Mama Mia!

It seems Evie is learning a trick or two every day now. Some new ones and some new and improved...
Mama Mia (pictured above)
Waving...she's been doing this for a while but now she waves at EVERYONE. Random strangers even.
She is getting the gist of blowing kisses although her hand starts at her chest instead of her mouth...but she's got the swinging out action down and her intentions are good.
She says "Uh Oh" in response to anything that is dropped, whether it's on purpose or not.
She goes to sleep by herself! I almost gave up thinking this would ever happen for one of my babies...but she does it. The set up: Sucky, lovey, soft music, sound machine, dimmed room and a little snuggle, swaying and humming...lay her down. She's out without a peep. It's truly awesome.
Singing. She's been doing a lot of singing, in her crib in the car, while she's getting her diaper changed...I love it.
Tantrums. This is a nice one. She's continues to arch her back and scream when she doesn't want to partake certain things, namely getting in her car seat, being placed on the floor to play when she'd rather be held, or being placed in her exer-saucer. Feisty that one.

And perhaps my favorite is this...
While playing with her big sister on the floor recently another fight ensued. Amelia was hoarding the nesting/stacking blocks with her back to Evie. Evie was trying hard to get a few. A scream and then a scream in response...back a forth a few times. I encouraged Amelia to teach Evie to share by giving her a few blocks. It worked. Amelia shared, Evie shared back. The rest of the playing session was amicable.
Later, that same day...the same scenario, same blocks...but this time, Evie hoarded two blocks right off the bat, held them close to her chest and stared right at her sister and shook her head "NO." Wow, 10 months and taking her stand. Right on.

The 9th month

Evie is quickly approaching 10 months! Her 9th month has been action packed. She's officially on the move. She's crawling! She took her time a bit on actually moving forward...mostly she'd just hang out on all fours, rock back and forth, go up to downward dog, down to her belly and then push herself up to sitting. Next, she invented her own way of getting about thus negating the need to travel via hands and knees...more of a roll or two up to sitting, then roll again up to sitting. It worked for her until one day I put some Gerber Sweet Potato Puffs on the floor a few feet in front of her...wa la...now she crawls. She loves herself some Puffs..who knew they'd be so motivating.

Some other tricks she's pretty much mastered this month...
Loves to clap! All the time. Claps to music and for happiness.
Itsy Bitsy Spider may be her favorite song and she does the moves! So cute.
She's also enjoys and participates in patty cake.
Still thinks peek-a-boo is just as hilarious the 700th time as it was the first.
She is, already (and has been), quite musically inclined...loves instruments, loves music, loves to dance. Bounces and smiles and claps when she hears music.
She's enjoys eating now! Eats it all. Well, mostly the baby food I make, and Puffs and Cheerios. :) She's had baked potato chunks and pieces of banana...about to embark on the world of soft table foods.
She does the sign for "more" when she wants more to eat or drink. We are working on other signs.
She's got a temper! Watch out for this one. When she's got something on her mind and things don't quite go her way...she throws back her head, arches her back and wails. It's all very dramatic and reminds me a lot of somebody else I know.
She's go 2 teeth! Both on the bottom.
Her 9 month appointment went well. She's doing great and developing normally. She's even right on time for separation anxiety...she didn't care so much for the nurses doing their thing...cried a bit when she got weighed and clung to me.
She says "uh oh" when she drops (or throws) something to the floor. She says "ma ma ma" and "da da da."
She enjoys roaring. Most animals do roar, in case you didn't know...lions, bears, cats, scarecrows, even ducks.
She thoroughly enjoys the fish tanks at Meijer. Total happiness when she sees them. Giggles and laughs the entire time and then cries when I pull the cart away. Kind of sad.
She LOVES her sister. Today, however, I believe they had their first fight. Screamed back and forth at each other until Evie cried. Then they made up, and love each other once again.
She was baptized last weekend. It was a great day and a special moment for me. Emotions still well up when I think about how God granted me not one but two miracles. God bless Evelyn!

Some important things...

Oh my. Posts are few and far between because this life is BUSY! I wish I had more energy to write. I wish I had more time to write. I think of things to write about almost daily. But...husband in law school, a 4 year old, an 8 month old, and of course it would help if I had my own computer...excuses, yes, but good ones. So I write when I can, and I wish it was more.
So...some important things:

1. Evie cut her first tooth! And it was hard for everyone. She was so cranky these past few weeks. But now she's happy. Until the next tooth. The front bottom right tooth has arrived. I can't believe it. This does indicate that time is truly flying by.

2. Evie is up on all fours! She spends a lot of time of her tummy excitedly moving her arms and legs in and out...much like a pollywog swimming. But in the past few days, she's done a few push-ups with tummy off the floor and then up on her knees. Crawling is next!

3. Amelia decided, on what seemed to be the last weekend of summer, to swim. I mean really swim. Goggles on, held her breath, went all the way under and paddled...until she was swimming almost half-way across the width of the pool. Just like everything else in her life, she just decided that it was time. She was ready. And now she swims. It was awesome. A really proud moment.

4. Amelia has an exaggeration number. 120

5. Evie is falling asleep on her own these days. She welcomes her bed and I am so grateful. Maybe it really is a little easier the second time around?

6. Amelia and I have started reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I actually have the book series from my childhood. She LOVES listening to them. Her first chapter books. I have to admit...I love the influence these little girls and the way they lived are having on her already.

7. Evie LOVES herself some puffs. I mean she can eat some puffs. She's currently 75/25 as to what she actually gets in her mouth and what ends up elsewhere...floor, under her butt, stuck to her cheek...

