December 2011

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home.  Our friends Beth & Richard came visiting from Dallas and we hosted an open house for all their Memphis friends who miss them terribly.  Evelyn enjoys a party crowd, and in particular those who allow their beards to be stroked...(I almost died - it was hilarious to see Evey, fascinated by his white beard, tentatively reach out for Dr. Kevin Fowler's face and have him lean in to allow her to "pet" his cheek).
Keagan came home from college so we got to see quite a bit of him and Dylan - much to Evey's delight.  Man does she adore her brothers.  They joined us on the long road trip to Michigan to visit the Grahams and I'm certain it would have been a painful and torturous journey without them.  They entertained her and doted on her, holding her hand on request and putting up with endless Disney movies.  Evey felt like a traveling princess.








Aunt Claudia organized a big Family Gathering in Michigan so we got to meet some of the Cenkos and the growing troop of Uncle Scott's grandchildren.  Evey enjoyed the chance to follow the older girls around and jump in on their pretend play.  Nanny Ruthie and Poppa Graham reveled in the ruckus of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.












While Evey wasn't fully up on the excitement of Santa Claus and presents, she had a ball on Christmas morning.  She's pretty good at opening presents now, but her favorite part was selecting a gift from under the tree, looking to me to tell her who it was for, and delivering the gift to it's proper recipient. And she enjoyed helping them open it, of course.  Watching her fully immerse in the joy of giving was my favorite part of the holiday.

My lovely Evelyn

As I draw this first book to a close, I wanted to share my heart's message with you so that you might have a tiny clue as to how much I love you. 

I hope this chronicle will let you see the joy that you are, the magic that you've created in your family, the bottomless love that you've planted in us. 

When I think of you and feel you in my heart, I see a spirit of adventure, exploration, curiosity and daring.  I also see bubbling laughter, affectionate kisses and great big bear hugs.  Watching you play is one of my favorite things in the world; you're always busy filling little bags and boxes with trinkets and bits of this and that, maticulously organizing and re-organizing your eclectic treasures, wrestling large purses over your shoulders and hauling them across the room while pushing your filled-to-the-brim shopping cart.  I wish I could capture each hearty laugh in a jar to save for when my mood needs a turbo boost.  We have the best time giggling and laughing at the silliest things.  I don't know when I've had more fun at a playground, chasing you around and catching you at the bottom of each super-fast slide.  Strangers grin as they pass while we're shopping somewhere as they overhear our endless chattering and singing, and often comment about how much fun we're having.  I've never "met" as many strangers in my lifetime as I have these past two years with you.  You're magnetic!  They all want to say hello or join us in our "A-B-Cs."  My heart just swells and swells with joy the more I'm around you.

There have been moments that break my heart.  I'm not quite sure how I head out for work each day, sending you to day care until I can pick you up many hours later.  That's hard on me.  You have adjusted so well, though - it's what gets me through.  That and the fact that it provides a special routine for you and Poppa in the mornings; you share such a strong bond as a result of your daily morning choreography.  It's beautiful and fantastic.

I love you so much it makes me cry with happiness.  I thank God for you each day.  May He continue to bless you and may all your hopes and dreams come true.

Yours forever,
Mamma  xoxoxo

Two Years Fabulous

Well it happened.


I was really trying to keep it from coming so quickly.  We're loving this journey so much it's hard to let each precious moment slip away, but then we're gifted with another moment and we just keep slipping forward...and incredibly, it gets better and better.


Evelyn is now Two Years Old.  And of course, her adventures are only gettin' started.  She can reach things now, climb things, move things around in order to reach even further and higher.  The same playground now holds new thrills as she can move more confidently and tackle more challenging obstacles.  And she's not afraid to elbow past the rotten boy that won't get off the climbing platform.

Goofing around with her brothers, who can't resist her charms
 even when the requirement is to wear stickers on their forehead.

She's a true adventurer.  I can see that clearly.  She gets a bit gnarly after a day at home.  Needs to get out and explore a new place, even if it's just a trip to the grocery, but ideally it's a chance to touch things, see new faces, climb and run, some fresh air.  Not a home body.  No way.

Her birthday celebration was perfect. Good food, great friends, and a homemade pumpkin cake that launched the Happy Birthday song. Evelyn was lit up from the inside with the sudden realization that everyone was singing for her. Tag fell in love with her all over again when he saw the way her eyes sparkled - he said he could see magic in her eyes. I just cry when I think back on it. It really was magical. I'm so grateful for the friends we have. They indulged us by attending a 2-year-old birthday party but you would never know it - they were nothing but sweet and loving and it just meant everything to us and also to Evelyn.

A princess dress from Rachel

The Magical Birthday Serenade

Just wouldn't be a proper birthday party without Auntie Sandy

Lilly & Evey finishing off the birthday cake...

