Eve's Birthday

I can't believe that it has been two years since Eve was born. She is growing so fast and entertaining me more and more each day. I am so happy to be her mom, she is the sweetest little person!

She loves her tea set that she got for Christmas. She has had many tea parties... which require us sitting down so she can serve us. I am glad that we got her a toy that she enjoys so much! Now we just need to invite little girls her age over for tea parties... she would enjoy that so much more!!

Happy Birthday!!

So Sunday was a big day!! Ian and Eve got to share another birthday together. It was a lot of fun. We woke up in the morning and let her open a present (the book Olivia-she is obsessed). Then we went to my mom's. There she opened her Fancy Nancy themed presents. At church she got just what she likes most.... lots and lots of music! Not once did she have to ask for more music please.

Then we headed home and rested for a while (opened and played with her tea set) before heading over to Ian's grandparent's house for the party. The party was for family which there is plenty of right now. Ian's parents and sister are in town, or course his grandparents are here, my mom, Alice and Andrew. It was a wild party. We enjoyed lots of finger foods and angel food cupcakes with strawberry cool whip frosting.

Ian's family really outdid themselves with the presents. Just when you thought it was over more presents were opened. It cracked me up. I can't even list all of the things that she scored. Now she is obsessed with presents. She wants to open more presents please. We keep on telling her how many sleeps before Christmas when she can open more presents. She cracks me up.

The day after her birthday we went to the doctor's office bright and early for her 2 year checkup and she did amazing. She didn't even cry when they gave her a shot!! I couldn't believe it.

She got to finish off that day with a sleepover with Grandma Kim, Anica, Al, and Grandma and Grandpa Sybesma. She loved it!! Of course she is so in love with sleepovers that tonight she is away again... with my mom, Andrew and Alice. It is nice to have the quiet... but weird having her gone so much in one week. But everyone isn't home all of the time for her to party with them so it is nice for her to be able to do that... and nice for me and Ian to have some time to ourselves. Maybe that is her birthday present to him.

Busy Girl

Eve always wants to do the things that we do. Her favorite place in the house is the office. We keep the door closed so she can't get in there are destroy everything all of the time. It is kind of nice to know that there is one spot that I can depend on to be clean.

When Eve does get to go in the office one of her first stops is usually to the treadmill. She is obsessed with "running" on the treadmill. This time she even got my running shoes on so that she would really be ready to run. I think it is adorable. Nothing like running in the tutu, running shoes, and pajama shirt... that is style!!

Baby Pumpkin

Last Saturday we decided to carve pumpkins. When we went to the store to get them Eve decided that she needed a baby pumpkin. What was hilarious about this is that the store we went to only had baby pumpkins for decorations so we had to go to an entirely different store to get Eve her baby pumpkin.

She loved the process, especially the special tools for carving. She wasn't really into the guts this year but she had fun. You can see the picture of her pumpkin. She got to choose various shapes for the eyes, nose, and she was determined that the mouth had to have teeth. She is really proud of that pumpkin and keeps on trying to sneak him into the house. It has been very rainy and I think she is afraid of that poor baby pumpkin drowning. We have to empty the rain water out of him every day. She also has to give him a kiss every time that we leave the house.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Eve really liked the idea that she could go scare people with her scary tiger growl. We just went to a few homes of people that we knew and that was enough... she was exhausted by the time we got home. It was a fun night though. Then we had a movie night with my mom and Alice once Eve went to bed, that is when we ate our scary spider web dip.

The highlights for Eve were her special flashlight (glow stick), candy everywhere, and big scary teeth.

Sometimes it is so nice to live in Alaska. The beginning of October was so nice we took advantage of just about every sunny day we could. The jogging stroller got lots of use and our little legs did too. Eve enjoyed grocery shopping (mushroom hunting) and just running around in the woods.

About two weeks ago we were out walking on a trail towards a fishing platform and Eve was running ahead full speed when I saw the little black spot a mom does not want to see her child running towards. I told Ian that he had to grab Eve right away... then we backed off so she could see the bear that she almost ran right into. When Ian picked her up she thought that she was running towards a dog!! How hilarious! Of course when she was running right at the bear my heart about stopped, but now that I am calm and my baby is okay I can sit and laugh about how crazy living in Alaska can be.

