Funny things kids say

I am absolutely floored at how quickly EV's language abilities are growing each day.  Not only her vocabulary and pronunciation, but her ability to get intonation, sentence structure, and humor.  With this constant development of language, we are seeing more and more of EV's personality.  We are seeing how bossy she really is, "Mommy, come here and sit down, RIGHT NOW!"  She is constantly saying do this and do that.  We are also seeing her sense of humor and how much of a jokster she really is.  She will say, "Mommy, go away!! Noooo! I'm sorry"  Then I'll come to give her a hug and then she'll say, "No--go away!" And then laugh hysterically (I think her humor is mean like her momma's).  We also see her compassion.  Last week Jimmy hurt himself at the park and EV started crying saying, "Oh noooo!! Appa's hurt!  Kiss boo-boo."  Recently she told her auntie Gina to watch her do something and my sister and I just sat in awe by the complexity of her sentence.  She's also singing a lot of songs lately--it's as if she finally gained the confidence to say the words while carrying a tune.  I think hearing a little toddler sing is the sweetest thing I've every heard!

Evangeline, you make our hearts so glad and we are so thankful for you every day!  We are so blessed to have such a beautiful, funny, smart, loving daughter like you.  I look forward to seeing how God will grow you and use you as a young woman.

Let's Pray

EV sometimes says really random things and one of those things is "Let's Pray."  She'll be playing with her puzzle, then stop look at us and say, "Let's Pray" or she'll be eating her food and in the middle of a bite she'll look up and say "Let's Pray."  In those moments, we stop everything and we lift up a prayer.  When she was really little, we use to have family prayer time where we would gather in the living room and each take turns praying.  Unfortunately, we weren't very consistent and eventually family prayer time turned to occasional prayers to nonexistent.  Thankfully we have a very systematic child that likes consistency.  First, it was every time the three of us were in the living room, she would say, "Let's Pray" then it was just anytime the three of us would be gathered.  So, a lesson we have been trying to teach EV has become a lesson to us.  As we try to teach EV the importance of prayer, she's teaching us the importance of maintaining it.  I love this kid and I love how God teaches us so many lessons through her!

YMCA

We recently signed EV up for gymnastics and swim lessons.  And now she cannot stop talking about it.  She gets super excited when we drive into the parking lot of the Y and she is constantly practicing all her "moves" at home.  What I love about it is that it's a great outlet for all her energy, it teaches her how to work with other kids, and it teaches her about following instructions.

Yes--that is the look of fear on her face but she loves her teacher and will do anything she tells her to do

Learning to blow bubbles when your mouth is in the water

This little girl trusts her teacher but not her momma--the moment she gets transferred to me, she starts freaking out

Practicing jumping into the water

By the end of the lesson, she was swimming with a float on her back, two noodles, and NO assistance from mom or the teacher

Way to go EV!!

Up the Mountain!

Last weekend, we went up to Dillard, Georgia for my dad's birthday.  EV loved looking at the mountain and although we didn't get to stop by Tallulah Gorge we still had a nice time driving up and having lunch at the Dillard House.  So ever since last week, EV has kept on asking, "Go up the mountain?  Halbi's birthday?  Go up the mountain and take pictures?"  So, we decided to take her to Stone Mountain.  Oh boy--Evangeline, you are one of the most strong-willed child I have ever met.  You insisted on walking all the way up even though half-way through your ankles were shaky and every step would make you fall on your behind.  You walked about 2/3's the way until we decided that enough was enough.  You just kept screaming, "No, EV do it, EV walk, put me down!"  So, after making it most of the way up, we decided it was time to go down and daddy had to force you into the ergo, just so that you can't wiggle yourself out of his hold.  I was worried your little legs would be so sore this morning, but you woke up without any complaints and was ready to conquer another day!

You always cover your ears when you hear a train coming--what an awesome treat, a mountain and train all in one day!

Here you are ready to conquer this mountain!

Taking a little break from the sun and stretching...

Here we go--it was like a mini-rock climbing session for her.  And she loved it!

It's all about the placement of your foot!

Yes--look at me, I am walking all the way up this mountain!!

Even though towards the end her ankles were shaky and her legs were wobbling, she still had a huge smile on her face.

Oh, and don't forget the pine straws and rocks she had to collect along the way.  One for each family member and friend.

Ahhhh--finally, just enjoying the view...

Family picture time!

This cracker is the best cracker ever--especially after an hour long hike up the mountain!

Two years old

As I was having dinner with EV today and having a conversation about her birthday, it made me want to slow down time even more.  EV has been talking about her party non-stop the last few weeks and even more now that it has passed.  She loves singing happy birthday to herself and talking about all of her friends and blowing out the candles on her cake.  I am just amazed that I can actually sit down and have a conversation with her.

