what a difference a year can make

what a difference a year can make! a year ago my child was VERY short and VERY FAT for her age. now she is very tall and very skinny for her age. mine & scott's child tall? yes, it's amazing i know. if only this was a predictor for later in life, but it's not. let's just say with both our family trees, she doesn't stand much of a chance on the tall thing. oh, and of course her head is still very large.
it's so amazing to watch this "thing" i gave birth to become a little person, with her own opinions (which she can be very adamant about) and ideas. and to watch her try to communicate these opinions and ideas without words (which at times can be very frustrating). She is the queen of shaking her head no to any question asked. at first i thought she was a genius and understood what she was communicating by shaking her head no. then i realized she knew we thought it was cute when she responded that way and now always responds to questions that way. how do i know this? well, when she shook her head no that she did NOT want m&m's, i knew she didn't know what she was doing. so now we just like to ask her questions for our own entertainment. (at the time i am actually posting this she has started to figure out the yes/no thing). she can point out facial features & body parts, mommy & daddy, and tooti and everyone else. and of course, she knows each of the backyardigans by name (she can't say them, just points them out when asked). and the babysign helps a lot. it's amazing to watch her tell you "milk" out of the blue, or all done, help, and even thank you. right now she loves to sign thank you, she might just be the most polite 1 year old there is. then there is always the grunting and pointing, or pulling you places and grunting and pointing. and then when that doesn't work, there's "the plank".
what's the plank, you ask. that's when she's so frustrated, or just not getting her way and her body goes stiff like a plank, and the back arches, the head falls back and a fit is thrown. i'm sure all you other mom's know exactly the move i'm talking about. although, i did have another mom with teenage children confess when she saw her 13 month nephew throw a fit she said to herself "my children didn't do that". but she also confessed it was probably selective memory. and i'm gonna have to go with "duh!"
i've also gone on a few trips with overnights away from home recently. this has made evi paranoid every time she sees my mom, or scott's mom, that she's going to be abandoned. and while yes, the night alone in a hotel room, in a bed all to myself, with no one to wake me up is VERY nice; every part of me feels i should be back at home with my baby. and i can't wait to get back home to her.
evi is also a huge daredevil! she loves the slides, no matter how tall. and loves to go down by herself. she has no fear at this point. but this also means this tries to do a lot of things she is just not ready for, like climbing the rock wall at the park. she has started scribbling, thank goodness for the washable crayons & markers that are out now. she loves writing on the tub while in the bath. and still just babbles away in evinese. she is all girl, a talker.
if you look closely at this picture, you'll see that her daddy gave her boobies with 2 of her little balls. of course, if she follows her mommy in this department, she won't have a problem with being chesty!

age of birth control

evi is 15 months now and she is her own form of birth control in many ways. she is busy, busy, busy! it is non-stop action when she is awake. while she does play well by herself, i spend a lot of time chasing her around all day, and boy is it exhausting!! it amazes me that i have friends and family who have CHOSEN to get pregnant AGAIN while their child was at this age. evi is a great baby, don't get me wrong. she is so rewarding. but she reminds me on a daily basis what hard work this parenthood stuff is. i can't begin to understand what they were thinking to be ready to have another one.
and then there is the form of birth control she provides to others out in public, on occasion. there have been a few times that we have provided birth control for an entire restaurant or store. they all went home that night and said "not tonight honey..."
she has 4 teeth now. she likes to point at facial features and say "eyes". right now, every part is "eyes". and boy can she talk on the phone. cel phone, home phone, any thing that might remotely resemble a phone is at her ear and she gabs away. she has made a few stray calls on the cel. so if anyone receives strange phone calls, sorry!
on some nights she amazes us by voluntarily going to bed. i'll ask if she's ready to go night-night and she'll go give scott a kiss and take me by the hand to her room to have milk and rock. i'm baffled every time she does it. and she loves taking a bath. she'll sign "bath" in the middle of the day and take you to her bathroom. it's just too cute. this last pix is of her with her favorite toys, the backyardigans. she likes to hold all 5 at once and be pushed around in her baby stroller. (of which is definitely past it's weight limit)