Contemplating Life

As I wandered down a leaf littered woodland trail I happened upon this delightful creature. She appeared to be quietly enjoying the crisp fall day. Each sip of her bitter brew strengthen the grasp of concentration. The depth of contemplation of this being only merits one topic to ponder, that of life itself.

The Terrible Terrible Tiger

We have had Eve's Halloween costume for a couple months now. Recently Eve asks to put on her tiger suit. This is a fun game. Eve pretends to be a very scary tiger and chases us around the house. Oh, and believe me, she is a very scary little tiger.

Pony Rides

Eve loves horses... have I mentioned this before? Once I got her my little pony fruit snacks and that was the end of it... now she doesn't want any other type of fruit snacks... she only wants to eat neigh snacks (what she calls them). It is pretty funny. My mom bought her a my little pony and she loves to just sit and brush it. I think it is pretty funny.

Well her parents are not left out of her love of horses... she also loves a good horse ride... I am not talking the nice tromp around on my back while I am on all fours kind of ride... we are talking some serious speed. Usually as we are galloping around the house she is begging us to go faster and faster... It's good exercise.

Mommy's Helper

Eve has turned into my number one helper. All she does all the time is "help" me out. Sometimes, okay most times, it makes things take a whole lot longer to do things when she is helping but she really loves helping out. She will move furniture around or do pretty much anything she needs to do to help me do thing around the house.

She is so obsessed with laundry. She is has figured out how to open the dryer without any help and loves just sitting in there while I load up the washer. I love having my little shadow around... and it makes me more aware of the things that I do because she is always imitating me.

So cute!!

Eve is so funny. She has started asking for tails (pigtails) pretty often. She likes to play beauty parlor while she gets tails in. At Grandma Mil's house she also gets pampered by getting her finger nails painted... she loves it. Sometimes she is such a girly girl.

Clean up, Clean up, Everybody, Everywhere...

Sometimes I feel sorry for my poor husband. He has been working like crazy for the month of September... Then there are those days that he starts work at 5:30 and isn't home at 4, and maybe that day he told me he would be off by 3 or something and I know it isn't his fault, that he has to work longer but some days I feel like I need his help.

A little over a week ago was one of those days. It was 4 and where was he? The car seat was disgusting... I was cleaning it and found something growing in it... and that totally sent me over the edge. Looking back it is hilarious. I am tearing apart the car seat trying to clean every piece of it and in my mind it had to be done immediately. In my urgency I can't slow down and think that duh... I am not using the car seat now... It can wait until Ian can help out.

But I couldn't figure out how to completely remove the car seat cover... I was furious. I call Ian and I am not sure what he heard... I am sure he was thinking that his crazy wife thinks that dirty car seat is a problem that needs solved right away but he can't be there then. Of course then I calmed down and figured out how to remove the cover and had everything taken care of by the time Ian gets home from work.

Then he is trying to help me put it back together... but he doesn't get how to put it back together... Well I do!! I am a seasoned car seat mechanic after the dirty car seat induced mania...

Anyways I left Eve in the living room with the car seat "bones" and she got out her wipes and was singing clean up. It was so cute!!!

Pickle Princess

This is our second adventure in making pickles with Nana Mil. The first time was only one case and it went so well we thought, "What the heck, lets do two more cases next week." Now we have pickles coming out of our ears but it was a lot of fun. Last time Ashley and I did most of the prep work peeling garlic, slicing a whole case of cucumbers, and my favorite part.... slicing onions until you can feel your eyes burn at the back of your skull. We brought our own knives. If you have ever tried to use one of Nana Mil's knives you would instantly know why. This time we thought we would be smart and get a mandolin to help with the slicing. It didn't take us long to decide that we didn't like the mandolin that we bought. The mandolin is fast but it has a serrated blade that causes some problems. So, after Ashley sliced the back of her finger off it was my turn to take over with the mandolin. Slicing...slicing...bin after bin, it doesn't feel like we are making any progress. Three hours later garlic, onions and cucumbers are in their bins brining in ice and salt. Eve loved the whole process. She helped stir the cucumbers in their brine and of course had to taste them as well. Every taste was followed by a "YUCK" then another taste. Ashley and I took a break to bring Eve home to bed then we returned for another three hours of canning. Making pickles is a lot of fun but I think my eyes are still burning from the onions a week later.

