Slides, Speech, and Grandparents

The weather here in Nashville this week has been completely crazy.  On Tuesday, we had a 10 minute blizzard at the house around noon and then it was bright and sunny and warm.  It's been mostly cold since then, and frankly, I'm very tired of the cold weather.  Fortunately this past Saturday it was lovely, so Seth and I decided to take Evie to the park to play.  Unlike the last time we visited the park, when no one was there because the snow was coming in just a few hours, the park was packed.  Evie had a really great time on the swings and the slides, even though she did have to share the playground equipment this time.  We started out with her going down a tallish slide (holding our hands, of course), but she soon found a shorter, less steep, and twisty slide that she loved.  She spent at least twenty minutes straight, probably more, climbing up the equipment to the slide, sliding down, and going right back up.  There were some other kids there around her age who were also enjoying the slide, though she told them all, "It's Evie's."  We had to remind her that the slide is everyone's.

On Monday it was still fairly nice outside, so when I brought her home from daycare we played in the side yard.  She discovered the joy of sticks.  She carried these two thin sticks around for quite a while.

Then she became fascinated by the fact that she could hear our dogs on the other side of the fence, since I'd let them out into the backyard.  Here she is, naming the dogs, and learning a new verb, "bark".

She's actually learned a lot of new words recently, and some new pronunciations on some old words.  I was so sad this week when "ish" finally turned into "fish"; fortunately for me, she still slips sometimes and I get to hear "ish" now and then.  There are a couple of videos I want to share that show off her verbal skills and her independence.

Here she demonstrates control of Edgar.  Or at least, her desired control.

Here she refuses my help.  I admit, I was egging her on a bit.

Here she is refusing to keep her plate on the tray like I'd asked.

 

And here she is practicing reading independently.  She read ALL THE BOOKS.

A couple of things about Evie's physical growth/appearance.  One is that, I know I've posted some pictures of me as a child and that in those pictures it seems as though Evie and I could be twins separated by time, but I think she's starting to look more like her Daddy, like she did when she was first born.

Another thing that I just can't get over is these beautiful, perfect curls!  She just wakes up with them!  This is her on a Saturday morning, right out of bed.

 

That is something she also gets from her Daddy.  When his hair was long it had that much body to it.  For her sake, I hope she continues to have Daddy's hair, because my hair is Brasher hair, "baby fine" as my Granny used to say.

Speaking of great-grandparents, I have put together a photo book (which was a gift from Kristy and family at Christmas) of pictures of everyone in the family and close friends.  Evie LOVES it and will spent almost an hour looking at it by herself and with me or Seth.  She knows that Abba, Seth's grandfather, is the first one in the book, so she calls it "Abba".  She can identify several people by picture: Abba, Addie (the first two in the book), April, Bevi, ChuuChu, Daddy, Edgar, Evie, Grandma Jeanne, Granna, Grannadaddy, Herbie, Ivy, Jason, Mama.  Of course, these are people that are either up front in the book or that she sees often.  

She is definitely taken with Granna and Grannadaddy.  Their pictures are on the same page, so she will flip to that page often, and the bonus is that they are across from Herbie.  But she's also taken with them just in that she likes talking about them.  For Easter last year, Granna and Grannadaddy gave Evie a bunny that plays a recording of them talking.  Evie enjoys listening to Granna and Grannadaddy say "Hi" and the recording ends with Grannadaddy saying, "sweet dreams" and Evie always echoes it.  And lately instead of Babar or Winnie the Pooh, Evie's been wanting to hear "All Things Bright and Beautiful" which they gave her for Valentine's Day this year.  My parents took turns reading the page aloud, so she gets to be read to by Granna and Grannadaddy.  It also ends with my dad saying "sweet dreams", so she enjoys that too.  

Yesterday she picked up her pretend cell phone (Seth's old phone) and, without any prompting from me, held it up to her ear and said, "Hi, Dɛdɛ" (which is how Evie pronounces Granna).  And this morning, I was asking her who all we have in our family.  I prompted, "There's Evie and Mama and who else?" thinking she would say Dada.  But she said "Dɛdɛ".  Pretty cute.  She may not see them more than once a month, but Granna and Grannadaddy sure have made an impression on her.