I wanted to document what I love about Eva at this age, and the cute and funny things that make her Eva Margaret. At two years old, I would describe Miss Eva as spunky, giggly, sweet, cuddly, outgoing, sensitive, extroverted, smart, funny, fearless, and active. She loves being on the move, being around other kids and adults, and trying out new stuff. She has many little personality traits that keep developing – she laughs at herself and us easily, sometimes even being silly or playing tricks on us; she almost always loves reading to herself or being read to; she picks up words and emotions from people around her pretty quickly; she’s fairly adaptable and flexible, but also thrives on some structure and having things explained to her ahead of time (which Peter thinks might be her mom’s influence!) She’s definitely had her bad weeks/phases (where nursery at church was hard, babysitters couldn’t put her to bed, or she got really whiney and crabby for no real reason) – as all toddlers do. But in general, she’s a pretty easy going, vocal, sweet and smart little girl who I daily marvel at. Also, I think she is about the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen but – that is just me.
So – Happy Birthday Eva M! Your mommy and daddy love you so much and so do a lot of other people. I can’t wait to keep seeing the little girl that you grow into and keep learning how to be your mommy. Cheers!
I love…
- watching her cook “wuffahs” (waffles) in the morning with her daddy
- when she bonks my glass with her sippy cup and says, “chaizz” (cheers)
- reading the Ladybug Book and the Counting Kisses book at night while cuddling
- having her ask me to sing Baby Mine and hold her at night while cuddling
- how she scrunches up her nose to make her ‘cute face’
- how anytime she hears music she likes she dances, swinging her bum and shoulders back and forth, and often asks me to dance too
- seeing her excitement over so many things; walking up and down the stairs, playing peek a boo, Pooh, Elmo, going to the park, getting in the car, when her favorite songs begin, taking a bath, swimming, going outside, taking a walk, having her favorite sitters come over, having friends come over, when she can hear one of us coming up the stairs to come home, etc. When she’s excited she still wildly flaps her arms up and down and opens her mouth like a little birdie, like she has since she was tiny!
- watching her tuck in, feed, and take care of her baby dolls
- when she spontaneously breaks into singing the alphabet at the top of her lungs
- when she counts to thirteen (“firteen”) but almost always forgets “4”
- when she says, “be right back,” or “wait just a mitten” (minute), ‘cause she hears us say that; or “bit of elmo” to watch a video on the computer, “I hung-ee” when she’s hungry, or “crib, up ‘n down sky” to get in our bed and be lifted up high and dropped down by her dad
- how she always picks up on when people/characters in a book or on tv feel sad, even often crying or making sad sounds along with them (“aww, baby sad”)
- how she carefully sets up and runs her train on the tracks and over the bridge, over and over and over..
- how great she is at puzzles, especially the shapes and animals (with the missing fish) ones
- how often she says “okay – okay – okay,” “again, again,” and “yesss.”
- how she likes to go into a room, closet or bathroom by herself (even in the dark), close the door, and giggle until we open the door to “surprise” her; then she says “Stay! Go!” indiscriminately (she confuses those words.)
- that she likes to watch and ‘play’ Zuma - she calls it the ‘froggie game, ball game’
- how she will talk to herself while laying in her crib, often going over the day she just finished at night or remembering stuff in the morning, like talking about a random event that stuck in her mind from earlier in the week (i.e., “Izey sick, mommy daddy home soon, swing park, abcs….”)
- that she usually obeys/responds when we explain something and reinforce it once or twice (so far!)
- that she likes to help “keen” (clean) with her broom, and by taking baby wipes around the house and cleaning her chalkboard and the mirrors, etc.
- how she plays with her hippos/duckies/turtles/dollie in the bathtub, often making up conversations between them all as they ‘climb’ around the tub
- snuggling in the morning with her and Peter in our bed; including having her tell us to ‘seep, seep’ and ‘awake, wake up’ while we pretend to be asleep or awake, and including Peter’s many flip and twirl and flying games in our bed
- hearing her uproarious giggle – when she gets tickled (especially under the chin), chased, when we play catch or kick the ball up and down the hall, and when she looks over the shoulder of one of us on the stairway and sees the other person behind her on the stairs
- that she loves to go fast on the road (while I am driving) and spots buses, trucks, cars, and stop signs from the backseat with great enthusiasm
- that she knows when we are getting close to certain routine destinations just based on the roads, like the ‘him, him’ (gym) where she plays ‘base-bull’ (basketball) in the playroom, or ‘Izey’s house’ (where she hangs out on Fridays.) We can be several blocks away from where we’re headed and she will recognize where we are heading – which amazes me!
- how she closes her fists and puts them under her chin when we pray, and loudly says “Ah-mein” when we are done
- how she sings along with songs like Winnie the Pooh, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Frosty, ABC’s, Jesus Loves Me, Sesame Street, Elmo’s World, Rock A Bye Baby, Baby Mine, Sing a Song, and my favorite, Halo (from Glee.)
- that she wants both her crib rainforest music player AND her CD player on a the same time while going to sleep
- seeing her dress up (in her hats, in her sunglasses, in our shoes, in empty boxes, with her necklaces, with her purses, with my bracelets, in my hats, etc.)
- how after we tuck her into bed, she pulls the covers up to her chin, snuggles with lambie, and waves to us while saying “bye, bye.”
- that when I come home after being gone she runs up to me, gives me a huge hug, and yells “Mommy! Mommy! You home! I yuv you, I yuv you, I yuv you too.” That is the best.