Treasure Trove of Delicious Goodness

Sunday is daddy's day with Eve. We always have a lot of fun and usually make a nice mess. Today was no different. Eve had been helping me with the dishes that had accumulated over the last couple days. The little one requested a snack despite just eating her two bites of lunch so I let her down. She likes to get into our pantry cupboard and will usually eat from the giant bag of fruit loops that call the bottom shelf home. Today she decided to get adventurous and open the sealed storage jar. When I saw her inspecting the contents I of course suggested that she taste it. One finger taste and a resounding MMMMM yummy and I had to seal the jar back up... this is the sugar jar after all. Alas, what child would listen to a suggestion of no more when pure sugar is the substance in question? Next time I look Eve has a hand in her mouth. The instant she notice I was watching she thrust that little mitt right back in the jar. She knows what is coming next. I had to take it away. But, I had to get this wonderful discovery on film for mommy. I gave the jar back and Eve was happy to start grabbing handfuls of sugar for me to get on camera. Now the sugar jar lives on top of the fridge with the candy jar. Now, usually I get a chance to attempt to clean up our messes to mom's standards before she gets home from work... not today. BUSTED! Mom came home while I was trying to clean the sugar off of Eve. There was still sugar everywhere in the kitchen and even some places in the living room. That rugrat is a quick little bugger. This was probably the biggest mess we have made yet. I can't wait til she can help with clean up.

My Birthday

My birthday was on the 8th. Ian went out fishing so it was just me and Eve for the morning.

Eve decided that to properly celebrate she needed to really decorate. She got out the shaving cream and really went to town. I was cleaning up after her for quite a while. After that I decided to go to my mom's house because then I would be spared cleaning up Eve's messes on my birthday. Overall it was a nice day; and when we got home it still smelled mango fresh!!

Cooking Mama

Eve loves helping out in the kitchen. Lately she is obsessed with making things herself. When I am using the stove I don't let her help. She got mad one day and got out the little egg pan to "cook" in. From then on she gets the pan out and goes straight to the cupboard for some cereal to put in there and cooks away. She really enjoys it. Sometimes she brings in other things, but mostly it is the little egg pan and cereal... what a chef.

Living Room Campground

We received a tent as a wedding gift. Twenty-five months later I finally take it out of the box for the first time. The tent is now set up in our living room and Eve is loving it. I am thinking that we might have a living room camp out Saturday night, it should be fun.

Pig Tails

It is always hard to get Eve to keep her pigtails in. With this current heat wave we have had I thought it might make her feel better to have her hair off her neck. She enjoyed it most of the day!! It was one small victory for mom!

Boating For Beginners

Today we borrowed a skiff from Knudson to take Eve out on her first boat trip. We had planned to run up to Naha to enjoy being on the water. Not long into the ride Eve started screaming. She was a little scared by the bounciness of the boat. Rather than tormenting Eve by continuing to Naha we headed to a beach on Betton. Despite spending some time at the beach yesterday we had a wonderful time. The tide was coming in on the nice hot beach making the water warm. Eve ventured into the water farther than she ever has before and enjoyed every minute of it. She really is a little Alaskan girl. Every attempt to drag mommy in the water was met with protest. Ashley had to tell Eve that "mommy wasn't born in Alaska, she doesn't like cold water." After we were done playing in the water we had a picnic on a log while Eve and I dried off. We only spent a couple hours on our afternoon boating adventure but it really was the perfect afternoon.

I don't know if you can tell what Ian is holding in this video. He is holding a Little People Noah. Eve has decided that he is Grandpa Syne. She will carry him around the house and put him on the window sill and give him kisses. She really loved him while Grandpa Syne was out of town. Isn't it funny how kids make connections like that? I didn't even think about them looking alike until she started calling him Bopa (what she calls Syne).

Where did the time go?

Eve is already 19 months old. How did that happen?

Every day with her is an adventure. She is so full of personality, personality= bossiness. She wants me sit here, do this, go there. It is exhausting sometimes doing all of the things that she wants me to do. One of her favorite things to do is get us all prowling around on our hands and knees as a wolf pack. She getting all excited and laughs so hard knowing it is ridiculous.

