Pool time...and letting go.

Evie went swimming in her pool for the first time over the weekend.  The water was chilly, but she loved every second of it.  She crawled all around the pool, splashed water everywhere and kept putting her face in the water.  She was a crazy lady!  She tried to get out of the pool and ended up straddling the side.  Well, once she did that and figured out that she could bounce around, it was over.  That was ALL she wanted to do.  No matter how many times I told her no and put her back in the pool, she would not sit still.  She would go right back to bouncing.  Finally I decided to pick my battles and gave up.  She wasn’t going to hurt herself if she fell and I was right there, so I just let her go.  It’s hard for me to do this sometimes – let her go.  Now that she’s starting to walk, she constantly bumping her head and bumping into things.  I want to protect her from everything that could ever hurt her, but I know that I if I don’t let her fall a few times, she’ll never learn to pick herself back up.  I think that Pat and I both have parents that did this for us.  They let us fall and make some mistakes, but they were always there to help us if we needed them.  That’s the kind of parent I want to be for Evelyn.  I don’t think I realized just how hard it would be and I have even more respect for our parents now.  Letting go is hard.  I can barely handle it at 14 months so it’s a good thing that school is still a few years away for Evelyn.  It’s hard to think about letting Evie out into the big world without me.  It’s hard to think of her facing the things that children today face.  It’s enough to make me want to homeschool her.  Letting go is hard, but it’s also necessary and worth it.  I hope that by letting go, Evie learns to be confident and strong.  I hope that she learns to make good decisions and that her actions have consequences.  I hope that she learns that it’s ok for her to make her own choices, but that sometimes mom and dad really do know best.  I hope that she learns that no matter what happens, we will ALWAYS love her and accept her for who she is.  Yes, letting go is hard and I’m glad I don’t have to do it all at once.  For now, I’ll just let her bounce in her pool and stay close by in case she needs me to catch her.

A Weekend with Kiki and Pops

We had another first in our house over Memorial Day weekend… our first night away from Evelyn.  Pat and I went to Cedar Point for 2 days and a night and Evie stayed at home with her Kiki and Pops.   I was pretty nervous about leaving her.  I trust my parents completely, but the thought of being two hours away made me worry the entire week (ok the entire month) leading up to it.  I pre-cut most of her food, I had a medical release for notarized in case of an emergency, I showed my parents where we kept the Tylenol, and I typed out a full page list of instructions.  Luckily my parents know me and were very understanding about my over-protectiveness.  In the end, Evie did great.  According to my mom, she never cried or seemed out of sorts.  She laughed and played and was absolutely spoiled rotten by her grandparents.  They went shopping, to the park, Evie played in her tent with Pops and even went to DQ for some ice cream.  We missed her while we were gone, but it was so nice to get away and have some adult fun.  I know that I’ll always worry about my little girl, but I think my mind will be a little more at ease the next time we go away. 

I love my new sunglasses!

 

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

I’m a little late in posting this since Pat’s birthday was on the 5/28.  But I couldn’t waste to opportunity to wish my awesome husband a Happy 35^th Birthday!!  Evie and I love you very much!!

Watertable fun!!

This weekend it was finally warm enough for us to get out Evie’s water table.  She got it as birthday gift for her Kiki and Pops, and we’ve been waiting and waiting for warm weather so that we could play with it.  I put Evie in her new swimsuit, slathered on some sunscreen, put a hat on her little bald-ish head, and out we went.  She splished, she splashed and she played with little toys.  She walked round and round the table, dunking her toys and splashing us both.  She had a blast!  We were out there for over an hour and by the time we came back inside, Evie and I were both soaked.  It was so much fun and I know that were are going to be playing with it a lot this summer.

First Steps!!!

Evie took her first unassisted steps just before she turned 14 months old.  We are so excited to see her go!  I wasn't really concerned that she’s wasn't walking yet because I knew that she was just not quite ready.  She had the ability, but lacked the confidence.  She would zip around with her walking toy, cruise furniture and walk holding onto our hands, but as soon as we would let go, she’d sit down and crawl.  Pat and I were encouraging her to walk between us a week or so ago and we weren’t really getting anywhere.  Then, out of the blue, she did it!  We cheered and clapped, and Evelyn could tell that she did something special.  She grinned and clapped right along with us.  I’m so proud of my girl.  Pretty soon she’ll be a walking like a pro.  Then she’ll probably start running and I’ll wondering why I ever wanted her to walk at all!

I want that!

We’ve entered  a wonderful new stage of child development in the Marker house.  It’s the stage of “I want that”.  This statement is usually followed by screaming, arching of the back and flailing when she does not get what she wants.  We can no longer show Evie things at home, on a walk, in the grocery store, or anywhere else without her saying “I want that” and reaching for stuff.  Sunday she procured about 20 pairs of underwear, plus a few bras from a low hanging rack at Kohl’s before I could stop her.  I had to check her stroller before we left the store to make sure she wasn’t swiping anything.  We had a meeting at the bank and her eyes lit up a the bowl of lollipops on the desk.  She was allowed one while we had our meeting to keep her quiet, but when she was finished she immediately reached for another.  She almost had a meltdown when she was denied a 2^nd treat.  Last night at the grocery store, she scored a piece of cheese from the deli by acting cute for the ladies behind the counter.  We ran through the produce dept., and Evie cried “I want that!  I want that!” as we passed the blueberries and bananas that she loves.  Even taking a walk with her can be difficult.  Evie has love of dogs.  She points at each dog that we pass on our walk, shouting ‘dog’ or something that kind of sounds like that.  As we get closer, she gets more and more excited, but when we pass by, she cries ‘dog!’ and ends up in tears.  This happens each time we see a dog.  Lovely.

This stage is funny at times, but it can truly try my patience.  She wants my phone, the remote control, Daddy’s glasses, even Crosby’s food dish.  Poor guy has to be locked in his cage at his dinner time so that she doesn’t abscond with his food.  We try hard to be consistent and not give into the behavior so that she understands that she cannot have everything that she wants.  But, like everything else, this is a learning process.  A process that I fear is going to take a long, long time for her to learn.  

Gimme water!

Playing with all of her new toys at Pops and Kiki's house!

Happy that she got a cookie :)

Ring Pops are Awesome

Last weekend Evie and I travelled to KY.  Pat decided to stay home and get some “work” done aka enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty house.  We headed south on Saturday morning and I tried to time it some that our car ride coincided with her nap.  It worked out perfectly and she slept the entire way there!!  I was so relieved because she is not a fan of her car seat and long car trips can be difficult if there is no one in the back seat to distract her.  While in town we attended my cousin’s bridal shower and had a great time.  Everything was so lovely – the bride, the decorations, the food.  Evie was very good and even got to enjoy a blue ring pop.  She was in heaven!  After the sugar high started to wear off, she spent time sitting on her G.G. Mitchell’s lap watching the games and gifts being opened.  It was such a nice day!

The rest of the weekend was just spent chilling at my parents’ house.  Evie loves getting to spend time with her Kiki and Pops, as well as her aunts and uncle.  She watched the Lion King with her Pops and fell asleep in his arms :)  So sweet!   I started feeling sick Saturday evening so I was really grateful for the extra help with Evelyn.  I didn’t have to do anything and Evie was spoiled rotten.  We headed back on Sunday in the late afternoon.  We had one tiny crying incident and I had to pull over, but the rest of the drive back of uneventful.  I can’t wait until our next visit!!

Enjoying the shower with G.G. Mitchell

Blue ring pop = sugar heaven!

 

Relaxing with Pops