Day at the Beach - Day 2

Today we woke up, enjoyed breakfast and then went to the bech looking for seashells. The girls had no discriminating taste and picked up... everything.
We walked out to the pier and looked over the water before heading back in to go to the pool.

We took a morning nap after the pier walk (well, Evie did... and a short one at that) and then enjoyed the pool again today before heading in for lunch. After lunch we took Evie to the beach to enjoy the water.
Evie LOVES the beach. Cold water? No problem. This kid kicked and kicked at the crashing waves. She giggled and writhed as dad pulled her up and out when the big waves came. She crawled right toward the water evrytime I put her down. My water girl - too funny.
She then (rather quickly) began to fall asleep against me looking out over the water & watching dolphins in the distance. This is the THIRD time she has ever fallen asleep on me. This kid doesn't sleep on people. She's never really been a catnapper, a cuddler or one to curl up next to you.
It was one of the sweetest moments. Makes me tear up a bit just thinking how darned sweet she is. More pics to come.

At the Beach-Day1

We are currently in Sand Bridge, Va enjoying a quick weekend at The Sanctuary. More info will follow but with the jam-packed birthday week that we have planned ahead... I figured I'd use some downtime (and the one bar of connection power) to post a quick update.
We are visiting Rob's sister, her husband and their 3 kids. All little girls this weekend. Its proving fun and lots of energy so far! ;-)
They are down from hio for the week long summer vacation and were awesome enough to invite us a few nights on the fold-out sleeper sofa. We didn't hesitate at the offer!
We drove down during Evie's morning nap and arrived in time for lunch. We then enjoyed an hour or so in the pool before Evie's afternoon nap. She's a complete fish (we knew she would be!). She kick, kick, kicked her legs and giggled non-stop when we swam around the pool with her in our arms. I cannot wait until next summer when she can swim with floaties.
Evie's first time in a real pool

Sharing

Dad has taught you had to share recently. It was mostly a lesson on how to feed Puck treats but it has evolved into outstretching your hand to many.
You will now offer cheerios in your hand & will even drop them into my opened mouth. This makes you grin ear to ear and eager to try again. Sometimes, you'll offer a cheerio only to PSYCH! me out and shove it in your own mouth. You then do this breathy giggle through your crinkled nose.
Yesterday you offered D a drink from your sippy cup and she played along. You are getting into this game more and more. You now like to offer things beyond food. Just tonight you offered me the opportunity to join in on sucking on moo-cow's soaked tag. I declined but you seemed a little miffed that I wasn't overjoyed with the gift.
I hope you continue on this path of being a polite and friendly little girl...

Day 2 with no da-da

Ok, so this baby raising thing is kinda easy. Lemme back-up, I was prepared for nightmares so maybe I am just pleasantly surprised compared to what my imagination conjured up last week.
This morning you & I were both awoken by the dog at 7:40AM. Puck had to pee. I think this surprised even him since we all tend to get up before 7AM these days. Oh well, it was still sleeping in (technically).
You and I sat in the kitchen trying to figure out what to eat. You apparently do not like over-ripened bananas (I wish I knew that before I cut it all up or I could have made banana nut bread, but, I digress). I toasted an apple & cinnamon Eggo and all was right with the world. You then had a handful of cheerios with some milk.
After some morning playtime, you took a nap. You took to it right away but didn't really fall asleep. I decided to take the opportunity to clean the bathroom. You then started to cry to get up. I'm not falling for this again. I hopped in the shower ignoring you and, eventually, you fell asleep.
Up again by 11AM and I fed you a yogurt tube that we got at Panara Bread yesterday. You really like yogurt but hate to be spoonfed so this was an interesting study. Turns out that you do not know how to slowly squeeze a tube of goo into your mouth (let's just say you got a little excited as a small fountain of yogurt lava squirted all over you and the table). I got you to relax and let me feed you with the rest of the yogurt tube and I think you dug how it suddenly squirted into your mouth. You are such a kid. So, lessen learned - I will buy more tubes at the store today.
We headed over to B & D's to drop off some books. We actually headed over late because after I had just changed you, you decided to THEN poop. Anywho, we finally got to see all this amazing work that they've done on the house. It really is amazing that B hasn't sought out a career as a Jack-of-All-Trades because he certainly has done a better job than some of the contractor's we've hired lately.
We hung out at B & D's for a spell before deciding we were going to wear-out our welcome. That, and, it was your lunchtime and we still had yet to go to the grocery store. I crossed my fingers as I drove to Ukrop's.
Today is "samples day" so I got to test a few things out on you. Turns out you love strong English yellow cheeses and blueberries. You were quite fond of the blueberries so I risked it being a passing phase by buying a good sized container.
While you were munching away, an older lady tied a yellow ballon to your wrist and I nearly DIED. I, you may or may not have caught on by now, HAVE A DEATHLY FEAR OF LATEX BALLOONS. Nothing frays my nerves like watching a kid trying to bite a balloon as s/he presses & rubs it along the jagged metal edge of a grocery cart. Its like sitting and staring at a ticking time bomb that has no timer. When will this thing GO OFF and right in my face?. Uh, I shutter.
I tolerated the balloon since you didn't go too crazy over it. Maybe you are like me and don't like them either (I could only hope). By the end of the trip I was quite comfortable pulling it down for you to look at. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't stretched taut with helium that made me a little less stressed. I did yank it away the second you bore fangs in excitement but all-in-all... I let it ride home with us and its currently tied to an end table waiting for you to wake up from your nap.