We just got her a table and chairs set and she loves it. Before taking Elmo around the house yesterday she was moving all of the Eve sized furniture around the house. She told me to sit down at her table and banished Ian from her table. I guess only girls are allowed. Ian had to eat his dinner at the big person table. How sad to not have your knees up in your chest and your butt half off of a chair... man was he missing out.

I don't know where the summer is going. I have been horrible about updating the blog. I get so busy doing other things and of course forget to bring my camera lots of places.

For the 4th we watched the parade and Eve loved it! Eve had quite the candy stash from the parade. The other activity we did was go get free root beer floats at the Rubber Duck race. Eve liked seeing the ducks come down the creek.

Otherwise we have been enjoying the sunshine. She scored new beach toys and loves her shovel... we can't forget it when we go somewhere because she will steal shovels from other kids...

My grandma and grandpa were in town last week. Eve enjoyed seeing them and of course I forgot to take pictures.

Right now Eve is out on the town with Grandma Kim and Grandma Helen which is the only reason I have time to update the blog.

Elmo

Last night after getting undressed for bath Eve decided that she had to make a tower for her Elmo chair. Maybe it was all the attention she was giving her new table and chairs... maybe she thought that the Elmo chair needed to know how important he was to her. So instead of stacking blocks she was stacking boxes for the Elmo chair to rest on. She also carried the chair into the bathroom letting us know we needed to make way for her because what she was carrying was "heavy". She just cracks me up so much. Right now Elmo and Pooh are about her favorite characters in the entire world.

Whoopsy Daisy

Eve's new favorite word is whoopsy daisy... or if you listen to her version it is more like oopedaisy. She says it all the time... I think it is because it cracks me up so much.

Lot(ion)

Eve loves her lotion! Every time she sees the lotion bottle she calls out losh. It is so hilarious. I have this video of her applying lotion. She really gets into it.

How does your garden grow?

Eve loves it outside. She has been having a blast working on her tan in our heat wave here! The problem is she just doesn't want to stop and come inside to cool off. The other day we were helping my mom garden and she just didn't want to go inside or drink water to cool off.

Yesterday she was "helping" me plant in the planters. It was hilarious!! First off she thought that the best way to water plants would be with lighter fluid. That is a girl after her daddy's heart!! Then she was helping me dig in the dirt.

The most hilarious part of the day was when I left the door open so she could play on the deck while I did dishes and found her planting her baby in the planter. Not to worry she was a good mommy and then dug her up and brought her inside. Once inside she got the wipes out to wipe off her baby. It was adorable!!

Lots of Fun

We have been busy these past few weeks. It seems like there isn't enough time in the day to do all of the things that we want to do. I think Eve feels the same way. We still haven't finished unpacking all of our boxes. They are sitting around the house mocking my lack of time and motivation. I would rather have it take longer and still get to do the fun things instead of missing out on them because boxes have to be unpacked.

The other morning we decided to brave the pouring down rain to go clamming. It was fun getting us all up and ready to go stand around in the rain. Eve loved getting on her rain gear and she was fine for about an hour and then she was done with sitting out in the cold rain. She loves the puddles though. Yesterday when Grandma Helen was watching her that is all she wanted to do. When I picked her up she had made a pretty good mess of herself from her puddle jumping. Grandma Helen believes the puddle jumping must be Grandma Kim's influence.

Eve loves her rain boots and I am positive it was cold too long because she insists that she needs a coat and hat when we go anywhere. I am trying to phase out the hats... I put her hats away. If she sees Daddy's hat she puts it on because if there is a hat you have to wear it.

Otherwise Eve keeps pretty busy copying any word we say (or attempting too), running around being a little dare devil, and bossing us around.

Joys of Camping Out

We have been in our apartment for over a week now! YAY!! We just got all of our stuff from Al and Kim yesterday. That means that we have really been camping out in our apartment.

Eve has been loving it. Without a table it is a picnic every meal. She has figured out that all of our totes make great step stools to get to counter height. She has just been a tornado.

