-She has started to say "Oh, how cute!" and "Oh, that's adorable!" in a high-pitched, little lilting voice. I die every single time. She'll hold up a shirt of Liam's and, while looking it over, say "Oh, this is just so cute!" It's hilarious, because she acts like she's 35 and talking about Liam's cute infant clothing.
-She has started to say "Oh my gosh" and we have to correct this. I do slip and sometimes say it in front of her, but we realized the main culprit is M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. On "Clubhouse," he says it quite a lot. We just don't want her saying it because it's too mature sounding and in toddler-speak could be mistaken for taking the Lord's name in vain. However, even after I tell her to say "Oh my goodness" instead, I smile to myself because, again, she sounds 35.
-She has been giving very complete answers to things. "Yes, I will." "No, not yet." "Not right now."
-If she burps, Evy will say "ExCUSE me! I burped!" It's so funny!
-Evy insists on doing many things herself. As in, if we do it and she wanted to do it herself, she'll re-close a door, unzip a zipper, etc. and redo it.
-Speaking of, she LOVES to open Liam's door to get him in the mornings! I always go in and get her first, and she excitedly runs to his door and opens it. Liam is usually sitting/standing there with a huge grin on his face (smelling like a yucky diaper.....mornings are so fun), and she says in her high-pitched voice "HI, Bwother Beeeaarrr (Brother Bear)!!!!" She draws out the word "Bear" and it almost sounds British. They just love seeing each other in the mornings!
-I think we're in a major OCD phase. When I put Evy down for a nap or nighttime, things must be JUST SO. We're talking 1/4 of an inch, here. She also asks me to pick up any clutter. Kurt has gotten to the point where he puts her in the crib and says "Okay, what do we need to do?" but she really won't answer. So I've learned that we need to go out of her room, then I stand by the door and just wait. And every time, it happens. "Ehhhhh?!?" She just starts fussing. Sure enough, I go in and she starts pointing and saying "Get that." I'm trying to get her to add "please" in the mix. The other night she was demanding such tiny things that I finally said "Okay! We've straightened enough!" (in a very sweet voice of course!) :)
-Evy only sleeps in Disney Princess pajamas. Nothing else will do. I let her do things like that because I know it's only a phase and we closely monitor any behavior that could lead to acting spoiled. It's just a cute thing she's doing and I think there are times when it's appropriate to let her have things how she likes it. She's gotten to a point where she wants to wear Princess pajamas and then a Princess GOWN on top of that. Her nightgowns are sleeveless, and that's how it started. We had her wear pajamas underneath so she wouldn't get cold, and now she insists on doing it that way for naps AND bedtime. Now I've found a loophole: Oftentimes she'll be okay with wearing a regular footie sleeper (non-Princess) and then a Princess gown on top. I'm aching, because she's at the very end of her footie pajama stage. I can't bear this. It's just too much.
-During Christmas, we listened to the Maranatha! Kids Christmas album. My siblings and I actually listened to it in the 90s, so it's been around awhile. Evy learned every single song and knows every single word. She articulates the words so well! However, there's a catch. She doesn't want anyone else singing with her. I've had to warn any family members riding in the car with me that they are sworn to silence. Also, you're not allowed to look at her, or she holds up her hand, palm facing you, like "Oh you are NOT even looking at me right now, girlfriend." So as long as we keep silent and stare straight ahead, we are serenaded with the most beautiful, angelic, precious and innocent little voice. She knows every single word and it amazes me.
-Evy ADORES her classes at church!! She looks forward to it, loves her teachers, and talks nonstop when we pick her up. It's the sweetest thing to see her so excited to be at church! What's extra cute is that the kids go to "Rally Room" for songs and a skit and she talks about Captain Joe, Skipper Sally, and Pelican Pete. :)
-I can tell that she really enjoys being my helper. She answers me in such a grown-up tone when I ask her to get me Liam's diaper. She says "I wee-uhl" ("I will" with a little twang?). Almost in the tone of, "Of course I'll help you take care of our baby." Haha!
Tonight something happened that really sums up my relationship with Evy. We had been over at Mom and Dad's house and my Mom showed Evy the book "Peter Spiers' Christmas!" Did any of you read that book? Mom told Evy that it was her Mommy's favorite when she was younger. :)
And it WAS my favorite. Probably still is one of my very favorite Christmas books. I loved it because there were no words, just very, very detailed illustrations of what Christmas is. I would pore over these pages and my mom would describe every single thing that was going on in the pictures. She would narrate every scene of Christmas for me.
Evy was so excited about the book. She and Liam had a falling out in which she got hurt, and she was upset. I told her that we would have a special reading time and go through Mommy's Christmas book together. We put Brother to bed and got Evy all ready for bed. Then I sat with her in her room and we went through, page by page, just like my mom and I had done. I described every little thing that was happening, and we talked about how we had done similar things as a family.
We got to the page where it shows the Christmas Eve service at church. It shows the quaint inside of a church. Evy looked for a minute and said, "There's a shelf!" I asked what she meant and she pointed to the church balcony! Hahaha! She said "We have a shelf at church TOO!" I told her that yes, we had a shelf and that she's even sat in the shelf before. It was adorable and a moment I'll remember forever.
Then I pointed out where they were doing the candlelight portion of the service. We remembered how we did that at our church Christmas Eve service too! I said, "Remember? We sang Silent Night," and I started singing it. That led to us choosing a different Christmas song for every page of Peter Spiers' Christmas. Remember how I said she knows every Christmas song? :)
I sat there and started bawling my eyes out. Her little voice was so precious and in that moment, my Christmas season was totally and completely made. We cuddled and sang and cuddled some more and kept turning pages back and forth. It was one of the best moments of my life.
Evy Kate. . .you will never know or understand how much I love you. You might start to understand when you're reading Peter Spiers' Christmas to your little girl. :)
