To the Capitol!

This past weekend we took a long drive up to see granmomma and granpoppa in Maryland.  Evangeline, you were so great on this trip.  So, as I woke up Thursday morning, I had a really bad fever, migraine, and my monthly friend had come to visit.  It felt like the opening to a really bad horror movie.  After being in bed all day, not having packed a single thing, Jimmy came home with EV after a successful Easter egg hunt at school and it was time to eat dinner, bathe, and get the car packed to drive 10 hours.  Oh my...

Well, EV you were great, the moment you got in the car you fell asleep and you slept until we arrived at granmomma's house at 5:30 am.  Poppa, you were great as well!  You drove straight there, made great time, and you seemed very excited to see your parents.  I didn't want to be the party pooper but I was feeling very very sick.  I pulled you out of the car, hoping you would sleep another hour but that was ridiculous of me.  Earlier in the car, I remember noticing green goo in your eyes and when you opened your eyes, they were crusted shut with goo.  I told poppa that we should try to find a pediatric urgent care in case you had conjunctivitis.  So, in the next few hours, we ate breakfast, found a pediatric office, went to the pediatric office (you had an ear infection and pink eye), ordered and picked up your prescriptions, and met with granmomma for lunch.  After lunch, we took a long nap and got ready for dinner with the family. This was a special dinner because you got to see your great granmomma.  You were such a little ham.  You really turned it up a notch after dinner.  You were standing on a chair near the middle of the table and you winked, blew kisses, did your animal sounds/motions, and everything else on demand.  You smiled and laughed and you made everyone at the table melt and fall in love with you.  We crashed that night, we were so tired from the drive and all the family interactions.

The second day was a little more low key.  We took the time to go to the National Zoo.  Oh, how nice is it to go to the zoo for free!  You were pointing to all the animals and making all your sounds and motions.  It was so fun to watch you see all your animals in real life.  After lunch and walking around the zoo for hours, you were so tired, you passed out in the car and slept for nearly 2 hours.

Sunday was Easter and we went to granmomma's church.  It was so sweet.  You sat next to granpoppa and just laid your head on his shoulders.  You just melted their hearts.  After church, we went to poppa's Aunt Laura's house, had dinner, and got ready to make our drive back home.  After a great dinner, we got ready for bed, and got back in the car for our long drive back home.  Again, EV you slept through the whole way, continued to sleep when we got home at 4:30am, and woke up at 6:30am at your usual time.  You've had a completely normal day as if you did not do any traveling all weekend.  I cannot say the same for poppa and myself.  We are tired, I am still sick, but very glad that we got time to spend with family.

April showers bring May flowers

I cannot believe that we are approaching the end of April already!  Wow, I have really neglected this blog, huh?  Okay, so where do we start....

Evangeline, you are now 13 months!  I absolutely cannot believe it, sometimes I feel like your 30 months old.  You can identify most of your body parts now (head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hands, feet, belly button) and you can do many of the sounds/sign language I made up of the animals we've taught you (lion, seal, cow, fish, bee).  You love being outdoors, riding in the wagon, playing with a ball and a bat, and making new discoveries.  You help with putting lotion on yourself after a bath and you help put things away after you make a mess (although you take it all out after you put it all away).  Your favorite food is cheese.  You can eat cheese anytime, anyplace, all the time.  You clearly tell us what you like, don't like, want, and don't want.  Sleep is still very important to you--you are still taking two naps a day and sleeping close to 12 hours at night.  You are a very happy toddler, you make us smile everyday and we come home looking forward to seeing you.  I miss you when I'm not with you and I wish time would slow down when we are together.  I love you so much little one!!

You also have a very fun sense of humor.  You think it's funny when we cover your face with a shirt or your binkie and you run into things.  You laugh when poppa bear gets hurt (I guess we're going to have to teach you some empathy).  You also get very silly when you're really tired--at that point, you think everything is funny.  You are also very ticklish.

You had your very first Easter egg hunt at school today and you did so well.  You immediately understood the concept and picked up as many eggs as your basket could hold.  Although poppa bear was holding your basket, you knew to hand over your eggs so that he could put it in the basket and so that you could get more.  I promise I will try to be better at updating the blog more regularly.  In the meantime here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

You are so independent, you always want to do everything yourself:

We took a trip to West Palm Beach, Florida before your first birthday and it was so fun to see you discover the sand and the water.  Although it wasn't your first time there, it was definitely a new experience for you:

You love being outdoors:

These are your first school photos.  You obviously do not look very happy.  I asked your teacher if you look like this all the time.  She said no but she did say that you are on most days a serious baby.  Lately, you have been very excited to go to school.  We are grateful.

We put some bunny ears on you for fun and this is the face you gave us--always so expressive.  Love it!!