I forgot to add this to the last post.
Aunt Kathy gave Eva some pink cowboy boots while we were in China. They are size 8, so we put them away when we got home. Well, I was cleaning our spare bedroom this weekend, and Eva was helping and found those boots. Since they are only just a tad big on her, I let her wear them. I haven't been able to get those boots off of her since. If she could, she would sleep in those things. I guess she's going to be wearing a lot of outfits that match pink cowboy boots in the upcoming days.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Eva Tales
Last week, mom and I were sitting in the living room watching Eva. (A common past time) Eva got on her hot rod (her little plastic 4 wheeled bike) and started walking it down the hall. That means holding it up by the handle bars and shuffle walking very slowly and awkwardly to propel the bike forward. She hasn't quite figured out the concept of a wheel yet. In any case, she told us that she'd be right back (Be-ri' back.) We asked her where she was going, she said she was going to Walmart (Mall-mart). She shuffled her little hot-rod all the way down the hall, then turned around and shuffled it back. She announced her return and we asked her if she got some juice at Walmart. She said no. So, we asked her what she got there, to which she replied "Cheese." Apparantly this is an important outing to go to Walmart and buy cheese.
On Saturday, David and I took Eva to Grand Forks with us. We went out to eat at a Chinese Buffet, which Eva loves. I had some chicken that I wanted David to try, so I told him it was really good an put a piece on his plate to try. Eva watched that chicken avidly, and with increased agitation, as David finished up what he was eating before he tried the sample I gave him. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer, picked up that piece of chicken off of his plate and handed it up to David, exclaiming "Really good." Of course David couldn't postpone sampling it after that, so he took a bite. Eva watched it very carefully and as he chewed, told him "mmm num num." (That is what we tell her when we want her to eat something or when we eat her pretend food.) Finally David put back on the plate what was left over and told Eva that yes it was really good. After that, she grabbed what was left and informed the whole world "I try it" and popped it in her mouth. We had no idea how much of a participant she is in conversation. Then later in the car, she didn't like the car seat and shouted "out." I told her that she couldn't get out of the car seat. I heard some rummaging around and then a very disgusted, "Uh Oh... stuck." We informed her she was suppose to be stuck and that she had to live with it.
On Saturday, David and I took Eva to Grand Forks with us. We went out to eat at a Chinese Buffet, which Eva loves. I had some chicken that I wanted David to try, so I told him it was really good an put a piece on his plate to try. Eva watched that chicken avidly, and with increased agitation, as David finished up what he was eating before he tried the sample I gave him. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer, picked up that piece of chicken off of his plate and handed it up to David, exclaiming "Really good." Of course David couldn't postpone sampling it after that, so he took a bite. Eva watched it very carefully and as he chewed, told him "mmm num num." (That is what we tell her when we want her to eat something or when we eat her pretend food.) Finally David put back on the plate what was left over and told Eva that yes it was really good. After that, she grabbed what was left and informed the whole world "I try it" and popped it in her mouth. We had no idea how much of a participant she is in conversation. Then later in the car, she didn't like the car seat and shouted "out." I told her that she couldn't get out of the car seat. I heard some rummaging around and then a very disgusted, "Uh Oh... stuck." We informed her she was suppose to be stuck and that she had to live with it.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Eva Hurlburt, Big Girl
Today was a first for Eva... today is the first day that she took her pajamas off herself. I had to unzip it for her, but she was able to take it off the rest of the way without any help from mommy. She was very proud of herself, and she is becoming such a big girl. Then, when I took off her diaper for her bath, she told me "BB, Baby Butt." Her daddy likes to say "BBB" or "Bare Baby Butt" whenever she gets her diaper off. Apparantly, Eva knows exactly what this means and has decided to say it for herself now. Sigh.
Eva continues to say her last name "Er'Ert." Only, now she has added it to everyone and everything. She calls our cat, Enoch "Knee-knock Er'Ert." The dog (Scarlet) is now "Scar'Et Er'Ert." And her stuffed kittty cat is "Kitty Er'Ert." Her stuffed puppy dog is "Puppy Er'Ert." Somewhere along the way this Hurlburt family has grown quite large and, low and behold, I never realized it before, nor did I ever fanthom how truly great it would become.
