Evelyn: Eighteen Months

Well, those six months flew by. Evelyn is growing slowly but surely. She isn't quite where Hayley was at eighteen months, and I'm doing my best not to compare the two of them.

Evelyn started walking in July. And now she scurries like her sister did. She doesn't really walk and she doesn't full on run. It's kind of a cute little trot. A few people have said it's fun to watch such a tiny human walk around. She is wearing her 18 month clothes, but only just recently. She fit in her 12 month clothes for forever, which isn't a bad thing.
For a few months, she was POUNDING food, and I mean pounding. She was a human vacuum and I have no idea how she stayed as tiny as she did/has. She would eat anything and everything all. the. time. But for the past month or so she has now become more particular and will start to spit things out or try and swat the spoon when she is done eating. Whenever I am eating something she says, "Ah," because she wants to see what's in my mouth. She is still a little "vulture" as her Aunt so lovingly nicknamed her and goes to whoever has food. She picked up on the whole knocking on people's doors for food thing on Halloween after just one door.
Evelyn and Hayley play pretty well together. They have their moments but they are truly the best little friends and I am so grateful to have them so close in age. They sleep in the same room, which has worked well for the most part. She is also very obsessed with her new cousin, Luke. She is always wanting to rub his hair and even tries to grab him from people because she wants to hold him. It's cute until she throws a fit when she has to be plucked away from him.
Evelyn likes to look at books. She brings them to me all the time and then plops herself in my lap. She also loves phones and holds little things up to her ear and says, "Hello," quite often.
Evelyn has all her teeth except her canines, and it seems like those are trying to pop through. She has done really well with teething, I didn't even know some of her teeth were coming in until I saw them, but these last ones are taking forever and she hasn't been as pleasant. She still sleeps through the night amidst her teething and gets about 12 hours every night. It's great! She is down to one nap a day though and it can be anywhere from one hour to three.
Evelyn can still only saw a few words (Dad, Mom, Hayley, what'sthat, no, go, ball, where'dyago, hi/hello) and so that's something we're really trying to work on. She thinks all animals say ah ah - a monkey. She will occasionally meow like a cat but mostly it's the monkey noise. She makes the "uh uh uh" noise really well whenever she wants something. And because I always knew what she wanted I'd give it to her and so now we're trying to backtrack and get her to say words instead of making that noise. She understands what you tell her and will obey most of the time.
Evelyn can be quite the busybody. She doesn't sit still much anymore unless she's tired or upset. We weaned her off her binky about a month ago and her blanket has replaced that as her comfort. When she's sad she'll go pull it out of her crib and bring it to you so you can wrap her in it and hold her. She is my snuggler and I love it. I even got her to fall asleep in my arms today for a nap. Her nursery leader also had that experience yesterday in nursery ha. But other than that she is going all the time. And she is a little monkey and climbs up on anything and everything. She chipped her tooth when she took a nice fall off the couch (thankfully it was a tiny chip and you can't really tell unless you're looking). She always seems to be hitting her big head or falling off of something. She can go up and down the stairs by herself now. She will start out our prayers with her arms folded, but that doesn't last very long.
We have been taking her to nursery for a few weeks. Sunday school and young women's were being spent in the hall so I just decided to take her and she's done great. I think it helps to have Hayley in there with her. Yesterday was the first time I had to take her for a few minutes and I think it was because of daylight savings time and her being tired because when I took her back she fell asleep in her nursery leader's arms like I mentioned.
Evelyn will let just about anyone pick her up, as long as I'm around somewhere it seems, and is very friendly. She doesn't seem to have much stranger danger. Sometimes she'll be unhappy when I leave, that kind of seems to vary. If she notices then she can throw a fit but if I sneak away she isn't phased.
Evelyn's hair seems to have gotten a little lighter over the summer, which we spent a lot of at Cherry Hill, but has kept her beautiful ginge tinge. I love how her ends have started curling now that they're longer. Her cheeks are still huge and perfect for kissing constantly. Her eyebrows are perfect, lucky little thing. She gives the best hugs and kisses. She has the cutest little grin and I just adore her!

