I'm sad I wasn't more disciplined because between my last update and now, SO much has happened.
It is the little steps and leaps that happen each week that have shaped Evie into who she is now.
Firstly, at 1 day off a year old she is big. Not fat! She's following the same growth pattern I did as a baby. She's 28lb 10 as of last weeks weigh in, meaning she has slightly nudged over the top of the centile scale having jumped between 91st/98th for the last 6 months. I'm not worried though.
Her favourite word at the moment is Duck. Pronounced Guck but said with gusto when in the bath and we carry a bath duck with us at all times.
Other words are Daddy, G G (pronounced jeejee) which is my grandma. Jaja which is my mum. Lally which is Sally my sister. I get the occasional Mumma but I'm more often Mimi which is her word for boob!
Today she said drink (or dink) in context and signed the sign at the same time :)
Her signing has come on leaps and bounds, I'd go as far as to say its the best decision I made because Evie has been communicating with us from a much earlier age than if she hasn't.
She now regularly signs- Milk, more, bubbles, doggy, brush my teeth, food, sing. In fact it's one of my favourite things when she sits in front of means asks me to sing her a song. At the end of every verse she signs 'more singing!'
She dances along to her vtech baby walker. We noticed after she'd had it a week or so that she kept repeatedly pressing this random button over and over, until we realised that she was skipping though the bits she didn't like to get to her favourite song. Genius? ;)
She tentatively walks, still not very confident with out holding on to something or my hand. We've had a few spurts of 6-8 steps maximum but I'm happy to wait. The more mobile she gets the harder it becomes!
We're still breastfeeding. This comes as a huge shock to so many people and if I'm honest, I didn't think we'd get this far. But we have and there are no signs that we'll be stopping any time soon. I'm not going to get too into the arguments for older child feeding as I don't like the comments I get from people, so I'm just happy to say, we'll stop when she decides.
I changed prams. Again. A preloved icandy and its just about the perfect pram!
We have a favourite book. A book called Busy Pandas. We've been through 2 and a third is on order. They tend to disintegrate at the binding and fall apart (I have since realised that Evie has been tearing shreds off the edges with her teeth and chewing through it, hence the replacements).
Evie is now in her next stage carseat. I love watching her gaze out the window and practise her talking to herself.
So what does Evie like?
Evie likes eating! Particularly blueberries, grapes, raisins, cucumber and tomato. In fact almost all fruits and veg. We've done Baby Led Weaning which I think has really helped her to be open to all tastes. Being breastfed also lends itself to having a varied palette.
Evie likes dogs! She'll spot a dog a mile off and has recently shown real confidence with a few friends dogs which pleases me.
Bath time is a blast! Filled to the brim with her favourite ducks she spends a lot of time moving them around various parts of the tub. We always finish by brushing teeth and having a cuddle and a snog all wrapped up in her warm towel
Playtime with Daddy is a hit every time. They go to the swings and have some wholesome bonding time. She adores him and its one of my biggest joys to watch them interact. He is an incredible father.
Cuddles at nap time. Usually met with 'you're creating a rod for your own back' but I care not. She is loved and secure in that love and these people have clearly not had the pleasure of a hot, deep breathing baby lain in deep slumber across you. It's pure bliss.
What does Evie not like?
Shoes. Disappointingly so. And not just shoes, anything to do with footwear paraphernalia. Especially having her feet measured?! She screamed blue murder and was genuinely petrified. So for this reason, I've not put her in shoes yet.
Having her nappy changed. This is as traumatic for me as it is for her!
Being put in her cot after a cuddle. This is understandable!
Potato. This gets spat out faster than I can feed her it.
Having her nails trimmed or her hair brushed. I am desperate to get a bloody hair band in that long hair but I've got no chance.
What is the most wonderful part of watching her change? Seeing her learn. Watching her piece things together off her own initiative.
Only yesterday she picked up the broom and tried sweeping the kitchen floor. I've never taught her this?
When we undress her for the bath, she knows to life her arms and one leg at a time to take her socks off. Simple things that make me swell with pride.
When she leans in for a cuddle or a kiss I just melt. She has moments of serious independence and wants to do things herself. Then when she wants her mummy I get a snippet of my tiny Evie back. This is when bf is such a blessing. Those feeds where she curls up into me and holds my face is about as good as it gets.
In fact my love for her has put a huge amount of perspective into my life.
I am no longer bothered by others attitudes or opinions about me or what or how I do things. Because how I feel for Evie trumps anything I feel for them. She is my priority and people will have to get in line because they will never be as important as she is. Oh yes, I'm *that* type of mama! Ha! Hear me roar and all that ;)
So I'm off to write her birthday card. I will try not to gush however I think we can more or less guarantee i'll cry.
Thank you for reading.
Xx
