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So far, the potty training is going really well.

(Before you go and get all grossed out: that is a brand new toilet seat. Fresh out of the package. And it's only the bottom half of it. She's just a little confused, is all.) (You may also be interesting in knowing that approximately 30 seconds after I took this picture, the seat fell down around her neck and Mike had to help her squeeze her head back out of it. There were tears. I won't tell you whose.) (This whole potty training thing may take a bit longer than anticipated.)

Riding with Keegan

Yesterday, Eva got to take a ride with her buddy Keegan in his new Burley. This was a momentous occasion, not only because Eva had never had a bike ride before, but also because she sat veeeery close to Keegan.

And she didn't even freak out!

Eva's got a bit of trouble with other kids. Namely: she doesn't like them to come within 3 feet of her. I don't want to get into a big discussion here about what exactly that might say about her psyche (I'll leave that up to her future therapists), but it's worth noting that above you'll see photographic evidence that Eva was able to sit next to Keegan, with their arms TOUCHING, and still manage to smile.

Progress!

Personally, I think this has everything to do with the fact that the other day Keegan made Eva her very first mix CD (which is to say, Keegan's mom and dad made Eva her very first mix CD.) And it's made up of practically all duck songs! So Eva colored him an extra special marker scribble page, and Keegan's dad hung it on the refrigerator, and now they're BFFs forever and ever amen.

The Newest Member of Our Family

Can you BELIEVE we went all the way to my parents' house for a three-day weekend, part of which involved a wedding and a reception that my kid danced at, and we didn't bring the camera? Can you???

Grrr. I'm still kicking myself. Seriously. People. Eva loves to dance. (She was even doing the whole "throw your hands up in the air" thing during "Shout." In time to the music!) And we forgot our freaking camera. I got a few shots with my mom's camera, and maybe someday she'll actually move them off the camera and onto her computer, and then all she has to do is figure out how to email them to me and then I can show them to you. Maybe? (No pressure, Mom. And no offense either.)

Anyway. I do have a picture of a fish! And my kid!

That there fish's name is "Ducky Pip Daisy Fish." He was part of Eva's birthday present, and she named him all by herself. Of course, we have to keep him way up on her dresser with cheesecloth on top of the bowl so the cats don't drink the fish water (ew.), so she can't exactly feed him or even really see him unless someone lifts her up; and obviously, she's too little to clean his bowl or otherwise take care of the thing...but she loooooves him soooooooo much. She pretends to carry him around in her little cupped hands and feeds him flakes and gives him kisses and basically does everything she could have done with a stuffed fish.

But really, what fun would that be?

Sorry for the absence yesterday. I didn't mean to mess with your constancy.

Tall Like Her Mama

Eva had her two-year check-up yesterday. My tiny baby has somehow become a three-foot-tall, 32 pound little girl.

Huh? Wha? When did all that happen?

She's such a little bundle of energy (and WORDS. So many, many words. All the time with the words.) that she keeps me in kind of a whirlwind state throughout our days. I don't exactly have a lot of time for reflection as of late, but sometimes (When I'm laying awake at night worrying about what exactly I'd do if our house caught on fire or a tornado hit us or a crazed murderer broke through our door. What? You don't do that?) I'll let my mind wander a bit, and I'll indulge in a few melancholy moments, remembering the perfect little baby she was, and how quickly time seems to be passing by. And I get that heavy ache in my heart. You know the one.

But then she does something so perfectly, innocently, exactly two-years-old. Like yesterday. When she came up to me and gave me a leg hug and said "Mama, you're such a nice lady."

And then I decide that she is exactly the perfect age. The best age yet.

Happy Weekend to one and all! We'll meet back here on Monday, yes?

I've got to tell the Food Network about her.

Yesterday, I overheard Eva talking to herself as she was playing with some of my measuring cups and spoons...

"Evie's going to make Quack Cookies. Yeah. How do you make Quack Cookies? Well, we need ducks and sugar and ducks. It's pretty good!"

Very Excited About Running Through the Sprinkler:

 

Also, I thought I'd share a link to Eva's latest favorite YouTube video. Everyone should watch it, those of you with little ones should bookmark it. Enjoy!

