12 Months Old

Oh my sweet little girl, we made it and in one peice. Happy Birthday my dar]ling little girl. Nothing could have prepared me for the amazing little person that you have become. Last year at this time, I was clutching a tiny little 8 lb baby wondering how I would be able to raise another daughter; I was wondering how I would introduce you to my Arielle. I wondered what you would be like. I had only imagined for the last 10 months how this little girl could be, could change our family and you have absolutely surprised us every step of the way. You are like the glue that holds us together, you fit in with the nuts that make up our family, you are strong and funny and smart and...everything. Your grandma thinks you are "advanced" which is fine with me  but I'm just happy you are mine. I remember before you were born, so many people (even my doctor) would say you can't possibly make a baby as cute as Arie..and well, while you are very different you are absolutely all I ever wanted. I absolutely adore you and so does your sister, your cousins Shaina and Helena, your aunts and uncle. Your nanny Aneta love you too.

This week has been especially exciting for me because you have begun to exhibit an understanding for what we are saying to you. We ask you to dance and you oblige by stomping your chubby little feet on the wood floor and spinning in circles. we say clap and you you do so very happily. You love to dance, run ( which is a it scary for me), you are a fantastic eater, you basically eat almost anything including your sisters meals. Your stability on your feet is  much better, your hair is growing into a full blown afro. You love water, we had you at the beach and a water park this month and you responded fairly well when your daddy thought it was good idea to dunk you under water! We definitely appreciate how laid back you are, always smiling unless you are tired. Speaking of sleep, you are really fantastic with that too, at around the same time everyday unfailing, you are ready to sleep and you go to your crib without much fuss and sleep all night until the morning, in fact you wake up and just lay in bed not really making a big deal until you here the sounds of someone else awake. 

Well, now that you are one, what now? We love you to bits and can only hope you remain safe, happy and as funny as you currently are.

11 Months Old

What can I say...its been an interesting month with you little girl. Since we returned from Nigeria, you've been practicing your walking mainly while taking advantage of how fast you can move on your feet. In the last week or so, you've gotten considerably better with your balance on your feet and surprisingly have become friendlier now that you can walk. I am almost always in awe when I look over and see you standing almost half the height of your sister and realize that I have two beautiful daughters...I have two of you..it overwhelming. Your remain a calm and easy baby for the most part. You have taken very well to formula practically weaning yourself (so much so that daddy didn't even realize it had happened until this weekend..and its been several weeks.!) You eat very very well and have been sleeping through the night in your crib to my delight. I love to cuddle you in the morning even though I'm usually in a rush to get to work but luckily you also love your nanny Aneta too which make it bearable to leave you. You still suck on your tongue when your tired to sooth yourself and have become very fond of your Aden and Anais blankets as a safety. 

You went swimming for the first time the other day and loved it..you also went on a trampoline for the first time and really loved it even though you were a bit hesitant at first. You have begun to pick up words and mimic what we say, you do say "hi" a lot and if course you respond to your name when you here it. Its so funny to watch you waddling around like a little penguin, every move makes me happy and panic at the same time. Of course with mobility come bumps and bruises which I could do without but you don't want to be carried anymore, you want to be on the floor exploring and so you do but sometime you miss the table you are reaching for and bump your head..( I had to Photoshop the bump on your head out of these pictures!)

You are an absolute joy, you love to hug, you aren't fussy at all and you most of all are able to show love to all of us in such a lovely way so that we each understand how much you care for us and we certainly love you too. 

p.s. party planning is in full swing!..someone is going to be 1 soon!

10 Months Old

Evalie..I don't know how to even describe you in a words. You are the funniest little person I've ever had the pleasure to meet. You have developed such a great sense of humor and love to smile at all times. I look at you and smile and you return it so gracefully. You give your light like morning...You are happy, you are still working on your walking, you take about five or six steps before you revert to crawling, probably because it helps you move as fast as your sister does. To my amazement, the two of you play like there isn't three and a half years between you. You are two peas in a pod! You guys bathe together, eat breakfast together, your cuddle each other ( when you let her) and I'm sure a lot more when I'm at work. 

You've got so more teeth coming out, now maybe about 51/2 teeeth. You've been eating more solids than drinking milk..partially because we were forced to ween and transition to formula last week. Luckily, you have absolutely no problems with it. whew! You like quinoa, ground turkey, you recently tried turnips which went over very well. Your hair has grown a bit more but its still slightly to short for a real pony tail. Its getting a bit tougher to photograph you because you are always moving, laughing..etc. You do the funniest dance when a song you like comes on..it looks like you might take off because of how hard you fla your arms. I love you smile, your big eyes get squinty like half moons, and your cheeks    become even more pronounced..it the easiest way to lift my spirits.  

