It is so hard to believe that my little Eva turned one. Where did the last year go? That year of babyhood flew by in a blur of kisses, hugs, cuddles, smiles, new tricks, adventures and of course many a sleepless night. But it was a year to be cherished as I will cherish all of the years to come.
Kris was out floating the Salmon River on Eva's actual birthday so we celebrated a week later. At first Eva was puzzled by the piles of presents with their wrapping paper, bags and bows. But after a little coaxing from her brother and sisters Eva got into the groove. She loved each new surprise but was then confused when her new toys would be whisked away and she was presented with a new gift to open. She loved all of her new presents, especially the babies. She also received new books, clothes, sippys and snacks, and a playful toy puppy. Talmage also made her an airplane mobile for her room.
Eva was so excited to receive her very own cupcake with no restrictions that she dove right in before I could get a good picture. She kept trying to grab the flame on her candle while we were singing "Happy Birthday" so Kris had to douse the flame. Eva surely enjoyed smashing and eating that strawberry frosted cupcake though.
10 Things about Eva
- Her nickname is Eva MaGoo. But she also gets called Sweetie, Bug-a-bug, and Munchkin. I doubt she even knows her name is Evangeline.
- Eva is learning to say a few words, including: Mama, Daddy, Abi, Leah ( Eeah), Buddy, Baby, Be (Please or I want that), This and we swear we have also heard Car, Ball, and Juice.
- She has the brightest, beautiful blue eyes. People always comment on them. Those eyes are so quick that she is always pointing at "This" object that catches her eye. She is especially enraptured by birds darting about the lawn.
- Eva loves to go outside. She points and "Uhhuhh's" out the window to play on the swing or be gently bounced on the trampoline. She also loves riding about the neighborhood in the stroller.
- Her favorite food is strawberries. She will pick them no matter the color, green, white or red from our patch and our neighbor's and stuff her little mouth until the juice is running down her shirt. Strawberries are her favorite for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Mom buys them just for her as well.
- Eva still cruises along the furniture but is getting very quick. She has become quite the climber and pulls herself up on chairs, couches, stools, beds, tables and more. Eva remains too timid to strike out walking on her own but giggles and grins if we hold her by the hands and walk her around.
- Eva loves music and songs. At each nap and bed I sing her Primary songs while she nurses. Our favorites are: I Am A Child of God, Teach Me to Walk in the Light, I Love to See the Temple, Whenever I Hear the Song of A Bird, and I Like to Look for Rainbows.
- I wish she was as good of a sleeper as a nurser, they are probably interconnected. Eva is down to one nap a day, usually from 1:30-3:00. At night she goes to bed about 9:00 pm but is up between 1:30 and 3:00 when she gets pulled into bed to nurse and snuggle until morning, about 8:00. Thankfully the frequency of the middle night parties is drastically reduced. We have a little routine going and the other night when I forgot to turn on her fan she wiggled and pointed at it until I remedied the discrepancy to the routine.
- Eva is a baby on the move. I try to read her books but she will rarely look at more than a page before she is climbing and rascalling about. She climbs and scoots, wiggles and worms, and loves to be in the middle of the action all day.
- Mealtimes continue to be an adventure for Eva. She hates to be confined to her booster chair and will fight and wiggle against the tray. She is the messiest eater; her food always ends up covering her from head to toe. She loves a variety of food, but when she is done watch out. Eva signals completion of her meal by dumping the contents of her plate onto her tray and rapidly throwing it onto the floor or flinging it in all directions.
I Love You My Little Eva!!!
