Our summer so far...

I can't believe it is already the end of June!  I find myself busier than ever with work, church, family, and friends.  Since my last post, I have been on work travel twice and the beach for vacation.  In addition to traveling, we have said good-bye to old friends, hello to new ones, and nice to see ya again to friends we haven't seen in awhile.  I've had crazy work deadlines and Jimmy is busy preparing for Rush.  We've gone to birthday parties, celebrated father's day, hung out at the pool, had a garage sale, and spent time with friends and family.  I've been spending time thinking, praying, and planning for the new ministry year for the working moms community.  So yes, it's already the end of June but we have done so much and we still have so much more to do!

So, what is EV up to now?  She is becoming a lady.  It's amazing how quicklyl they grow and mature.  We have conversations and I can now see and understand her thought processes.  She's able to articulate her emotions and her thoughts.  She has an incredible memory.  She is considerate, loving, funny, persistent, indepedent, sensitive, perceptive and insightful. She is constantly talking and likes to narrate EVERYTHING--"Look mommy, I am eating a bagel; it has cream cheese on it. Mommy is all done with her bagel and is wiping her mouth. Look mommy, daddy is sitting next to me.  Daddy has a bagel, EV has a bagel.  My bagel has cream cheese on it..." and on and on and on.  She puts a smile on my face when she says things like, "Mommy, please turn up the air.  Look at me, I'm sweating."  or "Mommy, you look pretty today." The mornings when she wakes up before us, she'll tiptoe quietly into our room, peak in and take a look at us, and then go back to her room to play by herself until either we are ready to wake up or she gets too bored.  She likes to play jokes and she loves laughing.  She loves to sing and is singing all the time.  She loves to swim and getting more confident in the water--she can jump high and far.  She swims across the pool with just pool noodles and no help.  She has high standards for herself and gets frustrated when she cannot accomplish what she thinks she can in her head.  She gets embarrassed when she gets in trouble in front of others.  Her current favorite book is Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Suess.  Evangeline, you are truly our joy and in times of frustration or discouragement, we look at you and are reminded of God's love and blessing.  I am so thankful for the moments we share and I look forward to more.

Things to come next month:
--4th of July
--GoldRush
--Trip to Maryland
--Camping

Mash Up

EV has really been getting into singing.  Her current favorites include, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," "Happy Birthday to You," "Row Row Row Your Boat," "The Wheels on the Bus," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," and the "ABC Song."  The other day Jimmy mentioned that Baa Baa Black Sheep, ABC Song and Twinkle Twinkle all are based off of the same notes/melody.  The next thing we know EV is singing Baa Baa Black Sheep and finishing it off with the ABC Song (when she was supposed to be taking a nap).  She doesn't start really singing until about 15 seconds into the recording; it's actually really cute how she corrects herself, although she's still a little pitchy.  So, without further ado, here is EV's mash up of Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC song.

EV's Mash Up of Baa Baa Black Sheep and ABC Song

Strawberry picking we go!

We went strawberry picking this past Saturday and had a good time.  It's funny because when we got home to wash off all the strawberries, we found many that were already bitten into.  Apparently, EV was taking a bite out of all the ones she picked--I guess she was doing a taste test to make sure they are okay. 

This has been a really fun age, as EV continues to grow exponentially in her speech and is now even making jokes and trying to be funny.  After she goofs off or makes a joke she'll say, "hahahaha.  EV's funny!"  Lately, she's also been asking, "Mommy, what's this?" or "What's inside this?" Her curious mind has to know how everything works.  On many occasions I have found myself stumbling on my explanation.  She asked me the other day, pointing to the cutting mat, "Mommy, what's this big paper?"  I said, "Oh, that's for cutting fabric so that mommy can make you dresses and clothes."  Although it wasn't that eloquent, it sounded more like, "Oh, yeah, um, mommy cuts on that. Well, mommy puts it on the floor and puts fabric, I mean clothes on top to cut it.  I mean it's a mat for cutting."  Halfway through, EV is bored and is onto the next thing.  It's even worse when she asks about something I don't want her to know about.  "Mommy what's inside this" (pointing to a brownie oatmeal bar from trader joe's).  I respond with, "Oh, um, it's nothing. yuck. you don't want to know. actually there's nothing inside." (as I quickly walk away to avoid telling her about the delicious sweet contents of the bag).  I need practice responding to these random questions more clearly and succintly. 

I can't believe it's already May.  Jimmy and I will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary in a couple weeks.  We have been so blessed in our marriage--we have definitely had our ups and our downs but it's all made our marriage stronger and better.  I hope that as we celebrate 7 years, we can be appreciate all that's happened in the past, be thankful for what we have in the present, and look forwards to new adventures in the future.

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!