Although you had an ear infection last week, you are doing well. You are still in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th for height. You really don't like the doctors office ( you cried through the entire visit from the moment Dr. Dietzich walked in the door!) I look forward to your next month and I love you beyond words...but you already know that.

Mothers and Daughters

All I really wanted for Mothers day was a few good shots of my daughters and I and some rest. I got both..sort of. Although I had imagined a more glamorous photoshoot, my husband decided to shoot the pictures and I was a bit self conscious (..lets face it..when am I not..?) After two cups of sangria and some snacks in the grass we were able to get a few decent shots before we went home.

9 Months Old

my sweet little Evalie is 9 months olds, I know I'm quite a bit late with this but things have been just going on without leaving me the time to really do anything besides keep the ship from sinking. I have been also feeling especially unwound, uncomfortable..something, just not completely present at anytime. I digress. This little bugger somehow, without talking is able to detect my feelings, she looks at me and seems to truly feel what I feel and then gives me so generously the biggest, cutest two tooth smile you've ever seen. Its what I live for these days, she's making little sounds and moves, very close to walking ( SHE'S WALKING...NOW..), eating everything...its all impressive but quite honestly, I am still completely fascinated by her ability to fill in the spaces for me. She is a little light in all of our lives, she lights up things with her big eyes and one can't help but be thankful for such a gift. It's funny because I often find myself looking at her now on the outside and recalling times when I felt the same comfort from her in my belly. She really has blossomed into a lovely little girl. She smiles constantly, she claps.( I know most 9 month olds do) but its still adorable to see.

I miss her dearly when I'm at work and look forward to her extremely animated expression of excitement when I peek my head in. It's the hardest to walk out in the morning with her crying in the arms of the nanny..its even hard on her sister as well. She suggested staying home from school ( which she loves) just so her sister wouldn't feel sad. Arielle is very generous with her love towards her sister, its so sweet it hurts. Its unbelievable for me to watch them playing peek-a boo or splashing in the bathtub together,   I had never imagined having two kids..little girls. 

Evalie is now weighing in at 20lbs and 28.75 inches tall, and she finally has enough hair to make a tiny little ponytail. It greatly transforms her look..from baby afro to little girl. Some people seem to think she looks more me with her hair that way so I'm favoring it for now. She still has her two teeth but as of yesterday I see another cropping up in the bottom and one more coming in at the top in the front as well. I love my little mini..you truly complete our family, your personality is reserved but friendly and you certainly have the same sense of humor as your big sister. I miss my baby as I see you move from one milestone to the next but you will always be my baby buzzy!

8 Months Old

 At eight months old, you have a mind of your own. You are determined and daring, you get what you want somehow either by crawling very quickly to it or making sounds that let us know what you're thinking. You are very funny and enjoy laughing with your sister (and getting into everything she's doing). You eat most things now and are able to feed yourself little pieces of food. Since you already have two front teeth, you even chew croissants! You are desperate to walk, its actually very funny to see you stand and then let go and then look around to see if we are watching you..you really seem proud of yourself when you do that..although it scares us since its usually right next to living room table. You keep us on our toes at all times. You recognize who we are and when we come and go, you express such joy when daddy, Arielle or I return from a day at work or school.

You have adjusted nicely to the nanny, your no longer cry when I leave but I think its made you a bit more clingy at night, you are refusing to sleep in your crib so for the last few nights you have been sleeping in our bed..its a habit I'd rather not encourage but you're so cute..And I'm so tired.

I sometimes refer to you as my bussy bee but you really are kind of a little goat..you are really into chewing on paper..fuzz..plastic wrappers...anything thats supposed to be in the trash. Its kind of funny and I can't keep up with you.. (right now you are chewing on an unopened pack of baby mum-mum!).

My dear little girl, you can light up any room with those bright brown eyes, I love to see you wake up with your afro and you open your eyes so wide and smile so big when I say good morning. 

Although you are still in the in the 90th percentile, your growth has slowed a bit, you now weigh in at 19.2 lbs and are probably 27 inches tall by now. You are still bringing us much joys and surprise everyday. We love you.

Evalie Anaïs' Baptism

We finally got ourselves together and Baptized Evalie this weekend. Unlike with Arielle, we knew we would do it but we were just really slow to get to it. A few years ago, we Baptized Arie at the age of 2 1/2 which was strange but because we were not sure as parents what religion we would teach and how to go about it. We are now both pretty sure we will try to expose the kids to both ( as opposed to non, which was our original strategy) and hope they benefit from the ideals that religion can instill in a child but remain open to either or even to select a religion that fits their beliefs when they are older. The Catholic church does require its members to maintain "membership" by keeping up with ones Sacraments and Baptism is the first of them. Evalie did very well was very cranky really because the ceremony was at 11:30 which is her nap time. She cried and squeals throughout and screamed when the Priest poured water over her head. She batted his hand out of the way each time he tried to bless her and basically was not letting him (or anyone) near her. So I suppose in hindsight, doing this with a much older child is easier. Anyway, our families gathered and we celebrated with good food, treats and a beautiful cake made by my favorite patisserie (she's made cakes for us since Arielle's first birthday.

