20 Months Old

Our Evie is 20 months old! Since I shared all of our best 20th month pictures in previous posts, Here are some from this past weekend with Nana and Papa in Minnesota (early 21st month technically). We traveled there to attend J's grandpa's memorial service and while it was a very sad excuse to see family, we had a great time. Pictures and captions here, and a more wordy update at the bottom in case you want to skip it. :)

With Nana:
Tunnels of fun at the local park:
Sliding machine:
Thrilled by the stiff Minnesota breeze:
Learning to enjoy dandelions:
Feeding Mama mac and cheese:
Walking Pika, her Aunt C and Uncle M's dog (contrary to her expression, she loved this):
Slide!
I love her expression here, so serious:

But she loves to swing as well:

Getting dirty in Nana and Papa's back yard:

Vital stats at 20 months: 25 pounds (same as last month?!), some number of inches tall that could hypothetically be measured if she would stand still, and cute as a button. 18-24 month clothes, size 5.5 and 6 shoe, size 16 attitude. :)

Favorite thing about this month: "Cuddle?"

We get this request often these days. Sometimes it is attention-seeking, as in

Me: (washing dishes)

Evie: "Mama, Mama, MOMMY!!!"

Me: "Huh? Wha?"

Evie: "Cuddle?"

Me: (drying my hands) "OK" (cuddles and kisses for all)

and sometimes it is just pure sweetness, as in

Me: (sleeping)

Evie: (in bed with us, sleepily): "cuddle?"

Me: "huh? wha? ok." (cuddle)

Evie: "more cuddle?"

Me: (melting)

Least favorite thing about this month: Little Miss Oppositional Defiant

Me: "would you like some banana?"

Evie "NO!"

Me: "how about cheese?"

Evie "NOOOO!"

Me: "guacamole?"

Evie: "NOOOO! Snack?"

Me: "it's not snack time, it's lunch time."

Evie: "Snack!"

Me: "is it time for your nap?"

Evie: "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" (falling onto the floor in anguish)

Favorite quotes from this month:

"I love Mama"

"no no pick nose!" (with her finger up her nose)

"Pika all done" (the dog had finished eating

And she has started referring to herself as "I" which is not as advanced as it seems, it is just her version of "Evie." But she points to herself and says "I chair" meaning Evie's chair or "I walk" as in "I want to go on the walk." It is adorable.

Newest skills:

*climbing ladders

*coloring with markers and pens (rather than just eating them)

*drinking from a narrow-mouthed bottle like a water bottle

*saying "one, two, three"

*pointing at words on a page and saying "eh, eh, eh" (knowing they represent sounds/words!!!)

* myna birding almost anything she hears, with the exception of the consonants "L" and "R" which are still beyond her

*extended pretend games: last night she put her doll in its bed, then made a crying noise, took the doll out again and cuddled it...I'm glad she's not letting her baby CIO yet :)

Worst new habit: putting her hands into the back of her diaper when she poops (ick!)

Best new habit: learning to re-shelve her books

What we are looking forward to this month:

*our annual open adoption picnic with our agency; we expect R and G to both attend this year!

*Evie will start a toddler gymnastics class, which we know she will love

*our community center's outdoor pool and toddler water play area opening on Memorial Day

I'll try to shoot some videos and post them soon.

Happy Mother's Day

Like last year, the sweetness of this day celebrating motherhood is tinged with compassionate sadness for the women who are struggling with infertility, who are waiting to adopt or who have lost a pregnancy or a child, many of whom dread this day and suffer through the flowers passed out to moms at church, the sappy commercials on TV and the other reminders that another Mother's Day has come and they are still childless. I'm not sure I'll ever feel about Mother's Day the way H*allmark wants me to feel.

But today was a fun day spent with J and Evie. Evie did her best to make me feel like a mother, by wailing at midnight and refusing to go back to sleep until we nestled her between us in bed. J gave me thoughtful and lovely gifts, cooked me a delicious breakfast, dinner and dessert, and monitored Evie's nap while I snuck out to see the new documentary, Babies. (It was fascinating, funny and touching but didn't make me cry, surprisingly.)

It's been a busy week here with visits from all four of Evie's grandparents. Here are some recent photos. Reading with Papa:
Loving the carousel at the zoo:
Watching the sea lions with Grandma:
"Hi"
Fascinated by a fountain, with Grandma and Grandpa:
Mothering her baby doll, and all dressed up for Mother's Day church in a too-cute-to-be-true outfit from her Nana: