Simple Joys of Childhood

Evie finds wonder in so many things.  She loves to go outside now that the weather is warmer and collect pinecones and then bring them onto the deck to arrange them in a "nest", as she says.  She loves to pick up sticks and rocks to see what they're all about.  Every time she passes a flower, she wants to check it out.  And dandelions have a particular appeal.

Blowing a dandelion

We are going to California in May and will be going to Disneyland and I can't wait to see the park through her eyes.  She's so enamored with Disney characters anyway, I can only imagine how magical the experience is going to be for her.

Lately her favorite movie to watch has been Alice in Wonderland.  In one of the scenes, the animals fade out and leave Alice by herself.  She asked me, "Mama, why the animals are dissingappeared?"

Another language funny: we've been listening to some kids Christian music in the car and one of the songs is "Leaning on the Lord's Side", but the lead singer and the kids who sing back-up for him don't exactly have the best enunciation.  Today in the car, she said she wanted to listen to the song about "Alorisa", and it took me forever to figure out that she meant "the Lord's side".

This week Grandma Jeanne had hip replacement surgery and on Wednesday I took Evie to hospital to visit.  Grandma was doing really well and was sitting up in the chair instead of in bed, and Evie just felt right at home.  At one point, Grandma Jeanne told her she was doing well, and was even better now that Evie was there.  The relationships Evie has developed with my family since we moved back here have just made me so happy.  She is so clearly loved and cared for, and she cares so much about them too.  She was very concerned about Grandma Jeanne before we got to the hospital and she was talking on the way home about how she hoped Grandma Jeanne would get to go home soon.  I'm just so impressed with how well Evie does with visiting with and interacting with adults and how much she cares about them.  She is such a sweet and thoughtful kid.