The ceremony was quick and some people were late and missed the entire thing but I was fine with it. When it was our turn to come to the basin, we all gathered and my sister held Evalie over it. Arielle was just tall enough to see over the rim and she stood there watching cautiously to see her sister get baptized. It was actually really cute to see how worried she looked when Evalie started screaming from being startled by the water streaming down her face. Once that was done, we sat down and my brother did the candle lighting and brought it over to Evalie, she starred at it and then tried to grab it. He gave her the box and she started eating that!...By the end, at 12:30 she was so hungry and tired I had to immediately feed her to calm her down and by the time we got home ( 5 minuted away, she was sleeping so I put her to bed.

The day before, I had taken off from work so I could shop and do some little things around the house to prepare. I cooked some food, made cupcakes and favors, Austin and Arie cleaned the house and we were ready to have a great party. I really liked the idea of a white dessert table so I set that up basically with a centerpiece of spray painted branches. The cake, cupcakes and favors were also on that table along with white chocolate covered pretzels, almonds, cream puffs, Sfogliatelle and powdered donuts. 

We had some antipasto platters, chicken wings, sushi platter, chips and dip, dried fruit etc for appetizers while everyone settled in.  

7 Months Old

I see the baby in her slipping away so fast, she is the sweetest, smiley little bundle of chubby love. She is my little baby who is now 7 months old. Evalie has had a very tough month, she has been sick for what seems like 6 weeks. She been on 4 different types of medication at a time, as at one point had to take in more medication than food. As a result, she has lost a few ounces this month, she has lost her appetite and was up until a few days ago waking up every two hours for hugs and love and very hard to put back to sleep. This is unlike her and has taken a toll on us all, we've been tired but also really missed out friendly daring little bubble. Over the last few days, I have seen a dramatic change in her which has really been great, her nanny even remarked on Friday how much fun she had and how happy she has been. It tough to leave a little one here with a non-family member and only hope she exhibits as much patience, love and care as I would especially in the situation we have been in. I do think she has though because she seems to be very aware of even the littlest signs of change in Evalie..things only mothers notice or care about. Speaking of things only a mother could love..poop has also been a real issue or the lack there of! She just stopped going for weeks but alas I think this has also resolved it self...

Now onto the good news, Evalie eats real food now and rather prefers the non pureed versions of things...yes..yes..yes..I monitor her while she eats and I serve only things in little pieces such as her dinner the other night was Turkey Bolognese with alphabet pasta. She loves it so we will be trying other things this week..one at a time and 3-4 days apart to check her reaction to it but its another reason I started out the post the way I did..shes really growing up.

Evalie is extremely verbal, she talks and yaps and squeals and shrieks while she plays..she also groans when she wants your attentions or doesn't like what you're trying to do to her. She's still working on getting herself comfortable with the bottle but I think we are all convinced she is being selective, the nanny says she drinks the bottle very happily while I'm gone but I've never seen it happen because she won't take it from anyone else, not me, not dad, not grandma, not aunty..

Arielle is really surprising me everyday, she is very careful and cognizant of things her little sister needs, her non-verbal communication with her is beyond anything I could have imagined. They play together and Arielle protects her so much. I really am thankful each day that they remain close and happy, Arielle no longer feels any form of jealousy, she sees her as a partner in crime..Evalie looks up to her.
At her last appointment, Evalie was about 18 lbs and 27 inches in a slightly lower percentile for her age 90th instead of 95th but still doing great. The doctors are happy with her progress and development. She's thinned out a bit, her hair is growing rapidly ( see the mini-fro) but she's got the cutest little feet. She seems to like music, she bounces on her bum and flaps her arms over and over when she excited, its really funny. She laughs at most things..like her sister acting like a jackhammer..(you have to be there)!

Now for the big news..she is MOBILE...she crawled for the first time yesterday, she actually moved herself a few inches..not by stretching, not be rolling bot backwards but actually crawling on her hands and knees..it was really great to see her do it. I was so proud of her! We were all sure she was going to just walk instead of crawling because she showed no interest in being on her tummy instead she is always looking for something to grab onto and prop herself up. She cruises along low puffs, tables and stands at her discovery box instead of sitting now.. As you can see..even during my photo-shoot..she was hard to keep down.. she wanted to stand surf..on a rocking chair! So I am a happy mama to have my cuddly little cherub back.