Please?

Last weekend we took advantage of the World's Most Beautiful Day and went to the NC Fair. Previous trips had left me feeling like it was an icky and sad place, but this time we did it right and had a great time. Evie loved the animals and I loved being able to show her all of the farm animals we've been talking so much about. I did my best while visiting the petting zoo to push away thoughts of exploitation, cramped living spaces and nutritional diversity (hopefully the animals are fed something other than carrot chips at some point) and tried to enjoy the experience. The 4H areas were even better and my favorite part was enjoying hot cider while listening to a bluegrass band. Evie even happily rode around in her stroller instead of insisting on pushing it!

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On the way home from Isle of Palms, I taught Evie to say "please" by bribing her with raisins. I felt like I was training a bird, but I suppose that is inevitable at times! It's pretty cute and comes in many varied forms: (bee, bway, pee, pwee, etc.). I started to get a little nervous because once she connected the dots between saying please and getting what she was asking for, she stopped saying all other words and replacing them all with "please."

M: Evie, can you say shoe?
E: PWEEEEEEEE!!!!!
M: Evie, can you say kitty?
E: Beee? BWEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!


Thankfully, she has begun using other words again. She even learned "boo" to be extra festive. It seems she loves holidays just like her momma!
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We've really been missing Da around these parts. Last month, Matt joined a new firm started by the attorney he was working for. It seemed like he was already working a lot, but now he's gone even more. It's been pretty hard on the three of us. It will be so nice when things calm down a bit. His job will always be demanding, but it will be great to spend weekends with him again. A lazy day with just the three of us sounds like heaven. This conversation can be heard on a loop dozens of times each day:

E: Da?
M: Dada's at work, sweet girl.
E: Da? Dada!?
M: He's at work.
E: Da? DAAAA! (walking to the front door, looking out the window and yelling as loud as she can)
M: Dada's at work. He loves you very much!

It's so sad and cute. The other day she woke up in the morning and from her nap asking for Da, which means a lot coming from that momma's girl. 12 days until our cruise! 7 days together! I can. not. wait.

Learnin' Da a thing or two about the guitar.

kisses!

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On Friday, we celebrated Halloween with Evie's playgroup. Four toddlers in costumes. I nearly puked from the cuteness. Later, I felt like puking after eating a whole batch of Rice Krispie treats, kindly left by Erin (the puppy's mom). I have no self discipline whatsoever, as I discovered.

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Random Cuteness from this week:

Kissing flowers. My girl is so sweet.

I love her.

Isle of Palms

We had a great time in Charleston! The bedtimes were earlier and we watched a few more episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse this time than in previous trips, but we had just as much fun. Plus, there's nothing, nothing cuter than seeing our kids play together. Benny is the most loving, kindhearted little boy I've ever had the pleasure to know. All he wanted to do was hold Evie's hand and give her hugs. He was so gentle and adorable! She tolerated it in small amounts, but preferred a bit more personal space. Benny's account seems the most accurate: "Me hold baby hand. Baby cry." I love him!

We're already looking forward to our next visit with those guys!

Snuggles with Da. Love.

Bonding over their shared love of pouring water from sippy to glass.

I love the Evie-sized sandy handprints (sandprints?) on his back

photo enhancement courtesy of Michelle

Another attempt at holding her hand

Success!

Happy Sweet Sixteen (months) to Evie today!

Mama said there'll be days like this

It's been one of those days. Evie woke up on the wrong side of the crib and cried for reasons unknown for an hour. Then we went to the grocery store to pick up items for our trip this weekend and Evie opened up two boxes of cookies from a display, dumped half of them on the floor and proceeded to eat them. Incidentally, we now have plenty of sugar cookies if you'd like to stop by!

But I'm such a cute little thief!

The worst part of the day came after that. Evie fell off the front of the couch and smacked her head hard against the (relatively sharp) corner of our coffee table. Her whole mouth filled with blood and I was shaking so much I couldn't find the source. Luckily, Matt's mom is a pediatrician, so I called her and she gave me instructions on what to do. Scary. She'll be fine, though she'll probably have a pretty big bruise and a fat lip. It's the most difficult lesson to learn as a mom. I want so desperately to protect her, but inevitably she's going to get hurt. These bumps and bruises are the easy ones, of course. I'm much more worried about the day some kid says something cruel and hurts her feelings. If any of you are interested in joining a commune with only kind, respectful people and cushioned furniture, I'm taking applications.

We're off for an adventure tomorrow night! We're meeting our good friends the Brophys and the O'Dohertys in Charleston. Matt won't be able to take time off, so we're traveling separately. Yep, that means I will be driving alone with a 15 month old for 5+ hours. I've decided to leave after dinner so that she'll hopefully sleep on the way. Even if it's a rough trip, it will be worth it to spend time with those guys! We can't wait.

Trouble!

This is what I saw when we returned home from buying fall plants at the nursery. Evie was either a little too excited about getting started or it was a failed attempt at beautifying her carseat. Poor pansies.

It wasn't me.

He's not ferocious like a sheep...

One of the happiest parts of motherhood so far has been sharing things I love with Evie. As a certified Disney Geek*, one of my favorite animated shorts as a child was Lambert the Sheepish Lion, and I couldn't wait to show it to her. When she was about a year old, I did, and she was rivited. This is notable, because she has otherwise shown very little interest in tv. It's adorable to watch her expressions as she watches it. She bobs her head to the music, laughs and imitates the lambs. When the hungry wolf appears, she always stiffens and moves to the edge of her seat, barking and pointing at him. Lately, whenever Matt or I mention Lambert, she heads to the living room and reappears with the remote, shoving it at me until I put it on. I'm not hard to convince, since it means 10 minutes of holding a cuddly girl.

Waving goodbye to Lambert

*This is not a joke; I earned a Mousters Degree from the Disney University. Please don't judge me for not pursuing a Ducktorate.

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It's only 37 more days until I get to share another love with her: the Disney Cruise! I'm aching to travel. I have been trying to suppress those thoughts for the past two years since it hasn't been a possibility, but I am dying to get back overseas. I realized it has hit a particularly desperate level when I felt twinges of jealousy thinking of Amanda Knox spending so much time in Perugia. Our vacation can't come soon enough!

Our last Disney Cruise in 2007. We look like babies!

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Here is the "after" of our counters! 

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Check out my little zoologist. I love her interpretations of the different animal sounds.