the things she’s up “two”

Of course, there will be a sappy, mooshy, sentimental post about my little sweetie on her birthday but first things first, I wanted to write a little update about all of her silly, two year old antics.
 

I am not sure exactly how we got here … to this place where my baby is a little person with (many, many, many) of her own (strong and persistent) ideas. But somehow, we did. Here she is – a unique, creative, funny individual who has conversations with me, has developed her own interests and definitely knows how to speak her mind.

Eva has a way with words. A lot of words. As in, Girlfriend never, ever stops talking. According to my parents, there is something about payback. But, really, I wouldn’t change her for anything. I love the silly things she says and the ideas she comes up with.

Here are some of her latest sillies. She likes to add “er” to the end of words that don’t need an “er”. Most commonly bench, cheese and dress get an “er”. Bencher, cheeser, and dresser. She also starts almost every request with “can’t” instead of “can”. “Mommy, can’t you get me a drink? Can’t you sing Jesus Loves Me? Can’t you help me? Can’t you play with me?” She even said to her cousin, “Annabelle, can’t you share with me?” It’s hilarious because it sounds like she’s absolutely desperate for whatever it is she’s asking for and is exasperated because I “can’t” do it.

When I put her to bed, she likes me to tap on her back or bum. She always has. This has become a ritual. Instead of "Who is going to tuck you in tonight?” we ask her “Who is going to tap you tonight?” and even though she has started to sort out the you/me business in her speech, she still always says “tap you” instead of “tap me”. “Mommy, tap you please. Nana, tap you please” and so on. It is the sweetest ever.

She has a sweet, compassionate heart. It shines brightly when she accidentally bonks Gwen on the head with a plastic bowling pin and breaks into huge tears before Gwen even has a chance to react to the attack. She wails rand says, “I’m sowwy Gwennie. Ohhh, I hurt Gwennie. I sowwy. I kiss Gwennie”.

But to counteract her sweet, compassionate heart, Girlfriend has a bossy streak a mile long. And while many people’s first reaction is to chuckle at her bossy tendencies, we are trying our best to curb it the best we can. She won’t hesitate a second to tell you to “sit down now” or “come over here now”. But don’t worry, she always plfollows up with a sweet “kay?” or “please?” Sometimes, however, it gets really out of hand when she tells us to “yeave Eeba ayone!”

And along with her bossiness, I think it’s safe to say we’ve hit the terrible twos. She goes from 0-60 in no time at all and sometimes reasoning with her is an impossible feat.

The terrible moments are always short lived, though, and then my sweet, funny child returns. So when she’s not throwing a temper tantrum you’ll find her singing Wheels on the Bus, Blue Skies and Rainbows, Happy Birthday or Here I am to Worship. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there is nothing that makes my heart burst more than hearing her sing praises to the King. It is my hope that her heart for God will just grow, and grow, and grow as the years go by.

She is a much better eater now than she was a few months ago. She’s not overly picky, although sometimes convincing her that it’s necessary to take the time to eat is the issue. She likes lots of fruits, veggies and has reestablished a like for meat and cheese. She drinks a lot of milk, water and the rare treat of juice. She still loves eating baby food pouches – she calls them “juicies” and thinks they are a great treat. I won’t argue.

She loves to play babies, cook food in her play kitchen, play Doctor, read books, do puzzles and watch Diego, Barney and Backyardigans. She is over the moon at the new house where there is a farm across the street that has horses, a donkey and goats. We definitely make our way over there almost every day. She’s an outdoors girl and loves hanging out with Daddy in the shop.

All in all, this girl is a hilarious, witty, joyful sweetheart who busts me up every single day of the week. I am blessed, so blessed, to call her my own.