We got pictures taken in honor of Evie's first birthday and had so much fun. The idea was to post them on her birthday...but as you can see, that didn't happen. Oh well, they'll accompany her one year info nicely...
Our girl is officially a one-year-old and learning new things daily.
She is thisclose to walking and has taken a plenty of steps alone -- but always just one or two at a time. She sings and dances on command (I swear she sings "A, B, C, D"), she loves to wave and blow kisses, she's gone on the potty several times(!), and she's communicating pretty well by telling us yes, no, more, and all done (through gestures). It amazes me how much she understands too. She listens well and follows most directions.Just like Julian did, she has said a couple of words -- just once -- so if you miss 'em, you're out of luck. And if you do hear them, it's more like "Did she really just say that? Or did I imagine it?" So far I've been lucky enough to hear "doggy," "balloon," and "ball."
One of my favorite new things is her all-purpose animal noise. Any animal she sees (in real life, in a book, on tv), she points and starts growling at it. It cracks me up particularly when it's something like a mouse or a bug.
She loves to be anywhere her big brother is and tries to emulate everything he does. He makes her day if he plays with her or laughs at her. She loves to cuddle, eat, make us laugh, and generally be the center of attention. Her favorites include mandarin oranges and peas (she would seriously polish off a can of each at every meal if I let her), petting the doggies, and climbing. She makes me nervous, but loves to scale the couch, toys, the fridge while I get dinner out...you get the idea.She was 30 inches and 22 lbs at her appointment Monday. That puts her the 72nd percentile for height and 61st for weight. She's got a small noggin like Daddy, only the 28th percentile. :)
It almost always makes us laugh because it's so ridiculous, but God help you if you lay her down to change her diaper or get her dressed and she's not in the mood! She gets furious. And girlfriend is strong too. She'll fight her hardest to turn over or sit up, screeching like a banshee the entire time.
And now when she wants Momma to hold her (which is a lot still...she's my little cling-on), if I walk past or set her back down after just a minute, she gives such a performance. Face to the ground, arms flailed, bawling like I just broke her heart. But the real conundrum here is that even she can't decide what she wants. If she wanted to be held all the time, then fine, I'd wrap her up in the sling and let her ride around with me all day. But noooo, one second she has to have me and the next, she's going to jump out of my arms if I don't let her down immediately.
She has mastered the "arms up, stiff as a board" stance that makes it almost impossible to hang onto a kid when she's mad. And there's not much of a whimper cry level on this one -- it's happy or hulk.
**And since it took my over a week to finish this post, I can update that Happy Evie is back. Whew. And I do spy her two top teeth poking through, so maybe that was the culprit.**
But no matter what, I wouldn't have it any other way. The other side of her slightly "intense" attitude lately is so sweet. My girl couldn't be cuddlier, she's always giving kisses, she is so friendly and waves to everyone, she's happy and cheerful (for the most part), she loves to crack us up, play with Julian, rough house with Daddy, and be my little shadow. I love it. And I love her.