She is going through a big do it myself stage which is hilarious to watch. The other night she took off her skirt and put it back on herself and then she attempted to put a sock on. She loved helping me make brownies. You can see how much she loved it when she got it all over her face... time for clean pajamas.

Yesterday Grandma Mil helped her make a fort out of one of our boxes. She loved it. She wouldn't let my mom leave her there she had to sit down and play in the fort. I had to eat breakfast with her in the fort this morning.

So we will be happy to move out of our camping phase but Eve will not be as happy because she has really been loving it.

Found... and lost again

So we did find our camera. We got some really cute pictures of Eve on it... and then Ian took it with him to work and I haven't seen it since. So that is why I have no new pictures to post... I know excuses, excuses.

Right now I am sitting on the living room floor looking at a sea of boxes taking a break from the nonstop unpacking. We had finally unpacked the boxes we had gathered from my mom's and Grandma and Grandpa Sybesma's when all of our stuff arrived from up north.

The good news is we now have a table. Eve is going to miss picnicking for every meal... I have a feeling she is going to scream the entire time she is buckled into her seat the first time it happens.

Luckily Ian actually has the weekend off. So maybe he will actually help with the packing so he doesn't have to call me to locate all of his items in the house. Or maybe he will just sit back and relax (do homework) and still have to call me to find things in the house. I am hoping for the first and expecting the second.

So maybe soon I will get Ian to deliver the camera to me so I can upload pictures to add to a post. Until then know that I totally meant to have pictures.

We are here!

I've been waiting to post thinking maybe I would locate the camera and actually get to add pictures of us in Ketchikan... Well I have given up hope of finding the camera anytime soon.

We had a nice drive down to Haines (without sleep) and then a nice ferry ride full of sleep. It was nice to get into Ketchikan. Since then we have been busy. Ian started work on Monday. I worked on Sunday. We found an apartment and are slowly moving into it... life is good.

Hopefully once we get into the apartment I will find the camera where it is hidden and I will be able to post pictures of our summer fun. All Eve wants to do is go on walks looking for ducks... quack quack quack, the girl is obsessed.

Our Pilgrimage

School's out!!!

We are so happy. 19 credits is no fun... too much work for Ian and we don't get to see him ever. So finally we get to have him back.

Along with school getting out comes the inevitable pilgrimage back to Ketchikan. In our usual style we don't start packing until the day before we have to be out of here. I spent the day packing the Tracker full leaving only the front seats open. (Al, Kim and Anica are driving it down with one of their vehicles). Ian spent the day trying to get the Jeep ready to pack up... doesn't hold as much when you have to use the backseat for a car seat so it will be easier. Unfortunately something broke on the Jeep... no store in Alaska had the part to fix it. Luckily Chae came to the rescue... he has a friend with a Jeep willing to let us use the part!! That saved me from my near heart attack at the last minute disaster.

Now Al, Kim and Anica are on their way to Haines... and we will be following them in a day. Obviously the packing has to have gone well otherwise I wouldn't have time to blog.

I am ready for a full night's sleep so we can drive through the night. A confined awake toddler is not a happy toddler... and definitely does not make happy parents.

We are so ready to be back in Southeast Alaska. This time every year it happens. We start dreaming of all the things that we could do there... of course some we could do here but it just isn't the same. Ketchikan is just home. Even getting to Haines makes us happy. There is a place there with the best fish and chips ever!! So I am holding on dreaming of the delicious halibut waiting at our "finish line" where we will get on the ferry.

Trampoline Fun

Spring is Here

And we're celebrating it redneck style! Love my naked baby with nothing but crocs on in the vehicle we choose to call the fake rhino.

Our Easter

We have been busy busy busy around here. Eve is going wild. I don't know how she gets so much energy. It is exhausting but it is also a lot of fun.

For Easter she got to die eggs. She loved stirring them in the die. That and plunking them in so that it splashed all over!! We gave her this candy duck. She played with it like it was a toy for quite a while before she discovered it was candy. All she ate was the head... maybe that explains the headless teddy grams that are scattered around the house... who knows.

Otherwise Ian is on that final stretch before school gets out!! Which is exciting... but also not so much fun because that is a ton of work.

