Head strong Eva...

Eva cracks me up - I can't get over how HARD HEADED she is. I know I don't think I am that hard headed now, but according to mom even as early as two I was strong minded. So I don't know if she gets this from me or Matt but WOW. Today I was trying to get her to go to take her nap, she doesn't like to be laid down awake and honestly I love to rock her so I'm good w/ giving up some "me" time to rock her to sleep - holding her snuggly little body:-) Well today she would not go to sleep - she kept looking up at me giving me a huge grin, putting her forehead against mine, tipping her milk all the way up, just messing around in general. So, I finally said, "if you won't go to sleep Mommy will put you in your crib -- do you want that?" Generally, this would be followed by a "no" w/ her laying her head down. Not today. She nodded yes - and gave me a hug grin. So I'm like okay - in to the crib she goes. Followed by crying and screaming. Grace was trying to take her nap too, so I got her back out (I know not good - but I only get her out once, after that nope). So again, back to the rocker... Eva not sleeping, playing around. I ask her again, "do you want me to put you in your crib?" This is again followed by a mischievous grin and a nod for yes. So into the crib she goes... followed by screaming, but this time I left her there. She eventually went to sleep. Luckily bed time went easier, I know it would be good for both of us, but I love holding her at bed time... and it only lasts for so long. I'm not ready to give it up yet:-)

My finger, my finger...

Grace is sooooo sweet. Tonight we were at Home Depo looking for items for the house, and Grace was acting like a four year old - touching everything and talking loudly (go figure, right?). I'd asked her to stop touching everything, for fear she was going to break something but she must not have heard me over all the talking she was doing. All of a sudden, after running her hand up and down some plastic bins she yells, "my finger, my finger - it's bleeding!" Sure enough it was, she must have cut it on a small piece of plastic. Grace started to panic... so we found Daddy. Daddy took Eva, and Mommy produced a "ban-ban" aka: band-aid.

Okay are you ready, b/c here comes the sweet part... after placing the band-aid on her little finger, Grace looks up at me and says, "Mommy, thank you so much for bring that ban-ban w/ you, just in case my finger got hurt." I LOVE LOVE LOVE that she believes so deeply in me, knowing that I'm there just to take care of her. I wish I could make her feel like that every day. So sweet, makes me melt, but then I'm her Mom-mom:-)

Eva's 18 month doctor visit...

Today Eva had her 18 month appointment, and I had to take her alone... I hate going for shot visits w/out Matt. Oh and it was AWFUL - I think I was more traumatized than Eva was... let's start from the point we got there - she had to know where we were b/c first thing after checking in, she took a huge drink of rice milk and then opened her mouth covering me in it! Seriously, I think she knew and blamed me! After being called back they weighed her, measured her [weight = 24 lbs. 5.5 oz., height = 32 inches, head = 48 cm] all in all she's 50% in range on her height (so she's improving - maybe she is mine after all!), and 50% for weight, but she takes after Grace on her head size, 90% - whew! I knew she had chubby cheeks but 90%, I would have never guessed it:-)

Dr. Paula gave her a new book, Eva loved it. The book and pictures of people in it, and she loves seeing other people's faces. Dr. Paula was impressed b/c Eva sat in a chair by herself (nearly naked) reading her book while Dr. Paula and I talked. I had to bring up the issue of Eva's reoccurring biting (wish I didn't have a reason, but...), Dr. Paula said unfortunately its normal for a second child to bite. Until Eva develops better verbal skills and can communicate what she wants, she may resort to biting. Dr. Paula suggested (1st off -- do not bite her, yeah! I hate it when people tell me that.) she suggested taking her own hand and placing it in her mouth, and apply "some" pressure. Not enough to hurt her, but enough that she is uncomfortable and realizes what is happening, following up with "No biting. Biting hurts. No biting." Eventually, she will either obtain verbal skills to express herself and drop this nasty habit, or stop biting b/c she knows when she does her hand will hurt:-)

After this portion of the visit was over we moved on to the part I HATE - shots. Makes me sick thinking about getting one for myself, and its even worse thinking about my girls getting one. Ewww.... at Grace's last visit they suggested the flu shot, but not wanting to subject her to more pain I asked for the flu mist, which she got. Eva's not old enough (you have to be 2 years of age, and by the time she turns 2 she'd miss the flu window) so Dr. P convinced me that we should do it, tons of babies/kids die from the flu every year. I so almost didn't do it - nearly turned back and said we didn't want it at the last minute but the part of me that was scared of what might happened did it anyway.

