more ice skating

evalana got to go skate at aunt mimi's new rink in independence a couple weeks ago. evalana enjoyed watching michelle's big girl skaters, and she did well with the skating, too.

first snow of the season

Evalana's been sleeping until about 10am, but she must have her daddy's winter excitement sensors because this morning she woke up at 7:30. There was a little bit of snow on the ground, and Joshua hadn't left for work yet, so they got to play in the snow a little. Here are a few pictures.

And here's a picture of Evalana with her very first snow:

diaper rash

Evalana had a diaper rash that started last Saturday, which is unusual for our diaper-free baby. The only other times she's had a diaper rash were the couple of times she's worn disposable diapers, and the rash went away on its own. I was talking with Maleah yesterday, and she said that diaper rashes aren't supposed to last for more than a couple days and that Evalana probably had a yeast infection. So thankful to have smart moms as friends! Made an appointment with Dr. Young for this morning, and she does have a yeast infection. Poor girl. We got some cream, so hopefully that will clear up this diaper rash quickly. The doctor said he wasn't surprised since she had all those antibiotics for her ear infection. And she got to be weighed with her clothes on on the big girl scale this time, and it said 30 pounds (although she cried like crazy through the quick weighing). She hasn't been sleeping well at all this week, so maybe this will help all of us to sleep more restfully, too. Oops, I think she's getting water out of the fridge on her own as I write this. Better go hang out with busy pants.

Here's what she was busy doing:

plus more washable red crayon creations around the kitchen.

15 months

Evalana had her 15-month well child check today. We are so thankful for our healthy girl. She’s 97% everything—height 33”, weight 28 lbs, head 19 in. I noticed she’s able to reach a lot more, and her dresses that were ankle-length at the beginning of the summer are now thigh-length. Well she’s grown 4 inches in the last six months; I guess that would make clothes fit differently. She gained 4 pounds from 9 to 12 months and 2 pounds from 12 to 13 months, but then her weight has been at 28 for the last two months. Another reason I’m glad to have a big girl—I’m not too concerned that she hasn’t gained weight recently. And I don’t know how accurate all those measurements really are anyway—although they’re horrible to get. Evalana screams and cries and sobs as they weigh her, which takes forever since she has to sit still for like two full seconds or something. You’d think they’d let her use the adult scale by now. Oh well. Maybe she wouldn’t stand still on that either.

This 15-month-old girl is so much fun. She’s constantly learning, and learning very quickly. This keeps us thinking that we need to be very aware of what we’re doing! One of her favorite things is singing songs with actions. She learns those after just a couple of times, and then asks for them over and over and over and over again. I need to learn some Christian ones! Sign language is still very helpful, although, again, I need to learn more signs so that I can teach her more. She currently has 12 teeth. Those humongous molars are still working their way completely through her gums, as they have been for over a month. Then 8 more teeth to go. ECing is still going wonderfully. Some of Evalana’s current favorite things:

stickers, puppies, crayons, being held, bubbles, outside, batteries, music, dancing, phones, bracelets, swimming, running, playing, climbing, walking backwards, carrying large objects, sorting things, kicking balls, books, trains, birds, bags, cleaning, eating with spoons and forks, laughing and making people laugh, and giving really good strong cuddly hugs.

This is how she likes to clean up her tray when she finishes a meal.

Evalana started making this sound for "baby." Not sure where she learned this one, but it's kinda cute.

height:

weight:

back home from palm springs

Evalana was so excited when she could hear her puppies barking from the car when we first got home from Palm Springs.

painted canyon

i love hiking in the mountains. it's been awhile, but we were able to do one of my favorite Palm Springs hikes on Saturday--the first part of the Painted Canyon Ladder Loop trail.

These videos don't have anything too interesting, just our walk through slot canyon.

more palm springs

a few more random pictures from our week here.
Grandma bought some toys to have here, one of which was this puppy purse. Evalana loves to carry her puppy and her baby around with her and take care of them.

Not sure if she was "helping" me pack or unpack here.

Evalana loved to swim here.

Joshua started work at 6am. It was great that we were able to work from here and not have to take any vacation time.

God's hand

Our poor little girl has come close to injuries yesterday and today. We're so thankful for the way God has protected her!
Last night she stuck a big pair of scissors into her eye. I didn't see it until she started crying, holding the scissors and her eye. But she's fine.
This morning we put on a new pair of shoes, she went running, and fell right on her mouth. She bit her lip pretty hard, but her teeth are still in place. (picture on the right)
This evening at dinner, she just started eating, and then I saw her choking (not the coughing kind, but the kind where she was reaching for me and not breathing), but as soon as i stood up to help her, she coughed out a piece of i think chicken.
And this one wasn't actually serious, but here's a video of her enjoying her swim time and trying to go under. The back"yard" is full of thorny plants and lots of places to drown, but she's stayed with us and hasn't tried to jump or fall in any pools or fountains our whole week here.

Every day we're so thankful for our time with Evalana. We never know how long God's going to let us keep her, but we hope it's for our lifetime, and we thank Him for keeping her so healthy.

By the way, if you want to read amazing stories from people who have lost their babies, you should check out the Corbins' story and the Macs' story.

zoo

Thursday Tompa, Evalana, and i visited the zoo here. The first animal we saw was a wild rattlesnake. We liked the creatures in cages. Evalana especially liked the zebras.

palm springs children's museum

Grandma, Evalana, and I went to the children's museum the day that it was windy and dusty out here. One of our favorite parts was the grocery store. The thing I found interesting was that she only put things we buy in her cart (oats, beans, fruits and vegetables, crackers).

Palm Springs girl

Trying to catch up on our week. Here are a few more pictures of hanging out around the house.

I went to Walmart to get a few cheap toys while we're here. She loves her bracelets :-)

Evening walk around the neighborhood. Beautiful evening, but evalana didn't care for the stroller ride.
It was very windy here earlier this week. Here's a windy sunset picture.

little swimmer!

Evalana was last here when she was four months old, and she last swam several months ago, and she still loves it. Yesterday morning one of the first things she did was grab both pieces to her swimsuit and the seal she's been playing with in the pool, and head to the back door. Here are a couple of videos of first getting into the pool on Saturday.

cute post-swimming wrinkley foot