Just can't get enough of her

We were invited to join friends at their home for dinner.  We accepted and assured them that we'd get a sitter for Evelyn.  They weren't too happy about that and insisted we bring her along.  The dinner was wonderful -- and our hosts spent the evening playing with Ev on the floor and watching Snow White with her.  I'm actually a bit suspicious that they even needed Tag and I to come along... 

We have such amazing friends.  I love watching them laugh with her - they are always so surprised and charmed by how happy and funny she is.  My social calendar has never been so full.  Everyone wants to hang out with us (her) !!

The Birthday Parties have already gone into full swing.  We've been to 5 parties already.  I totally get why people throw extravagant events celebrating their cherished one's birth.  And I really think it's great.  And I fully support it (note attendance at FIVE parties to date).  But I'm not goin' there.  Sorry Evelyn, but you'll have to make due with a fabulous cake, candles and a small group of loving faces singing the birthday song.  When you turn 5 (or when you beg for one) your Poppa and I will throw you a super fun birthday party with all the trimmings (except the give-away goodie bags - I promised auntie Sandy that I would never succumb to that tradition).

Visit from Big Brother Dylan

Our initial Big Girl Bed success is slowing deteriorating.  Tag and I now wake up in the morning with a foot or a butt in our faces.  Ev has gotten skillful at carefully climbing up into the bed with us in the middle of the night.  Hmm.  Not sure what do to about that.  Guess we’ll have to help her make the Big Move up to her room.  (Am I ready for that….?)

Clothing is considered optional. Even when it’s chilly, she’s stripping down to her bum-cheeks.  Ran around the other night in just her socks and slippers.  Happy as a lark.  Wild and free as Taggy likes to say.  Indeed.

Our Budding Book Worm...

Ev has an official addiction to Mary Poppins.  “Pop! Pop! Poppin!” is the demand after a long day at school/work.  I think it’s her way of unwinding – she LOVES the music and dancing.  Tag and I have reached a point where we really can’t stomach another chim-chimminey so we’ve become skilled at redirecting.  I love that she appreciates a good musical though.  We just need to find other ones that she likes and expand the options.

Sportin' the Mr. Potato Head glasses....

We are never 5 minutes without singing or music and Ev now joins in and even makes up her own songs.  Her favorite though is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Her soaring, offbeat rendition always makes me chuckle.

She still loves school; keeping up with the “big kids” isn’t an issue.  I showed up to take her home from school and the teacher shot me a look saying, “There was an altercation today…”  I’m thinking, altercation?? Was there bleeding?  Apparently she had a throw-down with her dear friend Adrian who wouldn’t give up the Mr. Potato Head.  So they went after each other with finger nails flying.  When I told Tag the story, the first thing he asked was, “Did she win?”  I said, “Not sure, but she was the one holding the Potato Head when I got there.”

Climbing is a swiftly developing skill.  Playground holds new excitement for her – she can climb the ladders now, which she loves to do.  And the swings are a new favorite (she didn’t like them up until now).  Climbing isn’t limited to the playground, unfortunately.  Tables/counters/couches… it’s all game.  I was preparing dinner the other night and couldn’t hold her at the same time.  Instead of getting upset like she usually does, she walked to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair and proceeded to push it into the kitchen and up to the counter, climbed up onto it and helped herself to the spatulas so she could “help.”  Fantastic.  Blew my mind.  I didn’t teach her that. Totally new behavior, all on her own. 

We visited friends and they had a swing-set in the back that Evey ran over to.  I was so relaxed about it that Katherine, experienced mother of 5 children, immediately tensed and in an effort to ensure safety tried to hold onto Ev as she climbed the ladder and slid down the slide.  Totally ruined the fun for poor E.  I finally convinced her that Evey was pretty darn solid on slides and could do it on her own – and E shrieked with glee as she zipped down the slide and landed on her butt in the grass.  Little Daredevil.  Love it.

Unbelievable that we are but a few breaths away from 2 years old...

Running free with Opa and Jack in the field behind our house

Halloween

Post Lifetime Fitness Halloween Extravaganza
she had a sorceress apply make up to her face (note rosy cheeks) and a witch apply a tattoo to her arm
she had an absolute ball

Had the best Halloween ever.  Dressed Ev as a little cowgirl in an outfit we inherited from her friend Lily.  The club had a dinner event for members, including a hay ride, animal petting zoo, Thomas the Train and, Ev’s favorite, a DJ and dance floor complete with laser lights.  She and I have had plenty of dance-parties together in the living room so she was ready to boogey when she heard the music.  Kids were running everywhere and she could not get enough.  Danced her little heart out.  So Much Fun!

bonding with a Fairy Princess at the club halloween party

Partying With Miss Darcy

Actual Halloween night was also very special.  I was busy cooking in the kitchen while Tag and Evelyn watched Wizard of Oz and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters.  The doorbell would ring and they’d both make “O” surprise faces, jump up and run to the front door where E would delicately dole out pieces of candy. She was absolutely tickled that all these strangers kept coming to the door.  I will never forget her expressions and laughter.  Or that of the trick-or-treaters, who were so charmed by her.  It was way better than actually trick-or-treating, at least for an almost 2 year old.

