On Eva

Eva weighs 35lbs. She's 40" tall. She speaks with enthusiasm and at high volume.

Eva's favorite thing to do right now is to colour and draw. Any mention of 'craft' or 'activity' has her immediate attention. She is very specific about what she likes to colour. Often we browse for quite some time before we find the exact type of colouring page she requires. It is usually a princess standing alone. The last few days she hasn't been requesting that I cut them out. Sometimes she wants me to draw the princesses for her. Usually she is understanding that I need an example to work from. But sometimes she wants it "just like this but with a mermaid tail", or she wants me to add or subtract some other major feature. Then we both end up frustrated. I'm not bad at reproduction but I can't just conjure something up out of my head.

Her favorite colours are pink and gold.

Eva is starting to learn how to spell/write a little. With some phonics help she can spell words like cat and dog. Sometimes I dictate to her so she can make birthday cards which is quite fun.

Bedtime is sometimes still a bit of a fight but for the most part sleep issues are a thing of the past with Eva (thank you Lord!). She sleeps soundly, and gets up around 7 or 7:30. Every once in a while she wakes up scared of her closet or 'moving statues'. She is very understanding of Micah's nighttime crying. Bedtime is between 8 and 8:30. She very occasionally naps, and then bedtime is more like 9 or 9:30. The extra time is spent in the playroom alone. The other night we heard her playing with her stuffed animals and it was fascinating hearing what she had them saying to each other. She said something about South America!? Very interesting because if I have ever said anything to her about South America it was totally in passing. Her memory is astonishing.

Eva wears skirts most days. She has some hand-me-down 'bras' from 9 year old Ashley and often that is all she wears on top. I insist she puts a shirt on for going out, but it's her preference for around the house. She sometimes lets me put her hair up, or a barrett in the front, but usually pulls them out after a few hours. We're unofficially growing her hair, but we'll see how it goes.

The kids have been really learning how to push each others' buttons. Eva will roar and pretend to be a dragon chasing Micah which of course is fun right at the beginning but then genuinely terrifies him. For Micah's part, he will chase Eva with his plastic bat or some other batlike object and of course hit her if he manages to corner her. All of this is accompanied by earsplitting screaming and somebody always ends up hurt and crying. Hoping I can figure out how to break this particular pattern. Those of you with siblings will probably tell me it cannot be done. However my only-child hope springs eternal.

Eva seems to be losing some of her self-consciousness. More and more often when she smiles it is noticably open and uninhibited. Sparkling eyes and unbridled delight. Makes my heart sing! She is gaining social confidence. Today we were at a birthday party and she asked me what two of the girls names were. I suggested she ask them herself. She asked me to leave so I couldn't see and then she asked loudly and clearly for each girl's name. When one girl didn't hear her the first time Eva wasn't deterred as she would have been in past. She just went ahead and asked again. A big win!!

She continues to love swimming but she refuses to take any type of instruction from us about how to improve her technique. She won't let me help her work on her back floats or show her anything about how to better keep her head above water.

We have a minor issue in the potty department. Eva does not like being told what to do, so suggestions to use the toilet are met with, "I don't want to go pee." The outcome is the same whether I remind her or not. She lets the pressure off in her underpants. I am very grateful that it is never a puddle. I am also very grateful that it never happens in bed. Part of me thinks I should just let it go and wait for it to resolve itself. And part of me gets so frustrated that she won't listen to her body and use the bathroom before it's too late! She is constantly changing her underwear. But like I said really in the grand scheme of things it's a minor issue and could be much much more challenging. (Micah is much like Eva in that he doesn't take kindly to suggestions to use the potty. He takes himself there for #2 consistently but I'm just not sure how to get him to use it for #1. He can't be bothered to do it on his own, and he won't be forced to use it every 30 minutes or whatever the potty training authorities suggest. Hoping the switch flips sometime soon. Or somebody has a brilliant suggestion that works to motivate him.)

Lazy Town is a thing of the past. The new favorite tv shows are Mister Maker, Caillou, and Scooby Doo. (Sometimes when they are playing with Andrew they ask him to be a 'scooby diver'. So cute.) They still watch Toy Story sometimes but only because Micah insists. Eva is into the Disney princess movies and The Little Mermaid gets lots of play now that we own it.

Eva is a pretty ok eater. She is picky about a number of foods but she is willing to try just a bite of everything. She accepts the premise that she might like now something she didn't like last time she tried it. I appreciate that. She is learning and accepting the idea of a balanced meal and eating treats in moderation and not having juice late in the day. She is getting good at choosing produce at the grocery store.

She generally takes charge of saying grace before our meals. We all hold hands and she says, "Thank you Jesus for this food bless body use amen."

I love her more every day! I am excited as she gets old enough to start playing board and card games and to learn more skills like hitting a golf ball and reading. I was telling her today about all the books I have stored up waiting for her. Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and oh so many horse themed books.

She is a beautiful girl inside and out.