So she gets two vaccinations in one leg and the flu shot in the other - three shots in total. I had to hold her hands, it is so not right that they make the parents be part of this violation. I gritted my teeth so hard during the ordeal that my jaw ached later that evening. Eva screamed and cried, I cried along w/ her. Then for the rest of the evening she would touch her legs and say, "ouch... boo-boo, boo-boo". I seriously think she remembered the event much longer than Grace ever did.

A little improvement...

Who would have thought I'd be happy she's "just pinching"??? :-)

Okay so today has gone a little better, Brenda wrote and said, "The morning with little miss Eva has gone pretty good. Just a few pinches here and there when she gets mad about something. I've been reminding her when she gets mad or doesn't get her way to be nice and not to bite. So far it has worked. She cracks me up. When she realized that Jarod was up she went upstairs to see him. She has done this everyday this week. She goes in his room and tries talking to him about stuff and points downstairs. It cracks him up.

Eva was bad yesterday! She bit Mollie really hard (yesterday). She still has a ring on her leg. I apologized to her mom and apologized again today and told her I would try as hard as I could (whether that meant keeping Eva with me at all times) for her not to get bitten again. She just said "I appreciate that". She said it's not so much the fact of the biting b/c she knows some kids go through it, but the fact that Mollie is getting hurt and she can't do anything about it. But so far today NO BITING!! She has been hanging out with Breanna alot. and she loves that!!"

A glass half full approach...

You know I used to dread the long drive to work, but I really believe happiness is a mind set... tell yourself you're happy and before you know it, you feel happy! I've been doing this lately on my drive to work (not that I wasn't happy before) but on the way in I think about all the things in my life that I'm thankful for - things that make me happy. I do a little bit of singing - good thing I'm alone, right? :-) Then, I try to make sure that the things in my life that make me happy have, I guess you would say a front row seat for everything in the day. Strange analogy, but basically I don't want the day to be over and think I didn't even see Grace giggle today, or realize its bedtime and Eva never once gave me her "smoochie" face (aka: I'd like something to drink sign). So while there are tons of things we "have" to do, I think about everything in the day that I "want" to do, and build my day around those things. I still get the "have to's" finished but somehow they don't seem so bad.

So why am I blogging about this? I guess b/c on the off chance I'm not hear to teach this life lesson to the girls I want them to know... you get out of life what you put into it -- but its even more than that... if you truly believe today is going to be a GREAT day, you know what? It probably will be:-) But if you start the day out saying its crap where can things really go but down? Now this isn't to say that bad things don't come along, but I think when I'm happy bad things don't seem so bad. I hope as Grace and Eva grow up this is something I can teach them - I should say, help them keep:-) B/c I know Grace wakes up (once she really wakes up b/c come one we all know she's not a morning person!) she's happy. She's happy to go to school, she's happy to go to Brenda's, she's happy for the small things - the things in life we think are just small, but when they aren't there... they are the big things. I hope they never lose sight of what is important.

Eva on the attack again...

Oh wow, what do I do w/ Ms. Eva??? She was doing so well not biting, but it seems she's back at it again. Brenda emailed me this afternoon saying, "Grace is good. Eva has bitten Jaidyn and Mollie today. They were playing with something and she wanted it. Mollie's left a welt on her leg but I'm not sure about Jaidyn's. She might have pulled away faster than Mollie so she didn't get it as bad. I sat her in time-out both times and she just cried. She bit Jaidyn first and then Mollie. I asked her if she wanted me to bite her and she said no and took off running crying. I told her if she bit someone again I was going to bite her back. She just buried her face in her hands and cried. I told her she had to sit in time-out for 5 min. After about 2 she looked at Grace and wanted her to get her. Grace said no Eva that is bad, you can't bite. You hurt Mollie."

I just don't know what to do w/ her - how can Grace be so sweet and Eva, well let's just say not so much??? And she'd so dang cute, she gets upset every time she bites someone and you correct her but doesn't seem to phase her.

Queen of the hill...