Angela warned me about the obsession with putting bags on heads before but Eve had no interest... Well it has happened. It is hilarious because you know that is for sure something they shouldn't do but that is the first thing she does with a plastic bag.

Otherwise Eve is busy galloping around the house, outside, the store... she gallops everywhere and loves to neigh. Maybe she will be lucky and be a horse when she grows up!! I know that was always a dream of mine...

Nobody likes a Whiner

Eve is not much of a crier. When she falls down she usually says "wow," gets up and brushes herself off. I think it is great. Lately we hear a lot of whining which I could really do without. Pretty much all the time we are telling her no one likes a whiner. The other night she decided that she would rub her mashed potatoes into her eye and then put on the pouty face. With this picture we were trying to get her pout face on camera but she decided to really whine about it and start crying. Her pouty face cracks me up with the huge pouty lip... where do kids pick up these things? Every time she doesn't get her way she breaks out the pouty lip, it usually makes us laugh because it is so pathetic. It never gets her anything but she continues with the pouty lip... she will probably do this for years.

Yesterday while we were out she saw a puppy. She started panting and woofing letting me know that she wanted the puppy. The owner was used to this and let Eve pet the puppy. Unfortunately they left before we did. Eve chased after them pointing to the parking lot saying doggy. It was so pathetic... but cute. I think we have a bit of an animal lover on our hands. She loves animal sounds and pictures of animals. Hopefully we can enjoy every one's pets without having to get one of our own for a while.

Stack em up

The other day I found the dog food cans stacked up and I couldn't believe that it was Eve's doing. Then yesterday I actually caught her doing it she stacks them as high as she can possibly reach!

Color Me Beautiful

A while back we bought Eve these tub crayons. Even better are the paints that Grandma Kim got her. We quickly learned that most coloring was easiest to contain to the tub. Eve thinks that the best thing to color on is her own body. I think it is adorable. I can see her spending hours on makeup years from now. She is so proud of her coloring!!

Naked Babies

Eve now has this thing about all of her babies being naked. I think the only thing they are allowed to wear are socks. She also loves taking babies for stroller rides. Good thing they aren't real babies. Can you imagine the poor baby with the head crammed into the crack? I think it's hilarious to watch. She is so sweet with her babies.

She is also loving her stroller. We have it in the living room right now because one of the first things she did this morning was go back to where her stroller is stored to rescue it. Then I had to push her around the living room and kitchen in it. Which gets boring fast. Maybe this is Eve's way of telling me that she has spring fever too. That is the worst part about living in Alaska. You get to that time of year and are so ready to be out an about but it snows, or temperatures are still freezing cold, the wind is blowing making the wind chill temps to cold to stay outside for long... it's always something. But at least we can sit inside looking out at the beautiful sunshine and dream of summer!!

Sometimes I am so amazed at the little person Eve is turning into. She has so much spunk it cracks me up. Some days she is so girly with her tutu and purse on, and the next day she wants to play with snakes, tease the dog and do daring stunts that make my heart stop. When did this happen? It seems like only yesterday I was desperately bouncing on the exercise ball for hours on end because that is the only way she would stop crying and go to sleep. Now she wants to be in her crib by herself.. with her little glow worm. In the morning instead of waking up to her crying like she is left alone in the world I sometimes catch her sacrificing a baby by pinning her between the crib and the wall... or playing the music from her glow worm over and over again. It is the sweetest thing. I feel like I can actually take the time to sit and think about how much I enjoy her now. Even as I am taking the stroller in the loop around the living room and kitchen inside the house because she wants to get into the stroller and the sad stroller just doesn't offroad very well in our Alaskan "spring".

Milk n Cookies

Last night we made some delicious Snickerdoodles. They are SOOO tasty. Eve had one this afternoon. First she had to examine it... then take a bite to taste... then shove the entire thing in her mouth (that's the picture on top).

Spring Break

This past week has been Spring Break. It has been fun to have everyone home.

A couple of days ago three moose decided to spend a leisurely afternoon in the yard. Usually we see them passing through but they really just hung out around the yard for several hours. Our trees must taste the best, or maybe the little puppy is less intimidating than the dogs the neighbors have... who knows but it was a nice treat to see them hanging out around the house.