Dan starting them young.

Twinning is winning.

She tried eating this whole thing in one bite. Like father like daughter.

She was so tired she fell asleep sitting up.

First time boating.

She loves showing her belly.

Big sister showing her how to wear Mommy's shoes.

"Hello?"

The cutest little Jazz player.

We're so lucky to have this little squish in our lives. She may be turning into a bit of a stinker but we love her and all the fun things she does!

Photos by Emi's View Photography.

Hayley: Three Years

It's kind of hard to believe that this little girl has only been in our lives for three years. It feels like much longer, in a good way. I love our little Hayley bug and seeing learn and grow is so much fun!

Hayley is my brave little girl, most of the time. I am glad she came first because I think she will be at encouraging her siblings to do scary things. She likes to try new things and acts like she is a big kid.
Hayley is really smart. She amazes me with the things she notices and picks up. Dan is really good at teaching her new things and she constantly impresses me with what she remembers.
Hayley likes to have her finger and toenails painted. She loves the colors. And she likes to wear my high heels around the house.
Hayley loves her sister. She is pretty good at helping out with her. She definitely picks on her and annoys her, she is a normal sibling ha, but she loves to be around her and play with her. They sleep in the same room and I can hear them up giggling way past their bedtime most nights, but it makes my Mama heart happy. I hope they always stay best friends. She can make Evelyn laugh harder than anyone.
Hayley still loves to swim. Every time she prays she thanks Heavenly Father for swimming (and whales, which I still have no idea where that came from because she doesn't watch whale movies or have a whale anything). We love going to Cherry Hill with Aunt Nikkole during the summer. She also loves to jump around. Ever since we went to the trampoline park in Lubbock she always wants to go jumping. And she pulls the cushions off the couch, stacks them up, and jumps around on them. We also got her her own slide because she would get creative in making her own.
Hayley enjoys watching movies and shows. It's nice when I need to sleep after work, while Evelyn naps. She goes through different phases of what she likes to watch, but The Incredibles, Monster's Inc., PJ Masks, and Mickey Mouse seem to be constant favorites.
Hayley still isn't a super picky eater but it has become a chore to get her to eat enough. She takes forever sometimes ha, and it can be painful to get her to eat. She used to think yogurt was ice cream, I thought it was a good idea to roll with that but Dan has since corrected her. She loves treats and candy. She would probably eat fruit snacks and a granola bar for every meal if she had it her way, or mac and cheese. She also loves popcorn.
Hayley is good at keeping herself entertained and has a good imagination. She definitely keeps us entertained and is super funny. She came with her own personality.
Hayley still takes naps, usually 2 hours every afternoon, and I'm hoping that lasts another year while I'm still working nights at the Temple. She is rarely happy to take naps or even go to bed at night but is usually more compliant after she's had a story. She likes having her back scratched to help her fall asleep.
In her three short years of life, Hayley has now been to 7 states (not including layovers) and Canada. She has been on an airplane 4 times, 1 road trip, and 1 cruise.

They have an arranged marriage.

She got smart and figured out her stool could help her get to the cookies.

She loves wearing my heels.

I came home from work at 2:30 AM and she was in the living room asleep on the floor.

Stuck in the fridge handle.

Mummy hot dogs for lunch.

Princess Poppy for Halloween.

The cake she chose after winning the cake walk. She loves sprinkles and will ask to eat them plain.

She also loves to eat snow.

She is good at and so sweet when saying her prayers.

Disney On Ice.

Working out with Mom.

She LOVES popcorn.

We celebrated Hayley's birthday on Sunday, July 15 at our home. Her theme was "Under the Sea." Her cake was done by the amazing Kiss Me Cake (Jessica Francis). We did a Mermaid pinata and enjoyed visiting with friends and family. Hayley is so loved!

Side note: Hayley weighs 30 pounds and is 37 inches tall.