8. Amelia attended her pre-school open-house tonight. Excited for year 2 of pre-school! Ford and I laughed at how much different it feels this year....for all of us it seems. We were all a little nervous at last year's open-house. This year? No chance. She acted like the senior of the school.

9. Life is busy and full and hectic and at times stressful and going by much too fast. And I love my girls.

Birthdays and Stuff

Girlie update:
Evie is hilarious, and still rolly. She is not crawling yet, but she rolls everywhere! All around the room. She discovered the magazines under the coffee table and enjoys pulling them down. She even rolls toward me to try to get to me when I am far from her. She's still a mama's girl, though she and her daddy have been getting reacquainted these past few weeks he has been on break. Her new favorite thing is to shake her head "no." Though she seems to do it for fun most of the time, there are moments when she does use this new skill at the appropriate times. She LOVES her big sister. Amelia has taught her how to scream. Which is fun. They scream back and forth to each other and then they both crack up laughing. Evie gets so excited...she gets her little hands and feet turning and turning and her pretty eyes get huge when Amelia comes near her and then Amelia proceeds with taunting her and making fun noises 2 cm away from her face. They love to be close to each other..to play or to snuggle. Evie grabs Amelia's hair and tries to pull her close so she can eat her nose.
She is eating solids...which she hated at first. But we are working on it and she's learned to enjoy quite a few things. I continue to introduce her to new foods regularly. So far she's had cereal, sweet potatoes, squash, beans, pears, prunes, apples, and peas. Loves the fruit of course.
She continues to dodge taking real naps during the day. True cat-napper. My goal has been to change this sleep behavior before school starts. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone were on some sort of schedule??? That would be a dream. Getting her to fall asleep on her own continues to be a challenge. She is literally exactly like her big sister was at this age. Which tells me their behaviors in the sleep arena must have more to do with me, and the patterns I've helped established, than I thought. It's difficult to listen to my babies scream. I just hate it. Period. But I've been working it out and she seems to be getting the idea...the idea that going to sleep in one's own crib when one is so extremely exhausted, is not actually torture.
She gets cuter everyday. And more fun. And it's all going way too fast..

Speaking of...Amelia turned 4 a week and a half ago. So exciting and so unbelievable. We have been so busy with birthdays and then a family trip Up North, I have not had the time to post recently about all of the exciting things going on. Shame on me, as this blog does serve as a bit of a baby book/journal. But as I look back and read this someday, i'll be reminded about how crazy exhausted I was at the end of each day...because let's face it, having kids is exhausting...only in the best way that a person can be exhausted of course.
And you know what else is exhausting but totally fun? Birthdays. Amelia had 4 celebrations, 4 cakes and lots of gifts from friends and family. She got a guitar this year. She told Ford the night she opened it..."Dad, I have a great idea...instead of getting up tomorrow and watching kid shows, let's have a jam session." He couldn't have been happier.
Sure enough, first thing the next morning she ran to his side of the bed, tapped him firmly and whispered loudly..."Dad! It's time to jam!" :)


And now, another Amelia story:

Last night while putting Amelia to bed, she asked if she could rock with me. We don't do this very often anymore, for a few reasons...I do miss it, and I was happy to oblige. As we were rocking, we were discussing the events of the day, namely her 4 year well visit at the pediatrician's office. She was not too thrilled with being at the doctor's office, (at all).

Me: Just think Amelia, you won't have to go back to the doctor for a check up for a whole year...you'll be five! You'll be so big then.
Amelia: Yes, so big you won't even be able to hold me.
Me: Oh yes I will! What you have to understand is no matter how big you get, you'll always be my baby...so I will always hold you.
Amelia: Even when I'm 19???
Me: Of course.
Amelia: Even when I'm YOUR age?
Me: Even when you're my age, I'll still hold you.
Amelia: Welllll...how about when I'm your age, I'll hold YOU.
Me: Aw, you would hold ME?
Amelia: Welll, actually...how about we just hold each other?

Me fighting back tears: "I'd like that."

It has been quite some time since I've posted. There are a few reasons for that...but mostly it's just been very a busy summer with a 3.75 year old and a 7 month old in tow! Evie is growing leaps and bounds before my very eyes. She is a healthy, happy girl and has the sweetest personality. She had her 6 month appointment a few weeks ago and is in the 90th percentile in height (26.5), weight (17 lbs 8 oz) and head circumference (43.7 cm). Ninety percent across the board...she's perfect! She still has a reputation for having the cutest rolls around but in my opinion she is actually trimming up a bit. :) She is getting stronger and in the past few weeks has been sitting up by herself. She has discovered the art of mobility by rolling all around the room...just waiting for her to take off crawling soon. She has been a bit clingy to mama...but it only takes her a few minutes and she eventually warms up to everyone. She LOVES her sister...she thinks she's pretty hilarious most of the time, other times, after she gets over the shock or being bombarded with hugs and loud crazy noises, she just watches her every move. They are already becoming good friends. One of my favorite things...watching their relationship grow.
She has started eating solids but it has been a slow go in that department. She absolutely did NOT care for rice cereal or oat cereal for that matter. I have since introduced sweet potato, squash, avocado and peas. She loves the sweet potatoes but can take or leave the others. Ford seems to have the magic touch with feedings, as she does much better for him.
Naps continue to be a challenge. She does not seem to have a regular sleep schedule during the day. So we work on it.
As she grows and her personality develops, I find myself laughing at her most of the day. She is sweet and funny and super snuggly...she is truly a gift and I can hardly remember what our lives were like without her. Our Evie.

Cheeky