Eve's latest thing is crouching around being sneaky. We call it her raptor look because that is exactly what it looks like. I think maybe she got it when people are being pretend sneaky to sneak up on her... who knows for sure but it is so hilarious to watch!

We are not up to much just dreaming of spring. We have had some nice "warm" weather, it has been in the mid to upper thirties!! The snow is slowly melting... life is looking good. The only bad thing is stupid daylight savings time. I hate it... it has thrown us all off... and Eve's naps are all over the place... and her nap schedule is the thing that my sanity depends on... so luckily I have had the extra help. I am sure it will all return to normal when everyone is up getting ready for school and work every day... Eve can't stand being asleep if someone is awake... she might be missing something.

So much for Spring

When we were in Ketchikan it was so nice and sunny. I had great dreams of the weather being nice up here. Maybe we would even have good enough weather to set up the trampoline over Spring break... HAHAHA. I am a dreamer.

Saturday we got snow. Lots and lots of fluffy snow. It was actually kind of nice. It was warm enough to go outside and play in it. Eve loved playing in the snow and fresh snow is way better than the hard crust that has been around for months. Now Eve goes to the sliding glass door and points begging to go outside. Unfortunately half of the time it has been cold... at least too cold for her to go outside. They say we should be getting more snow though... she will love it.

My little Harry Potter

I've Seen the Writing on the Wall

As a little kid I can remember just how much I loved writing. I thought it was amazing. Before I could really write I would spend hours upon hours filling notebooks with scribble and telling my mom that she had to read my notes. I think this phase may have started with Eve.

First was the writing on the wall. She has those little kid paint brushes that have to be activated in order to paint. I mistakenly gave one to her because she wanted it, thinking that she couldn't activate it on her own... well I was wrong. Luckily it washes right off the wall with no effort.

Then the past few days she has been grabbing any paper or cardboard item she can and locating pens where I never knew there were pens and scribbling. I love it!! I know its a mess... but I don't care because it is so darn cute. Other than the one time on the wall it has been on paper or cardboard so I can't be mad.

Baby's Bed

While we were at Mom's house Eve was in a pack and play for the first time. One night she decided that a laundry basket would make a good pack and play for her baby. My mom and I were laughing at how she was toting it around because we had done the same thing with the pack and play trying to decide which room she would sleep in. The video is bumpy because I had to move to get a better view... but it was adorable.

I love this picture of Ian. For Eve's birthday she got this bunny from Aunt Anica at Build-a-Bear. I am not sure how but somehow the bunny got adopted. This picture was taken while Eve was napping... so she was nowhere nearby to make sure her bunny was being taken care of.

Grandma Mil's House

We have been MIA for the past two weeks because Eve and I went to visit my mom. It was a fun visit. We got to be there for her birthday. We ordered in Oceanview for her birthday and you can see Eve took possession of the containers of sour cream and guacamole. She loved it!

She scored at grandma's house with new shoes!! She got not one, but two pairs of shoes! What more could a girl want? We did a lot of hanging around the house and cleaning but it was a fun visit with my mom and Alice. We are glad that they were able to have us there and spoil us.

Yo baby! How you doin?

So Eve was eating dinner at this high end restaurant rockin the sweet shades when her closest friend, Elmo, walked in. Eve shouts, "Yo baby!" with her finger pointed so there was no doubt who she was talkin to. When Elmo acknowledged Eve she gave him the Jack Nicholson "What's up".

Ok, I have no idea what the Jack Nicholson "What's up" is but she kinda looked like him with the sunglasses and crazy hair. I had to be super sneaky to get these pictures of Eve. I swear she has a seventh sense about the camera (her sixth is knowing where to hide things from mommy and daddy so they will never be found again...her toothbrush has been lost for days). All I have to do is take the camera out and she will stop doing the super cool thing that I want to take a picture of. To get these I had to use the bad guy escape method number 3 that they show in movies. You know the one. The one where they use mom as a human shield and dive to cover while laying down some suppressive fire. Its a difficult maneuver to pull off but I've nearly mastered it these days. The results are worth the bumps and bruises that come from dive miscalculations.

This was Ian and this was my first post. I hope you had fun, I know I did! ;)

Disclaimer: There were probably no animals harmed while making this post... but if you see my cat typing again get a picture, I need proof.

