aware of how much we really do have, and how much there is to be grateful for, even in the middle of the unknown and the crazy parts! I wonder if this is more what this phase of adult life is going to feel like? Sort of catching up with what we can, adjusting expectations around each turn, mixing ordinary and extraordinary in the same breath, and reaching for balance each day? Like having fun at the dog beach Sunday afternoon and then coming home to do dishes and job hunt, or watching the sun brighten up Eva's little curls as she snuggles in my arms on the deck and realizing I am truly happy in that instant - and then the next instant having to wrangle her into her jammies while she's crabby and getting frustrated at all the loud street noise outside her bedroom window that is keeping her up at night. Huh - maybe this is real life now, maybe this is normal; kind of a wild, strange, unexpected and beautiful sense of normal - but I will take it.

Oh - one other thing - this Wednesday, my mom got tickets for us to go to a taping of Oprah! Good news! :) Summer is wrapping up a little crazy at our house - but yeah, there really is lots of good.

Summer Lovin' ... Part 2

(a few more fun things to remember from our summer...)

Favorite sweet moments:

- Watching Eva dress, feed, kiss and push around her dolls, stuffed animals and toys
- When I ask for a kiss and Eva gives me a big "mmmm-ah" and kiss; and then keeps kissing me!
- When Peter askes for a kiss and Eva gives him with a big "mmmm-ah," and then he melts and doesn't leave for work on time, just in case he might get more kisses! :)
- Reading, cuddling, singing and rocking in her chair at night together; Eva often wants me to kiss her lambie for her, kiss her forehead, and hold her hand/cheeks while falling asleep at night, which I truly love doing.
- Having her lean back on me while in my lap, or lay on/lean on me/Peter while we snuggle in bed together in the mornings.

Favorite funny moments:

- Dancing - while standing, sitting, at the table, in the car, in her crib, in her diaper, naked, in the tub.... you get the idea
- Twirling and twirling, around and around, to any music that is on - for so long that she gets dizzy, or tips over, or falls down laughing!
- Watching her try on things (hats, long bead necklaces, my shoes, Peter's shoes, sunglasses, our glasses, ...)
- Hearing her wake up in the morning (through the baby monitor), which usually sounds something like this: scuffling sounds, a few yelps, a dull thud from her lambie being thrown on the floor, a sharp snap from her paci being thrown on the floor, her music from her crib player thingy getting turned on, and then her cute little voice starts chatting/singing along with the music.
- Eva learning to whisper. She does it most often in the mornings when one of us gets up with her and the other one is sleeping (and by 'other one' I mean me.) When she wants to come into our bedroom to get the other parent up, she holds her finger up to her mouth and says, "shhhh," and then slowly pushes open the door and tiptoes over to our bed. Truly funny to watch.

Summer Lovin,' Had Me a Blast

It seems like summer is flying by lately - August always seems to do that. We've had a lot of fun these warm months with our newly walking, chatting, happy toddler. And I've learned that as a parent, I definitely enjoy this age more than the newborn stage! It feels like we have this real little girl now - a changing, evolving, learning, responsive, facinating little person that shares every part of life with us. I am slow to adapt to change sometimes (this is funny in its understatement, if you know me well!), but I am grateful that I now feel like I am in a place where I can fully embrace that I am a mom, that I even like being a mom, and most importantly, I LOVE being a mom to Eva and I LOVE seeing Peter be her dad. :) Ah, growth.

I want to remember some of fun things that have shaped our summer and the ways that Eva is changing, so I am compiling some "summer favorites" lists/pics. Here are the first few....

Favorite "firsts" this summer:

- Dance Class ("Everybody Move" infant and toddler sibling class in Evanston), where Eva learned to twirl, sing the rain/thunder/lightening song, and chase her older friend Lily

- morning visits to the library (Budlong Woods) where she was more interested in the other kids than she was in the books

- swimming in a kiddie pool with friends (Izey) and at the cabin

- visiting the playground and learning how to slide down the short slide on her own; watching her love the swings and swinging alongside mommy or daddy

Favorite "everyday moments" from our urban summer life:

- Eva playing out on the deck and entertaining herself (inside her tent, playing hide and seek with mom, watching the puppy and two girls in the yard next door)

- Eva yelling back (loudly) at the ambulance sirens as they drive by outside

- Pointing at the many airplanes that fly overhead (our apartment is located under three routes for planes landing at O'Hare)

- Watching Sesame Street.org video clips when we're inside (Elmo, Destiny's Child, Fiest, and the LaLaLa Song are favorites)

Stylin' Shades part 2 - or, "The Realistic Side"

This second, short little video of her with her new sunglasses shows another side of our little girl. It's not really about the sunglasses - instead, this clip captures a sweet, priceless everyday moment of cherubic little girl; namely, her predisposition to say "no, no, no, no," and repeat it over and over. :) I have trouble not laughing at her because I think the way she says it is so cute. Although Peter reminds me that over time, hearing a repetitive "no" will probably NOT be cute.

So to balance out all the cute little girl moments, here is our girl being - you know - a little 16 mos old girl. :)

For Liz's Birthday....

...We hit one of my favorite places on earth - Lincoln Park Zoo - where we saw a good friend and her toddler/hubby in the dairy barn there, ate lunch outside under the umbrellas, and explored all the best animal exhibits.

Later that night I also celebrated with the ladies out at Ravinia, but I was too relaxed drinking my wine and listening to Rachmaninoff to get out my camera and document that part! Woo hoo for turning 32.

Random Fun this Week...

Liz's cousin, Sarah, and new hubby Chris, drove through town and we got to have dinner and hang together one night. Yeah!

Sarah and Chris also brought a very special guest - Daphne and Eva spent a lot of time sniffing each other out, but eventually Evy petted the cute pup. It was pretty funny watching the two of them get used to each other.

We also discovered that Eva LOVES stickers. Face stickers, ear stickers, toe stickers, clothing stickers - anywhere we could stick 'em, they are fascinating to play with!

And I discovered a new super-short summer hair cut that I officially love!

We also spent a morning at the local nature preserve and Eva had a blast watching a deer chewing through lily pads (yes, a deer was in the water, neck deep, eating lily pads), chasing geese, 'running into' leaves and branches while on daddy's shoulders, and watching kids of all ages.

Back Home and Playing

We've been back in our own digs for almost a whole week now - after a solid six weeks of being gone at least every weekend, and sometimes as long as nine days at a time. Whew! The travels were fun, but it's nice to be home again.

We have a lot of great photos from our travels that we'll be getting online sometime soon; but in the meantime, here is Eva playing her new version of hide and seek at the breakfast table with us today. She did this for about five minutes and we could not stop laughing. This kid is getting more fun by the minute! She keeps us giggling a lot of the time and is becoming more and more of a little girl/toddler with her own personality and quirks, which is very fun to see. She also did better with the travels as they progressed and adapted pretty well to having her bed on the road for so long. Mom and dad also got better at understanding this new phase of hers that now includes stronger opinons and mini-tantrums; I suppose that is what parenting is going to be like - she changes, we figure it out, she changes again. :) All in all, this toddler stage is a very fun one, and it was fun to share her with so many family and friends during our travels.

Our Favorite Game on the Deck

This is Miss Eva M. at her finest - laughing oh so hard, just from playing hide and seek around a deck chair. :) Enjoy - and you may want to turn down your speakers a tad - this girl has lungs!