You & Me, Kid

Well, da-da left us last night to head down South for the great Heroes Con held in Charlotte this weekend. I'm kinda excited to have this chance to hang with you all weekend (and to control the TV in my bedroom at night). But, I'm also dreading the WORK that lay before me. You can be a wee bit exhausting (or so I have heard).
Today began with me suddenly jolting out-of-bed at... 8AM! Were you dead?!. Nope, just zonked until 8:15AM. This would be a truly fantastic gift had I not needed to go and pick up files somewhere before noon. No worries, we got back on track, sort of.
You cried throughout my shower since I put you in your activity center (you have outgrown this once favorite toy). I tried to then put you down for a late morning nap but you never did succumb to one.
After curling my hair and putting on my make-up (which took at least a half hour longer then normal) we were out and en route to our destination. You sat silently... scarily, actually... quiet the whole trip. You just stared blankly out the front window (dad turned you around for the first time just a day ago. Either this fascinates you or confuses you, I just couldn't tell. You looked catatonic).
We hung out in an office for 30 minutes before heading back home. The whole trip went so well, I decided to really challenge us with a trip to Panara Bread during a Friday lunch-hour rush. Boy, that was stupid. Don't get me wrong, you were an ABSOLUTE PEACH (seriously, no sarcasm for once) but it is so hard to juggle you and a tray full of hot brocolli & cheese soup. I had to pay for our food and then go find a table to drop off the diaper bag. Then, I had to carry you, plus my purse, to get my tray of food. I put down my food and then walked back to get your food (I ordered you a kid's meal - we've never done this before! I found this so damned exciting, what is wrong with me?). I put down your food and then walked back to fill up my coke. I then sat you down and got your seat ready with disposable table cloth and milk and broken up bits of sandwich. I had to clear your area so that I wouldn't lose anything to your grabbie hands. This whole process left me no longer hungry and a little bit sweaty.
One college-age couple near us kept looking at you and smiling. You kept looking over and grinning. Same goes for a woman across from you reading a book. And, the pinnacle of proud moments, an elderly woman said, "Excuse me. I just had to come over and tell you how much I enjoyed watching your little boy over here. He is such a delight. He is so cute - he will break some girls' hearts someday." I didn't have the heart to correct her (what did it matter?) and I thanked her. Evie then watched her off and leaned far out to get two women behind her to start laughing. I've never seen so much attention on one kid.
Damned you are cute. I just hope you don't realize it someday soon or we'll be screwed.

First Dada's Day

We began the morning hanging out by giving dad his cards in bed. After breakfast and brief naps, we then got ready to roll out to Bandito's for brunch (burrito's on Rob's day - of course!). After a perfectly fantastic time at the restaurant, we decided to take advantage of the nice (finally! Not Hot!) weather by strolling around the fan. The rugged sidewalk terrain eventually lulled Evie to sleep when we approached Scuffletown Park (a dog and people park back in one of the alley ways). We sat here for awhile so dad could sketch and mom could relax. We didn't sit for too long before walking back to the car & deciding to head out to For the Love of Chocolate where mom and dad could stock up on exotic treats (and so mom and dad could do this for the very last time without Evie freaking out at the sheer joy that lay before her in this glorious place).
We all then came home and tried to nap (well, mom and dad did while Evie played in her crib).
The end.