Sick People

We are sick. This is what we look like when we are hanging around sick at the house.

My Daredevil

Sometimes Eve reminds me so much of Ian that it makes me laugh. The other morning she was standing on top of the seat of her bike doing a cool trick. She thought it was hilarious that she could do this cool trick. It reminds me of Ian wanting to whip around parking lots while I am hanging on for dear life... he is so much more of a daredevil that I am. I dread the day when she gets even more adventurous. I have the feeling there are many injuries in her future.

Chasing the Dragon

When Eve started walking we got her this cute little dragon push toy. We thought that she would really love playing with it. Well she does love playing with it but the way that she plays with it was not the way that I imagined. She gets the dragon out and brings it over to me. She then runs away from me. I am expected to chase after her while she is running away, there is nothing like the anticipation of the clacking sound of the dragon on the wood floor to get her running faster and laughing harder. This game of chase is all that she wanted to do today. I am exhausted!! A mom can only be a dragon for so long.

Looking Sharp

Eve loves styling her hair with her food. It is hilarious when she gets food all over her hands and then spikes her hair or pretends she is washing it with shampoo. This is her after the food has been cleaned out of her hair (that's why her shirt is wet). She is also loving putting on people's clothes... if it is anywhere she will wear it. Anything from slippers to sweatshirts she will find a way to put it on.

My Poor Baby

Eve has really been enjoying being able to go outside. We are thrilled to have temperatures above freezing. Unfortunately walking around outside means tripping sometimes. She tripped on the driveway the other day when walking and got her nose pretty bad. Then today she ran down the hill with me chasing after her and she fell and re-injured her poor little nose. If you think that is bad enough the other day we were going through Fred Meyer and she was standing in the cart... not the seat but inside the cart and somehow she flipped out of the cart and ended up with her face on the floor. Hopefully this is the end of the injuries. Luckily she is pretty happy even looking so pathetic. The plus side for her is that I have a hard time saying no to her when she looks so pathetic so she is getting spoiled right now.

All clean!

Check my ride out

Every time I try ot get a picture of Eve on her bike she hops off of it to check out the camera. She loves to push it around not even on the seat and then she loves going backwards until she runs into something and forward until she runs into something for quite a while. I didn't know that she would be so entertained by the bike... plus she thinks the seat is a great place to sit things down on.

Mini Anica

Eve was so funny today with the mini Anica doll. She wanted it in her lap to give love. Then she tried to lay down next to it. Finally she realized the couch helped her get to all kinds of interesting items she can't normally reach. So she spent her time on Grandma's phone and checking on the baby monitor. Have to love this crazy girl.

Baby Babble

For a few days straight Eve's babble has filled the house non-stop. Ian decided to get a video of her babbling this morning.

Bye Bye Daddy

Today school started back up for Ian. I think Eve is pretty sad that Daddy isn't home to play all of the time. This also means that Aunt Anica is back to school too... so that leaves Mommy to fill in for her missing playmates.

Of course Ian comes home every night... but who knows how much he can really play this semester. He is taking 19 credits so that we don't have to come back up here for him to finish his degree. I will be happy to be done with being up in the cold so I will be happy for a few months of intensive Mommy and Eve time (I just will have to remind myself of this every time I feel overwhelmed).

Our Moose Friend

This moose has been weathering the frigid temperatures in the neighborhood. Actually there have been quite a few moose in the neighborhood. The other night Al and Kim woke up to the dog barking and saw a giant moose right outside their sliding glass door!!

Big Girl Seat

Eve's new car seat came today. We were happy to receive it because she is so done with her little infant car seat and wants to face forward like a big girl. She is so funny she was going crazy with excitement about the new seat. She had to climb all over it and "read" the instructions. She then decided it was okay and decided to move her boots into the new seat; which I take it means that she is so over the old seat and moving on to bigger and better things.

Gangsta Ballerina

Tonight Eve was wandering around the living roomwith the tutu that Aunt Angela made for her. She then thought it would be a good idea to put on Daddy's hat to help her style. It was really hilarious when she put the hat on and it covered her entire face.

I had to add the pic of her with her tongue out. She goes around the house most of the day with her tongue out like that.