eva is one year old.
i keep saying to people, i've fallen in love with her all over again. this keeps happening, i just can't get over how much i love this girl, and just when you think it's too much, there's more. and now she's one. how different my life is now than it was 367 days ago. it's almost like i thought i was a whole person but it turns out i wasn't. or that part of me was just waiting for her to arrive so we could learn all these things from each other. i don't know, it's all just been so emotional this week for me. more on that later, and about her party, but first the report.
eva's just over 19 lbs and some number of inches tall (i admit it, we were just at the doctor on wednesday but i can't remember... but does anyone really care about the inches, really?), and so is 25th %ile in weight and height. she loves to say "hi", which is pretty much her only word now, and will say hi to us, the dog, photos, and when given the opportunity, interesting people on the TV. she has an affinity for soft blankets or pillows on the floor, and will crawl over and snuggle the side of her face in them and she just looks so blissful when she does that. she'll point out her nose, belly, and feet when asked, but likes even more to point out mama's nose and mama's belly. she cannot be convinced to eat fruit (which perplexes me because how can anyone not like fruit, i would eat nothing but if i could). she does about 25 signs, and uses them pretty much constantly, as in "hey, a ball, hey over there, a bird, and a tree, um milk please, hi dog, oooh, a flower, i hear music, hey did already i tell you about the ball?" she is really into books (it helps that she has the dexterity to open them and turn pages herself now), and *loves* "mr. brown can moo, can you" by dr. seuss. she'll request it by saying "boo boo boo!" because of the line "boom boom boom mr. brown makes thunder". we all have this book memorized, the first of many i'm sure. she loves to swim and be tossed around by her papa, and has just started trying out some mini-tantrums when you take away the phone or shut the patio door without letting her out, but (so far) i just find it amusing. she can finally drink out of a sippy cup unassisted and can use a straw (which is the only way she'll eat/drink yogurt, it's slimy like fruit). she's often too distracted to nurse to sleep, so we've started back up with some occasional bouncing, which was practically all we did for the first six months of her life, and she's a bit heavier now. she's really a fan of music, and will point it out when she hears something she likes. i like that she now appreciates music other than her kid stuff, but she still gets most excited (signing, bopping up and down to the beat, squealing) when she hears the "hello song" from her music class. and lately she gets so excited in the car, looking at trees or cars, i think, that she'll laugh like crazy and throw her head back and forth, waving her hands frantically. hard to describe, but i so rarely have my video camera out while driving along. and she is so snuggly, especially when she is tired or in bed at night. i can just lay there and stare at her for what seems like forever, and my book sits unread on the nightstand...
this photo is from a month ago, we were heading off to swim at the park next door when larry spied our cuteness from upstairs and came down to take a photo. she loves her wagon.
7.10.2006
7.04.2006
sisters
Larry gets home from Spain tonight, I'm so excited to see him again. 11 (and a half!) days is a long time... I'm curious to see what Eva's reaction will be. Whenever I mention Papa, she seems to look around for him. I wonder if she's old enough to miss him.
So, Lora and Julie were here for about two weeks, and I wish they could have stayed even longer. It was so much fun having them here, and we did a lot of fun things, but the best part was just seeing them with Eva. The hadn't seen her since she was far less ... interactive, and it was fun watching Eva get to know them. They came up with all sorts of games together that I've never thought of, and Eva learned so much in those two weeks of having the constant attention of multiple adults (versus entertaining herself while I do some quick housework, for example). It's also nice to share what your life is like with the people you love who are far away, because it it makes them seem not so distant.
We went to Galveston for three days while they were here, and Julie kept apologizing for making it rain (it rained on her wedding, her honeymoon, and I forget what else, but she has a knack for it). We had fun even in the rain (why not get in the pool, you're wet anyway!), and there was a beautiful evening when it cleared up long enough for us to have a fantastic couple of hours at the beach. It couldn't have been more perfect: not too hot, beautiful pre-sunset glow, and virtually no one else around. Eva splashed around in the waves and could hardly contain her excitement. I learned that at the beach, crawling baby + thumb sucker = sand eater, so we kept her in the shallow water rather than on the sand to minimize that, but I'm sure a little sand ingestion never hurt anyone. Larry had to work quite a bit due to some emergencies/deadlines, but he was there for this evening, the best part of an all-around fun trip.
I can't fully explain how much I enjoy watching the important people in my life really get to know my daughter. I was so glad to have my sisters here, and now it's only 29 days until we go to Alaska to see Grandma and Grandpa! That's going to be so wonderful...
Here are two of the beach photos, but there is a whole set on my flickr page.
7.02.2006
virus
i have a lot of catch-up writing to do, because lora and julie were here for a couple weeks and i haven't had the time. it was so much fun...
the past five days, however, have been another story. eva has a stomach virus, and has been more sick than she's probably ever been. lora was here for the first half day of it (and offered to stay, but there were no flights because it's a holiday weekend), and larry has been in spain for 9 days, so i've been on my own. under normal circumstances, when home alone for a week with eva, i busy myself with activities with friends, but we're on quarrantine and thus have been stuck at home (i did venture out today, but hadn't wanted to risk it before what with all the nastiness coming out of her at unpredictable times). i'll spare you the details, but i've been doing a couple loads of icky laundry every day and we're using up diapers like they're about to expire. oh, and then last night she started acutely teething (as opposed to the general kind they seem to do roughly until they're 2). her hand will shoot up to her mouth and she'll squeal, it's so sad. in fact, i think she first officially said "mama" to me for sure during one of these moments, like she was beseeching me to make it stop. how sad is that? the motrin seemed to help, and it's not as bad today.