So, if you read Jimmy's blog (http://jimmyhkim.wordpress.com/) he talks about how we stayed up late to work on all the details of EV's party.  It's amazing how a simple website like Pinterest can make such a huge difference with planning and it makes you wonder how you lived without it before.  So, here's a brief recap of all that was handmade and the link of the tutorial (if there is one) for EV's "dairy' themed party:

EV's dress (http://www.mesewcrazy.com/2011/01/spring-fever-dress.html)

Party banner (http://www.sassybabiesblog.com/2012/01/guest-post-banners.html)
Letter E (not a great view from this pic--http://andeverythingsweet.blogspot.com/2012/01/feather-her-nest.html)

Fabric covered water bottles (my own idea)

Props for photo booth (includes top hats, glasses, mustaches, etc--didn't get a picture of the bucket)

Cupcakes (http://keepingupwiththekunzs.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-to-do-what-to-do.html)

Cheesecake balls (http://www.bakerella.com/cheesecake-pops/)
Strawberry stuffed cheesecake (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2011/08/cheesecake-stuffed-strawberries.html)
Mac and Cheese balls (Jimmy's recipe)
Chicken salad croissants (Jimmy's recipe)
Cheese Fondue
Yogurt Bar

Milk (chocolate and 2%)

(Not pictured:  EV's photobook (made by Apple) and party favors (puzzles of a farm--mostly))

I think that's it--we had a lot of fun celebrating with EV's friends.  We are so blessed to have so many friends and family that love us and want to celebrate with us.  Evangeline, you have this amazing ability to brighten up our day and put a smile on our faces.  You make us laugh and you know you are funny.  You love being around people and you are already such a compassionate person.  You can't stand to see others crying or being sad.  You are stubborn and persistent, but at the same time loving and gentle.  We love you so so so so much!  I look forward to every new memory and new encounters.  I can't believe you are 2 years old!!

Birthday preparations

Now that we are less than 2 weeks away from EV's birthday, I am on full birthday preparation mode.  This year, we have decided to keep it fairly small, which is sooo hard for me to do because I love having parties and inviting the whole world.  The hardest decision was who to invite but we decided that in order to keep it small, it would make the most sense to invite EV's friends and family.  NOT, mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa's friends and associates. 

The theme to this year's birthday is "dairy" to celebrate EV's love of all things diary (milk, cheese, yogurt).  If you ask EV what she wants to eat, she often ends her list with, "...and cheese, too!"  Jimmy made the cutest invitation--I love the simplicity and the country feel to it. 

I also love how we incorpated the fabric we will use for the party into the invitation.  I bought a bundle of fabric appropriately called "Urban Cowgirl." 

Since being sick all weekend, I still have EV's birthday dress, fabric banner, and other little projects that need to get done for the decorations.  I am also planning on making all the food and desserts at home, aside from the birthday cheesecake.  I am so thankful for Pinterest.  It has been such a useful tool in organizing and developing all my thoughts, ideas, and plans.  I just have to remember that it's not about perfection but quality time and memories.  I can't wait to post the final products!!

La, la, la

Lately, EV has really been into singing, especially singing songs with hand motions.  Her current favorite songs, that she knows some or most of the words include "The Wheels on the Bus," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Happy Birthday."  So, this was an extra special weekend since we went to a birthday party AND an opera performance of Rabbit Tales.

A co-worker friend's daughter was the lead duck in the opera performance, so I wanted to go to support her and to get EV exposed to some fun opera.  I did have my doubts; I was worried about EV being able to sit through an hour long performance and even more worried about my ability to sit through an opera performance.  The good news is that the performance was a lot of fun (for both EV and myself).  I was so proud of Evangeline--EV you spent the first 2-3 songs on my lap, but then you were wanting to join in on the fun.  You wanted to sit on the stairs, sing, and dance along.  Thankfully, the performance had interactive parts, and the theater was full of other kids (although it seemed that most of them stayed seated throughout the performance).  So, I did want any desperate parent would do, I bribed you with your favorite snacks if you stayed quiet.  You are such a funny kid though, every time I tried to tell you to stop singing or dancing, you would put your finger up to your mouth and say "Shhhhhhh", then you would proceed to say, "Duck, sing!! La, la, laaaaa!" "Lion, Rrrawr!!  Sing, Lalalaaaa!"  Then you would look at me and say, "shhhhhhhh."  There was a part of me that was holding back laughter and another part that was so desperately trying to get you to sit down and stay quiet.  All in all, it was a good experience.  You couldn't stop talking about it all the way up till bedtime, all you could talk about was the duck, lion, rabbit, and fox.  You couldn't stop singing and dancing.  I guess we should go to the opera more often! (Note to self:  try to get a video of EV singing, dancing, and doing hand motions).