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!

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!   

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!  

Eva Being a Chicken (!)

Because it's too funny not to share... here is a peak at our two year-old's favorite afternoon pastime from a few weeks ago = pretending to be a chicken. The video snippets don't do justice to the reality that had us laughing all afternoon, but they give you a little taste. If you're having a bad day - just check these out. Oh Eva - you crack me up!



"Momma - make me a beak! Want to be birdie! Want to be chicken!"



"See - Eva is a chicken! Tweet, tweet.... tweet, tweet."

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

We're off to Thailand for TWO WHOLE WEEKS tomorrow morning... and it feels surreal! I already miss our little girl more then I thought I would, and got teary-eyed making a little calendar for her that shows the days we'll be gone and ends with a picture of us holding her. Sigh.

I also cannot WAIT to see my brother and sister in law in just 24 hours, and have them show us around their world over there. We have such a fun group of people we will be traveling with, and I think it will be a perfect mix of adventure, relaxing, seeing sites and chilling on the beach - it all sounds so great... once we get going and on the plane all the running around the past week or so will fade away.

Here is the cute girl we are leaving behind (with loving grandparents!)

Below is a great recent video of Eva dancing and giggling with me. ( I also have a stellar clip of Eva reading with daddy, but it's not loading properly tonight... I'll try another time.) This clip is for her - and us - to have online while we are out galavanting around Thailand! I know Eva will have a fantastic time with her grandparents in MN, probably learning new skills, words, and songs every day - but I know I will miss her and will now have to work to remember how to be without her. She's at the age where she is a total information sponge and so fun to watch learn; my parents have planned so many activities for her visit that I wonder if she'll even notice we're gone? :) How blessed we are to have people who love our daughter so much and help keep her safe and supported while we are gone - and we are also grateful for the financial ways my parents also helped make this trip possible. Big thanks grammie and gramps! And thanks Tim and Megs for being our in-country guides! As Eva would say, "wow!" What an adventure we get to embark on! :) See you in two weeks.