i'm sleepy and need to rest up for another exciting day tomorrow, but i wanted to share this: exactly one year ago today, i spent the entire day curled up with larry on the futon crying, trying to come to terms with the fact that i was going to have to have a c-section. he had downloaded the whole first season of "lost", so we watched that on the computer, all 20-some episodes back-to-back over two days to keep my mind distracted. i sort of feel nauseated just remembeirng it. the next day, though, is when i heard about a certain doctor in dallas...
eva's awake, off i go.
the past five days, however, have been another story. eva has a stomach virus, and has been more sick than she's probably ever been. lora was here for the first half day of it (and offered to stay, but there were no flights because it's a holiday weekend), and larry has been in spain for 9 days, so i've been on my own. under normal circumstances, when home alone for a week with eva, i busy myself with activities with friends, but we're on quarrantine and thus have been stuck at home (i did venture out today, but hadn't wanted to risk it before what with all the nastiness coming out of her at unpredictable times). i'll spare you the details, but i've been doing a couple loads of icky laundry every day and we're using up diapers like they're about to expire. oh, and then last night she started acutely teething (as opposed to the general kind they seem to do roughly until they're 2). her hand will shoot up to her mouth and she'll squeal, it's so sad. in fact, i think she first officially said "mama" to me for sure during one of these moments, like she was beseeching me to make it stop. how sad is that? the motrin seemed to help, and it's not as bad today.
i'm sleepy and need to rest up for another exciting day tomorrow, but i wanted to share this: exactly one year ago today, i spent the entire day curled up with larry on the futon crying, trying to come to terms with the fact that i was going to have to have a c-section. he had downloaded the whole first season of "lost", so we watched that on the computer, all 20-some episodes back-to-back over two days to keep my mind distracted. i sort of feel nauseated just remembeirng it. the next day, though, is when i heard about a certain doctor in dallas...
eva's awake, off i go.
6.10.2006
one track mind
i really like the lighting in this photo. i took all of these last week, she's harder to catch in a good shot now that she can move all over.
yesterday i bought some of those suction cup balls for eva because she seemed to really like them in her physical therapy. i stuck them to the window, and she was so excited about them that even in her overtired nap-needing state, she crawled right over to them. after i identified them as "ball", she immediately signed for ball even though i haven't shown her that sign for a few weeks. i did it back to her, and she signed for ball excitedly over and over (sort of flapping your arm like you're throwing) until i finally got her down for a nap. she woke up an hour later, looked at me, signed for ball, and fell back asleep! it seemed like she had been dreaming about her new fun toy. then when she woke up for real an hour later (nice long nap, huh?), here eyes popped open like i'd flipped a switch, and she signed for ball and promptly craned her head around to look at them stuck to the window. she pointed at them, said "ooh ooh ooh!" and squirmed off my lap so she could crawl over to them. i just thought it was really fun that she was so excited about this.
yesterday i bought some of those suction cup balls for eva because she seemed to really like them in her physical therapy. i stuck them to the window, and she was so excited about them that even in her overtired nap-needing state, she crawled right over to them. after i identified them as "ball", she immediately signed for ball even though i haven't shown her that sign for a few weeks. i did it back to her, and she signed for ball excitedly over and over (sort of flapping your arm like you're throwing) until i finally got her down for a nap. she woke up an hour later, looked at me, signed for ball, and fell back asleep! it seemed like she had been dreaming about her new fun toy. then when she woke up for real an hour later (nice long nap, huh?), here eyes popped open like i'd flipped a switch, and she signed for ball and promptly craned her head around to look at them stuck to the window. she pointed at them, said "ooh ooh ooh!" and squirmed off my lap so she could crawl over to them. i just thought it was really fun that she was so excited about this.
6.07.2006
eleven months
even as i write this, i feel that i must be making it up or somehow exaggerating, but apparently eva is 11 months old today. at least that's what they tell me. too crazy.
this past month has been her busiest yet, with dizzying advances in all sorts of areas. she became mobile (crawling, cruising around on furniture, and taking a few steps at a time), and you'd think that would be enough, but in addition the lights have really come on in terms of signing. to me, her ability to communicate her observations and needs with me is almost a bigger deal than her mobility -- but combine the two and she's a whole different person than i had around a month ago.
she started using 5 new signs since yesterday (although i'm sure we missed one or two of them on the first earlier attempts?) so it seems time for a sign inventory. here they are, roughly in order: light (bottom photo), dog (top photo), fan, fish, flower, tree, milk (my favorite, so practical!), all done, baby, food, drink, more (also very helpful), and music. well, and waving "bye-bye" which i guess really is a sign, too.
i could go on and on about signs (uh... i could and i am, apparently), but i'm just so excited that she can communicate. i told larry at dinner (after she signed for more pasta and then some water, then told us she heard music and saw the dog) that the signing really colors my perception of her. she can tell me what she wants and what she sees, and if she couldn't do so this readily, i might not know how much is going on in her head. what a big payoff for so little effort -- most things in parenting are not that way.
oh, also in the photo you can get a good view of the remains of her neck lump as i call it (fibromatosis colii). she had her last physical therapy appointment yesterday, she's officially caught up. well, she might walk a bit on the later side due to the crawling being late, but she's totally fine now and needs no more treatment. yea, eva!
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