Baby Center Knows Their Stuff

I subscribe to Baby Center's age-related updates. Today the 19-month update said the following:

"When you're out and about, your toddler's favorite pastime may be running away from you as fast as she can, squealing in delight as you rush to catch up. She's oblivious to danger, so you'll need to be extra watchful..."

It amazes me how accurate their descriptions are. This is exactly what we're dealing with now and summarizes our trip to the zoo last Sunday. We have the monkey/leash/backpack pictured above and I will not hesitate to start using it more often. Everyone can look at me as if I'm "one of those parents who puts their kid on a leash". I don't care, at least she's not going to get hurt or taken.

Full of Hot Air

Check out Evy's new trick. She learned this from her friend Mason--I don't think I'm going to let her hang out with boys anymore...

This Place is a Zoo

On Sunday, we met Evy's cousin Jacob at the Brookfield zoo. The kids had such fun seeing the bears and gorillas and playing in sprinklers. We didn't even need to see the monkeys because we already had two with us. It was HOT so we were all worn out by the time we left. Evy's exhausted look in the last picture is the way I felt too. Thanks Uncle Caleb and Aunt Morgan for sharing your zoo membership with us!

Friends!

On Friday we headed into Chicago to see some of our friends. We met Baby Shay for the first time and Evy had such fun tearing up Baby Shay's house--just a preview for her parents who haven't yet experienced a toddler. On Saturday, we went to see Evy's buddy Mason. By Sunday they were fast friends and Evy was giving hugs. You never would have guessed they liked each other by the way the fought over sippy-cups (SCREAMING!!) on Saturday.

Do Poodles Jog?

On my way to work this morning I saw a man jogging with a poodle. That just didn't seem right.

The Number of the Day is...

TWO! For some reason Evy's favorite number is two. Actually, it's the only number she says. If there are 4 bears sitting on the floor and you ask her how many bears there are she says "two". If you hold up 3 fingers and ask her how many fingers I'm holding up she says "two." Guess how she counts to 10? Two, two, two, two...

18 Months

Grandma J. once described Evy as super-smart, super-cute and super-strong willed. At 18 months that pretty much sums it up. At her 18 month appointment last week she came in at 32.5" tall (80%), 24.5 lbs (58%), and head 18.75" (85%). Evy still doesn't like going to the doctor, but her doctor had a great idea this time--Elmo and Kitty were examined first. Then, when it was Evy's turn she let the doctor get 95% through the exam before she started crying--and that's a record.

Evy is very active. We spend our time chasing her around the neighborhood as she wanders from one person's garage to another's front step. She loves all of the playgrounds in the area and will go down even the biggest slide all by herself. She likes to push her baby stroller around for 10 seconds, and then push her wagon around for 25 seconds and then drag her trike out for 15 seconds. All of that, for not even 1 minute of entertainment! She has learned to jump and has a 1/2 inch vertical!

Evy is quite the talker, starting to put together little sentences. Most of them come in the form of commands. "Sit down mommy" and "More hotdog" are two of her recent ones. She refers to Dad only as "My Daddy" as though someone else is trying to claim him. She is such a sweet and funny little girl and we get a kick out of her every day.

Bravo!

My friend Andrea, at work, hooked us up majorly! Free tickets to Sesame Street Live!!! Evy, Grandma Joan, and I attended the 10:30 show this morning. At first Evy was a little nervous and told me, "No! No! No!" but then her buddy Elmo came on stage and she quickly started clapping! During intermission Evy kept asking where Elmo was and even when getting into the elevator to leave she was still inquiring about her little friend. I think she loved it!

Confession...

Overall, I think we're doing a pretty good job at parenting. We have rules, focus on healthy eating, have taught Evy good sleeping habits, spend time reading, play outside a lot when the weather is nice and don't cave at all tantrums. However, we get a big fat "F" at limiting TV. I think we're creating a little TV junkie. The good news is Evy watches no TV while at daycare, but at home it's just too easy to let her watch a show for 30 minutes while we eat dinner. Last night, the weather was horrible and we were feeling particularly lazy so we let her watch the entire Shrek movie! She took to the couch potato thing way too easily--lounged out on the couch in her PJ's for the entire movie. Maybe I'll chalk it up to a learning experience. She now knows how to say "Shrek" and "Princess"...?!?

Takes My Breath Away...

Since becoming a mom stories like this literally take my breath away. I have found that I can hardly bear to watch Oprah, the evening news, or even see movies where children are harmed. I wish no one would ever have to fathom this horrible nightmare.

A Girl's Best Friend...

Accessories make an outfit, right?

I should point out that Evy found and put the hat on herself and then brought me her shoes to put on her. Such a fashionista---the shoes and hat happen to match!

Happy Easter!

Every day is Easter in our house. This movie is currently Evy's favorite--she doesn't want to watch anything else. "Bunny?" she asks, when she wants to watch the movie. Scott and I have every line memorized and are ready for a new favorite.

She Does Like It!

I had been looking for a bike seat for Evy and came across this recommendation on the KC Jones Boys. It's called the WeeRide and touts better balance and control since the child is in front of you. From the picture it may seem as though Evy hates the thing, but I think we just caught her at a bad moment. She actually likes to ride and walks up to the bike and says, "Ride? Ride? Ride?" Overall, I like the product. It is really easy to balance Evy, but I have to ride a little bow legged to allow room for the seat.

Mommy? Doctor?

Last night after a 2.5 hour doctor appointment (another story) I finally got home at 6 p.m. Scott had to pick up Evy since I was stuck at the appointment. When I walked in the house Evy was very concerned. She asked, "Mommy? Doctor? Knee?" And wanted to look at my knee. Scott said when he told her I was at the doctor she started crying. This is not surprising because Evy hates going to the doctor! This morning she was asking again about Mommy and doctor. Such a cute little worrywart.

Weekend To-Do List

-Blow bubbles with Grandma

-Install new kitchen faucet

-Plant flowers