Eva At the Fairy

So, like I told you yesterday, we took Eva to the Renaissance Festival over the weekend, or, as she calls it, "The Fairy."

Despite battling some allergy? cold? thing that's been making her eyes and nose run like crazy, Eva seemed to really enjoy herself. On Sunday morning, before we went to the Fest, Mike was telling her all about the people and costumes and new things we'd see. He must have made an impression, because later, when I asked her what she wanted to wear that day, she told me she was going to wear her duck costume (which does not actually exist.)

Here are some highlights:

We spent approximately one quarter of our entire time at the Fairy watching Eva fling around these giant bubble wands.

She got to ride a horse.

She got to play a harp (for real!) And this nice lady even played a song for Eva called "A Duck Dance" or something like that, because when she asked Eva what her favorite song was, Eva replied "Quack." The harpist was such a good sport, she even threw in the "Quack-Quack-Quack's" for Eva at the appropriate time (from her description, the Duck Dance sounds like an old version of the Chicken Dance. Except more Renaissancy.)

We ended our day by enjoying a puppet show...and then digging for buried treasure! There was a huge sandbox that had been filled with beautiful "jewels" and "gold" coins. Eva dug up 4 jewels, and she got to take them home. She's very proud. (The top picture from yesterday's post is Eva holding up "her treasures" for the camera.)

She was fast asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.

Whew.

We had a busy weekend around these parts. The major event was on Sunday when we took Eva to the Renaissance Festival in Chippewa Falls. I have lots of pictures to share, but my laptop is not cooperating right now. It's being a bit stingy with the number of pictures it will let me access. Grrr. So. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear all about it (provided I can talk some sense into my computer.)

The other major event of the weekend was Saturday night, when Mike and I actually went out. Together. With adult friends. Sans kid. For real. Here's proof:

I hope your weekend was just as great!

Portrait of the artist at work:

Historians will refer to this as her "Glue Stick and Sequins" period.

**A happy weekend to everyone! Go outside and play.

"It's an Evie-Size Chair!"

We got Eva a small lawn chair earlier this week. It's perfect for her--just the right size. And so far she uses it  solely as a reading chair...I don't know if it will ever make it outside. Oh well.

Summertime Smoothie

...made in our awesome blender, the "Blender Solution 5000" (for real!), a fabulous Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.

Cooling Down

Yesterday was a really muggy, humid day for us, and when Eva woke up from her nap the poor girl was a soggy, sweaty mess. Lucky for us, it had started to rain just before she woke up, so we went directly from her crib to the backyard and cooled down by dancing in the rain. I highly recommend it.

The Biggest Pinwheel Ever

Lately, Eva has developed a thing for pinwheels. And windmills. She's not picky. If it spins around, she's cool with it.

There's a building near my parents' house that is powered by a large wind turbine, and Eva looks forward to seeing it when we visit Grammy and Grandpa. While we were there this weekend, we decided to actually go visit the windmill (rather than gawking at it as we drove by like we usually do.) Eva got to touch it and walk around the base and stare up at it for a very long time.

And just as I was thinking we were kind of weird for treating an office building like a tourist attraction, another car pulled up, and a little boy just about Eva's age jumped out to look at the windmill too. I guess our family isn't the only one that's easily entertained!

A Picnic With Ducky

Have a great holiday weekend, everyone!

Tiny Ice Cream Cones

When I went to buy ice cream cones for Eva's party, I saw a package of "Kid Size" cones (I can't link to the individual product, but if you scroll down a bit you'll see them). I stood there staring at the box for far too long, trying to decide whether they were perfect for a toddler's party, or ridiculous. Plus, there were sixty (60!) in the box, and who needs sixty ice cream cones?? I ended up buying the baby cones AND a box of regular-sized ones, just in case they proved to be absurd.

We didn't even open the regular-sized cones. Those tiny guys are perfect! The kids (and parents) went nuts over them, and they are the perfect size for little toddler hands to hold. Other than being a little tricky to fill (pretty fragile), they are awesome!

Just thought I'd pass on this important, ice cream-related information. You're welcome!