Evelyn Clara: 13 months

Honestly, this month just flew by and the 25th snuck up on me! I looked at the calendar yesterday and couldn't believe that Evie would be 13 months old today. We've been keeping very busy, and I think it'll stay that way all summer long. :) I'm so happy for warm weather, and Evie is loving it!
Evie's walking 100% of the time now, she has great balance and is very steady on her feet. She's not full-blown running yet, but she's getting quicker for sure! She loves to chase us around the house, and when we bend down and put our arms out for a hug- she comes right in for one every time!! :) Hugs and snuggles are more frequent now than they ever have been, and I love it. She was never a snuggly baby, so it's nice that she's so affectionate now. We're working on teaching her to blow kisses- she cracks up every time I do it so we'll see.

Evie is also becoming a little imitator, which she never used to do. I will make silly faces or do things like stomp my feet, and then she does it too!! It's so cool to watch. Not a lot has changed in the talking department, she's still say woof pretty often, and we think she's saying "dada" occasionally, but that's about it. I know she'll start up soon though, because her babbling has gone through the roof the past week!! She's making noises constantly all day, "talking" to her stuffed animals, books, the play phone, her shoes- anything that will listen. ;)

Evie's still loves when I sing songs to her- her favorite these days is the "Wheels on the Bus". She loves to play with her quiet books, read picture books, carry random objects around the house (current favorites include purses, the pvc pipe we use to lock the sliding glass door, and cups), go for rides in the wagon. We did the sprinkler yesterday, and she was hesitant, but the girl loves water so I don't think it'll be long before she's going crazy in it. I have to find the kiddie pool, it's somewhere around here from moving.
We still have a little picky eater on our hands- veggies are a challenge and she's so unpredictable! She'll love something for a few days and gobble it up, then won't touch it with a 10 foot pole for a week. It's a little frustrating, but I just keep at it. We're still nursing, just once a day when she first wakes up. She seems to still really like it, sometimes we nurse for up to 45 min. I really don't mind it- I'm not a morning person, so it's kind of nice to just hang out in bed for half an hour and fully wake up, snuggle with Evie, and play games on my phone. :) I will miss it, I think I'll either let her decide when she wants to stop, or wean when we're ready to get pregnant again- whichever comes first.

I'm so excited for all of the things we have planned this summer- the week at the lake house, swimming lessons, first trip to the zoo (this weekend!!), lots of playdates, the convention, going to the Strong Museum, first trip to the beach.... it's going to be a great summer!

And she talks too!!

Evie said two new words today! It took me completely off guard, because up until now Evie's done a lot of babbling, but not much actual talking. She's said 'mama' just a couple times, and we've also heard a clear 'no' a couple times. But that's been it so far.
But today while we were playing outside, Evie added two new words to her "official vocabulary list." And they're kind of funny ones. :) Nana bought Evie bubbles a couple weeks ago, and it's been so nice outside that we've been blowing bubbles everyday for about the last week. So of course I've been saying "bubble" a ton. Well we were sitting in the driveway blowing bubbles, and I asked Evie what is that? And she said "buh-buh"!!! She only said it once, but I'm pretty darn sure she knew what she was saying. :)
Then a bit later, we heard a neighbor's dog start to bark. Evie LOVES dogs, she gets super excited whenever she sees or hears one. And of course we do all of the animal sounds, but she's never repeated any of them. But when she heard the dog start to bark, she looked in the direction it came from and said "oof oof! oof oof!" She said it like 10 times, pointing towards the dog- I was so proud!!! :) I couldn't believe she did it completely unprovoked, on her own. And I think it's hilarious that she would say "woof" before so many other words, when we don't even own a dog!! But, she really does like them.
And just another funny thing that Evie is saying these days (although not really a word)- her new favorite sound to make is "weeee". So she walks around the house saying "wee wee wee" and Eric always replies "all the way home." She's our little piglet! ;)

Baby Friends

We are so blessed that Evie will grow up with so many little friends all around her age. She will never run out of kids to play with!! Here are some pictures of fun times we've had recently.

Playdate at Jameson's

Our new friend Noah- it's a walking competition! ;)

Hanging out at Wegmans for a break during service- so many babies! :)

She Walks!

If you haven't seen Evie in action yet, here's a short video of her walking in our driveway a few days ago. Please forgive the binky in her mouth- it had been a rough day and we went outside to try and distract her from fussing. It worked thankfully. :) Also, it's a phone video, which is why it's so skinny. AND, she's carrying a bucket, and the tag from the bucket that she ripped off. Okay, now you can watch it!