Big Girl Transitions

As we approach the Two Year milestone, all of Evelyn's transitions have come vividly into focus for me.  I think back to our summer vacation when Tag and I determined that Evey had developed a little "drinking problem" and that's why she wouldn't eat much solid food anymore.  So upon returning home we cut her off from the bottle (basically cold-turkey) and she immediately started sleeping through the entire night. "That was easy," I thought!  Why did we wait so long?

The end of the pacifier was another transition.  When she was first born and whisked off to the NICU, they popped a pacifier in her mouth and she sucked on those darn things for about a year before I decided it was going to interfere with her teeth development.  She basically fussed for 5 minutes, and that was it.  She didn't even steal other baby's pacifiers at school; instead she ran around sticking them back into babies' mouths whenever she saw one loose, giving them each a little pat on the back for good measure.

The latest and most significant one for me was the transition to the Big Girl Bed.  We've essentially had her in bed with us since we brought her home from the hospital.  I was nursing her through the night, so it certainly had logistical benefits.  But I also couldn't stand the thought of having her away from me and she turned out to be a fantastic cuddler, so she's been in our bed for the past 22 months.  Tag was a bit taken back when I first brought her to bed with us and told him that we'd be co-sleeping with our baby, but he went along with it and I think came to realize the benefits in terms of getting a good night sleep.  But he's been asking when she'll transition to her own bed, and I've been slowly strategizing on the best way to do it.  I didn't want to make her cry through it and feel that we'd abandoned her.  And I was fretting over not having her next to me all night....I would miss her desperately...  But little by little, I made progress toward the end goal and bought a toddler bed.  I also bought a twin mattress for her room upstairs so that I could sleep next to her on the floor and help her transition.  As Ev continued to get bigger and take up more room in our bed (I always seemed to get smushed up into the corner as she dug either her skull or her legs into me) it seemed that it was time to make the move.  So Tag wished me luck and Evey and I said "Night Night" and headed upstairs to her room and the Big Girl Bed that she was so proud of. 

Well, the plan didn't quite go off as hoped.  She continued to crawl out of her toddler bed into the bed with me, and I ended up getting crowded off the mattress onto the floor.  Tag, all alone downstairs, had a hard time sleeping as a lonely only and felt a bit sad.  So I decided to try Plan B.  Moving her back into our room, I had her help me set up the Big Girl Bed at the foot of our bed, and she proceeded to collect all her blankets and her babies (including Roar the Lion) and nested and played in her newly located bed.

The first time she actually slept in it was during the day; she feel asleep in my vehicle and I carried her to her bed where she snuggled down for a good 2 hour nap.  Fantastic start.  But the true test would be the new evening ritual.  That evening we gave her a nice bath, she brushed her little teeth, cuddled with us on the couch as we watched some television, and then we turned off all the lights and headed to bed....  She was still awake as I laid her down in her bed, whispering to her how wonderful her Big Girl Bed was, how soft her pillow was...and she looked up at me and laid there quietly.  I sat next to her for a bit until I thought she was drifting off, and that was that.  She slept in that bed until 6:30 am.  Amazing !!  It got a bit rough the next few nights (she's cutting some more teeth, and she has a stuffy nose) but last night was another decent night of sleeping in her own bed through till morning. 

It just is so gratifying to me that we can follow her lead and transition her through these stages at her pace, making it peaceful and loving versus a forced and even scary battle.  I love that she trusts us through these stages and also trusts herself enough to try something new.  Continually in awe of this darling little wonder.

Our First Potty Story

Evelyn was taking a bath, which she always enjoys.  She paused in her splish splashing to say "potty" in her adorable toddler voice, and started trying to stand up.  "Potty" she said again, so I asked her, "do you want to use the potty?"  She then started trying to climb out of the tub so I lifted her up and over onto the bathroom floor.  Dripping and naked, she went over to the little plastic potty, settled herself down onto it and immediately started peeing.  This was quite out of the ordinary.  I wasn't sure how or if I should react so I simply waited until she was finished (which took a bit....it was a healthy pee).  She was fascinated by the stream of urine filling the potty and kept her head tipped down to watch.  When she was done I erupted in enthusiastic cheers and congratulations, which brought Tag running from the other room and we all high-fived and laughed at the amazing event that just occurred.  Ev was thrilled with herself and with the response.  We haven't had an encore yet, but she's obviously got the right idea. 

I should mention that the potty, the actual potty that she used, was the potty that I myself "learned" on almost 40 years ago.  How crazy is that?