Two and a Half

I kind of have slacked on doing a monthly update on Eva, but now that she’s getting older, the changes aren’t as big or as often as they were when she was a little bebe. But that doesn’t mean I’m not excited about Eva’s age and think it’s best like before. In just a week or so, Eva will officially be a two and a half year old, which means we are HALFWAY done with the terrible twos. Some say it continues through the threes, some say it starts before they hit two. I’m not really sure when the worst is, bug honestly we have more good days than bad. More happy moments than sad. And more laughing spells than tantrums. So, that’s good right? And with all the bad, guys… the twos are still SO FUN! Eva is such a joy to be around. She has such a tender heart, is quite the comedian, and has lots of energy.

Diva Eva is still living up to her nickname. She is such a character. Always dancing around in tutus, dresses, capes, hats, necklaces. Singing to Frozen, primary songs, or twinkle. I used to really try to convince her to not wear a dress over each cute outfit, but I decided if it makes her happy, why does it really matter? She loves it and if we’re just walking around the mall, why fight her and make her wear the outfit I chose anyway?

Going along with that, I’m starting to focus on letting Eva be a kid. Let me explain. Sometimes it’s easy to say no to letting our kids jump in puddles, playing in sand, trying new activities at the park, go barefoot in grass, etc. At least, it’s easy for me to say no. But as one of my favorite children’s books says, “A [kid is a kid], and that’s how it should be. You have to be you, and we have to be we!” (Substitute pig for kid, pretty much the same thing!) So, recently I have just let her play and play hard! It’s a constant learning process for me, but I’m working on it.

Eva has started saying her own prayers in these past couple of months. At first she just would sample nonsense and then say “Jesus, Aaaaaaaamen!” But she’s getting much better. Tonight she said something like, “Dear Father, thanks mommy, daddy, Eva, Ashley, Brooks, nana, papa, park, books, name a’Jesus Christ, Aaaaaaaaaaaaaamen…. YOUR TURN!” She always wants one of us to say a prayer right afterwards, which is good because then we can still get in another prayer to show her the example. But Eva always has to go first.

Some of Eva’s favorite games/activies are hide & seek, going down slides and getting on seesaws, singing, dancing, painting, pretending to give me a tattoo (random?), playing with her favorite toys-right now it’s fairies, ponies, big baby, and princesses.

More things. Hmmm. Sharing. Eva is getting much better at sharing. A couple months ago it was quite a problem, but she really is doing better at sharing and taking turns. Sometimes I have to gently remind her, and there are still toys that she just doesn’t want to share with friends. But that’s okay, she’s two and will figure it out one day, right?

Evabug is eating better. It’s still a constant battle, but now that she understands more, I can barter with her a bit. “If you eat all of your Christmas trees (broccoli), you can watch Mickey.” Tonight the bribes didn’t work, so she didn’t get any treats, milk, or Mickey after dinner. It made me sad, but I had to hold strong. That girl has me wrapped around her finger and I’m really trying to not give in as easily. But gosh… at times, it is HARD!

That reminded me of something funny she said tonight. T.J. was eating a cupcake after dinner and Eva asked for one. I told her that she couldn’t have a treat since she didn’t finish her apples. She threw her hands to her side, gave me the saddest face and said, “Oh, gosh!” T.J. and I turned around and tried to hold in the laughter! It was the cutest/saddest/funniest thing I had seen!

Other funny things she has said:

• She shook her finger at me and said, “No, no, no!”
• Eva doesn’t like us to stand too close to her when she is doing something she wants to do herself. So, she will give us a little push and say, “Scoot back!”
• “Happy now?” If I have any type of face other than one of smiles, she asks me if I’m sad and will give me hugs and kisses. Then she says, “Happy now?”
• “Mommy do it!” Eva is my biggest fan and typically wants her momma to do everything, instead of her dad.
• “Mmmmmm…Chocolate… hehehe!” She’s always quoting this line from Frozen.
• “Me no like boys, Mom!” I don’t know where she got this one from, but she said this the other day.
• “Hi, m EE-A.” She tells this to EVERYONE. Including me sometimes in the mornings. I say, “Hi, Eva, nice to meet you.” She replies with laughter, “Noooooooo!”
• “OOOOOO-licious!” Her version of “delicious.”
• “Close eyes….open…. SURPRISE!”
• “Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe… BOO!” She’s always trying to scare me.
• “Me no like_____.” This phrase… all the time. Insert anything, especially anything she liked yesterday but apparently hates now.
• “Why, mommy?” Oh man. This one. ALL THE TIME. I don’t think she even knows what it means!
• “Hi ho, hi ho…” I hear her singing this while walking around sometimes. Adorable.
• “Me hun-gee mom!” She had never said this to me in her life until we visited her DC cousins who told their mom they were hungry. Thanks, nieces!

I really could go on and on, but I’m going to stop there! I love you, sweet Eva, and I can’t believe you’re just six months away from being three years old… Whatttt?!

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