I can't even believe the whirlwind of events that have taken place these past few weeks! So much activity and so much to be thankful for. Let's start with our birthday girl...
Evie is ONE! One whole year with sweet little Evie rounding out our little family. Joy, laughter and amazement are the 3 main words that come to mind when I think of her. She is growing leaps and bounds and like her sister, tends to act older than her age. She is testing out her legs lately. She took her first step on December 13th with Amelia and I there to witness the exciting event. She has been practicing ever since! She's speedy with her walker and loves to just stand up and balance. She just hangs out for a while, standing, pointing at things, making her talking sounds. Speaking of speaking...she's been working on her vocabulary! Dada, mama, up, duck, wawa, uh-oh, Santa, soft, star, grandpa, sister (some of these words sound a bit like "dada" but we know the difference), she says "huh?" with her hands turned up when she is perplexed or looking for someone. She also makes a multitude of animal noises...monkey, dog, horse, bear, lion, rooster. She is great at communicating, with words and with sign language. She laughs, almost with relief, when we understand and say back to her what she is requesting. And what she is usually requesting is food or milk. Those signs she has mastered.
She thoroughly enjoys food. She hums her food songs while eating. She has different songs for different foods. I thought today, I wonder if she will always hum while eating. After lunch today, Ford was changing Evie's diaper in the bedroom and she must have been asking him for more food as I heard him say to her..."Evie, you get three meals a day, and a few snacks. Got it? You just ate, kid." I had to laugh out loud.
It's great fun watching Evie and her sister develop their relationship. They love each other so much and yet, like sisters do, they fight...often. So far, for the most part we have been letting them work it out on their own, unless someone gets physical. It's usually Evie. We are teaching her to be "soft" and "gentle" but she is automatically on the defense when big sister comes around as Amelia at times displays her senior status...likes to show who's boss. I often over-hear Amelia saying things to Evie like, "Evie, if you do that again, there is going to be a consequence." But, truth be told, Evie can hold her own. Let's just say, I'm not all that worried about her. We've got two strong-willed little ladies on our hands. Should make for some interesting teenage years.
We introduced cow's milk to Evie this past week. So far it's a no-go but I said the same thing about solid food 6 months ago and look at her now. She spits the milk out and makes terrible faces.
She's got 4 teeth now, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. Cuteness.
I had an Amelia deja-vu moment with Evie yesterday. Ford was trying to read to her before nap and she was not sitting still, as usual, for book-time. This is common with Evie and book-time, she's much too busy and has too much exploring to do. So I said to her "Evie do you want milk?" She laughed and made the sign for milk. I said, "okay, but first you have to lay down and finish book-time with Dad and then you can have milk." She totally laid down and waited for Ford to finish reading. Stinker understands everything we say. Amelia often shocked me like that at this age as well.
Christmas was fun and crazy and exciting and full of memorable moments. Amelia was so excited for Santa to come and was amazed at all of the magic Christmas brings. Love seeing Christmas through her eyes. She was the most enthusiastic present opener this year, announcing each gift with a loud and truly excited voice. She was just as excited for her sister's birthday and did not forget about Evie's important day despite all the Christmas activity. Amelia LOVES to give gifts and I love to watch her give them. She talked for weeks leading up to Christmas about all of the things she wanted to buy for Ford and I. A very giving girl and I am thankful. I got a bright pink sweater and a Rudolph ornament from my sweet girl on Christmas morning.
Amelia has had a fun and exciting Christmas break but misses school terribly and I am so glad for that! She cannot wait to go back tomorrow. What a blessing to have a child so enthusiastic about school, and what a blessing to have her enrolled in such an amazing pre-school with teachers we've missed very much. I've already cried about Amelia's graduation from ONS. Sigh...
Here's to a fantastic and exciting and blessed New Year! Hopeful for good things in 2012.
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