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? :)

 

Funny Phrases From a 20(ish) Month Old

- Eva routinely stands up, points both hands outward in a wide gesture, and exclaims, "Ta-da!" This can happen when she wakes up from a nap, when she puts together a toy, when she gets all dressed up in her winter wear - really anything she is proud of or just done with. It's awesome.

- When Eva is upset about something that is going to happen, like us leaving her or turning off Sesame Street, she know states emphatically ahead of time, "I cry, I cry" - which sounds like, "I kai, I kai."  Then she half fake, half for real starts to cry - with her hands up on her cheeks. Except for the part where she is really truly sad, it's pretty funny. :)

- When Eva is done with an activity, or done being with a certain person (could be a babysitter, one of us parents, a grandparent, etc.) she turns to that person/activity and loudly says, "Bye-bye." Even if you are mid-way through an activity, or in the middle of holding her, or still hugging her good-bye, if she is done, she declares "bye,bye" - several times, while waving bye to you - and that is that.

- Eva has discovered the fine art of tickling, which anyone who knows her dad will not be surprised at. She has helped tickle other people for awhile now (by 'tickling' I mean sort of scratching, sort of wiggling her fingers generally in the direction of someone else.) Recently she added tickling herself to her repertoir - so her routine goes something like this: yell, "Tick! Tick!" then wiggle fingers at mom, wiggle fingers at dad, tickle self in the tummy while falling over backwards on the couch, repeat.  

- Her current counting usually goes something like this: : "1, 2, 8, 9... TEN!"

- Her current alphabet singing goes something like this: "a, b, Ceeeeee, d, eh, eh, Geeee.... eh, eh, eh, eh, l, m, oh, oh, Peeeee.... eh... Veeeee, ....Zeeee... eh, eh, eh, eh, a, b, Ceeees, ...... Meeeeeee." 

Fave Books List

Grandma V suggested once that we write down Eva's favorite books before we forgot what they were, and I thought that was a good idea! Parents everywhere will know what I mean when I say that just typing in each book title reminds me of exactly which page, which sentence, and which picture made/makes Eva squeal with glee. And yes, I can recite from memory most of these books... not sure if that is something to be proud of or not? :) But I am proud of how much Eva and both of us parents love reading together - and do want to remember these titles in the future.

First/Early Favorite Books:

- Where is Baby's Belly Button? (flip book)
- Tails (touch and flip bk)
- Alphabet Books (Baby Einstein in a Box Series)
- Goodnight Gorilla
- Where is Baby? (flip book)
- Baby's First Words (fish on front)
- Touch and Feel Farm Animals
- Are You My Mother? (soft bk with plush bird)
- Global Babies

One Year Old Favorites:

- Duck Ellington Plays Jazz
- Ella Elephant Sings Scat
- God Loves You Just As You Are
- Baby's First Nursery Rhymes (peek through bk)
- Baby's First Bible (peek through bk)
- Baby's Praise Songs (peek through bk)
- On Noah's Ark
- Snuggle Puppy
- A Baby's First Year (Eva's Birthday Book!)

18 month old Favorites:

- Go Dog, Go
- 4 Pups and a Worm
- Counting Kisses
- Dr. Suess's Alphabet Book
- Corduroy BIG Book
- Elmo and the Schoolhouse
- Green Eggs and Ham

Three Holidays and a Sermon

We just finished a very full long weekend - celebrating Thanksgiving, early Christmas, an 85th surprise Birthday, and then preaching for the first Sunday of Advent. After we got home tonight, I realized that this is one major event per day, for four days in a row. :) It was a lot of fun to see people in MI and enjoy family time during two holiday festivities! We got to hang with Josh and Kara who were here from Mpls and spend a morning at the Field Museum. Then we all drove to Peter's parent's place and met Alicia and Dave, who had made the long trek into town from D.C. Jill came over for the holiday celebrations too, and so it was a full VerHage family gathering! We even got to see Peter's cousins and much of his extended family who were in town to celebrate Peter's great-aunt Casey turning 85 - a surprise party that was so fun to see for such a sweet and tender-hearted lady.

Eva had great times with the everyone on our visit and took turns walking various people around the house by the finger, usually while saying 'come, come.' She also enjoyed chasing after the small chocolate soccer balls found in her stocking, and trying to pull out the pigtails that I kept re-doing in her hair. This morning, when we were back in town, she enjoyed the Bethlehem scene set up in the front of Sojourner Covenant Church where I spoke this morning. A beautiful miniature little town, complete with lighted star overhead and the scrolls of Isaiah resting on the floor, fills the stage at the front of the church.

We really had a good time at each event - and are feeling surprisingly rested and ready to start a "normal" week now. Yeah for Advent and the start of the holidays! Yeah for getting to appreciate family from near and far. Yeah for being invited to share the beginning of the Advent journey with a neat congregation. I am a fan. :)