Finicky

Yesterday you wouldn't eat meat paste (a former all-time favorite).
You will no longer accept anything served up on a spoon.
This spoon-strike includes former-favorite yogurt, applesauce, the aforementioned meat paste and pureed anything. You will accept things on a fork—but only if its my fork and my food. Only then will you take the hand-out and then promptly take over.
Last weekend you dined on my Pad See Ew at a Thai resturant (you inhaled it. ate the leftovers for lunch the next day, too). You also like it when I flop an over-sogged frosted mini wheat your way from my cereal bowl. You split some guacamole & chips last night with me. Two nights ago, you stood there and accepted a klamata olive, feta cheese & balsamic vinegar covered salad bite. You like wierd things for a near one-year-old, Miss Evie-Pie. But ordinary favorites on a spoon... forget about it.

One Hot Day (in pictures)

unique scoot

I've tried to describe it. Here it is.

walker

Month 11

Its all coming together & quickly:
Sunday May 4th - Evie crawls from one side of our bed to me on the other side
Monday May 5th - Evie starts really flop/crawling/scooting across the floor (long distances)
Tuesday May 6th - Evie pulls herself up on the coffee table unaided
Wednesday May 7th - She starts dancing to music on a TV commercial

Evie likes to run her finger across her lips making a "ba ba ba" motorboat sound
This month was filled with the one thing Evie showed zero interest in so far, MOBILITY!
By month's end she is not only army crawling slash scooting with one leg under her... but also crawling on all 4's (but only on carpeting. She's no dummy, hard wood hurts her knees!). She moves from one room to another - poof! She pulls herself up on... anything! Evie will pull herself up on your shirt if you are sitting on the floor, she will walk along cabinets & couches, she stands up at the glass doors and, as of May 31st, she now stands up in her crib when waking up in the morning. Yikes! What an eventful month!

Evie also LOVES to "walk" around the house; endless circles trotting from one room to another assisted by anyone willing to wrench their back. She has also adapted a raised right hand with squeezing fist gesture to sign, "Someone here, now, please! I need to go for another round around the house!"

Evie at her first kid birthday party
We've really branched out & tried MANY more exciting foods from curried rice, cheese cubes, deli ham, grilled tuna steaks, squash, mushrooms, Kix, strawberry applesauce, strawberry preserves on toast, scrambled egg, grilled red pepper, fresh mango slices, shared orange slices with mom, kiwi, s'getti, Vienna sausages, lima beans, and rib bones (yummy!).
I am now realizing that Evie can really eat nearly everything these days. She doesn't no longer likes to be fed by spoon (its going to be hard to use up some of these baby foods the way she shakes her head "no" to anything pureed). This is both cool and sad... no longer a baby but moving up to big girl foods. Once willing to eat anything put in front of her but now beginning to shut-down and shake her head "no" to anything she doesn't feel like eating. Ugh, this could really suck when she's transitioned into a picky eater at 2 years old.


First s'getti
Evie is also now fully weened off bottles. Boy, that was no big deal at all. I heard horror stories from some but she really hasn't made any motions to having even noticed. Maybe it was that we started giving her a variety of water-filled sippy cups over a month ago. Maybe its just luck. We do still use a pacifier at night-night and during naptimes... maybe this could prove more difficult when we toss those.

We got Evie a toddler toothbrush. After nearly losing an index finger to the finger brush, we wised up & moved up. Its funny to think we have a little fat handled brush now occupying the toothbrush cup. I'm realizing more and more that Evie isn't just this thing we care for but a being we have to teach how to be a part of mainstream society. This as an overwhelming thought at times.

This is as close as they get
The realization that Evie needs discipline already has dawned on me this month. She eats things off the floor. She tries and grab things out of the recycling bin (once it toppled over atop of her nearly scaring her to death). She tries to eat things she picks up in the yard. She actually tried to stick her finger in the one socket I hadn't covered yet in my bedroom. She tries to grab, yank and shake the water pipes in the bathroom sink while I am pee'ing. She chases the dog taunting him as he desperately tries to get away. She tries to pull at the fireplace screen. She does everything now at lightning speeds. Just last week I actually caught her as she began to flip and fall off the changing table. I flashed my pointer finger while scolding, "no!". She giggled and grabbed my finger. "No, Evie!" She found that equally funny and laughed more. Damned, my mother's curse is coming true. I'm screwed. I do have a kid just like me.

Grandma cracks Evie up–this is the same highchair I sat in.

One more month, Pie, and you officially become a toddler. *sigh*, its all moving so fast!
Mom and baby self-portrait

Conducting