Early this morning, Eva was restless in her sleep. She started to cry and so I reached over and touched her back... she went back to sleep. A few minutes later she cried again, I touched her back and again she went back to sleep. The third time she cried, I reached over and held her hand. She squeezed my finger and went back to sleep. For the next hour, I just let her hold onto my finger. Every 10 minutes or so, she would squeeze it, but she never woke up or cried again. She also likes to hold my finger when she is going to sleep. I wonder if this need of hers for re-assurance that she is not alone will ever go completely away.
Eva continues to say her last name "Er'Ert." Only, now she has added it to everyone and everything. She calls our cat, Enoch "Knee-knock Er'Ert." The dog (Scarlet) is now "Scar'Et Er'Ert." And her stuffed kittty cat is "Kitty Er'Ert." Her stuffed puppy dog is "Puppy Er'Ert." Somewhere along the way this Hurlburt family has grown quite large and, low and behold, I never realized it before, nor did I ever fanthom how truly great it would become.
Early this morning, Eva was restless in her sleep. She started to cry and so I reached over and touched her back... she went back to sleep. A few minutes later she cried again, I touched her back and again she went back to sleep. The third time she cried, I reached over and held her hand. She squeezed my finger and went back to sleep. For the next hour, I just let her hold onto my finger. Every 10 minutes or so, she would squeeze it, but she never woke up or cried again. She also likes to hold my finger when she is going to sleep. I wonder if this need of hers for re-assurance that she is not alone will ever go completely away.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Stepping out
Eva loves her new step-stool. It brings her no end of delight. Every morning now, I have a little brusher-in-training when I brush my teeth. She still hasn't figured out that she isn't suppose to just eat her toothpaste, and she is practicing hard on learning how to spit. She thinks Mommy is amazing because she can accomplish that particular skill. In any case, once she finishes, she gives me the biggest smile and tells me, "Clean." (Sounds more like "keen.")We had a party yesterday with our Families with Children from China group. We celebrated Chinese New Year's early. The actual New Years, for this year, is on Feb. 18th, but we celebrated early as a group. It was a lot of fun, and Eva was in a great mood afterwards. She wouldn't be quiet... I think she was telling me all about it. I also think her favorite part was the cleaning up... she really likes to clean. I shake my head in bewilderment on that one, it is NOT something I relate to.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Changes and discoveries
Eva has a rash around her mouth... it came right after her eye teeth started coming in and she was drooling and had a runny nose. But, it hasn't gone away 3 weeks later. So, this afternoon, I took her to her Doctor. He said it was just a combination of excema and drooling etc. I am suppose to use some vasaline and hydrocortizone cream for a couple of weeks and see what happens. In any case, my daughter actually likes her Doctor. She thought he was cool and let him do whatever he wanted. However, she hates the nurse. Hates her, hates her, hates her. As soon as the door opened and she saw the nurse she started screaming. Her face turned red, huge tears came rolling down and tortured noises spewed forth. Despite the candy the nurse gave her, she didn't want anything to do with her. She did stop crying when the nurse left the room. I feel kind of bad for the nurse. In any case, Eva, who is 21 months old, weighs 29 lbs and is 34 inches tall. I had to buy her a new pair of shoes today also... a size 7 1/2. Seriously, are her feet big for her age?
On Tuesday, Mrs. J told me that Eva woke up during her nap. She stood up on her matt, she didn't make a sound but tears streamed down her cheeks. She said that Eva's eye's were glazed over and she was obviously still sound asleep. I wonder if my daughter walks in her sleep... I know that she talks in her sleep. And, there is that one morning that David and I mysteriously found her curled up on the floor of our room... we never heard her get out of bed and she never woke us up or cried like she would if she were awake or had fallen out. There are so many things to discover about her.
This morning, Eva found David's deoderant. He left it on the bathroom counter which, now that Eva has a stepstool, is completely accessible to her. She was delighted when she was able to pop the cover off. She liberally applied some to her belly, then to my belly, and to our cat Ginger. Yes, Ginger thought she'd come into the bathroom and get a drink of water, instead she got gussied up. I wonder what David will think when he discovers the long red cat hairs in his deoderant. After Eva was done applying the deoderant, she managed to get ahold of David's electric razer (fortunately she hasn't figured out how to turn it on) and shaved her chin with it. She even made sound effects so that she new it was working. Her hygeine is impeccable.
On Tuesday, Mrs. J told me that Eva woke up during her nap. She stood up on her matt, she didn't make a sound but tears streamed down her cheeks. She said that Eva's eye's were glazed over and she was obviously still sound asleep. I wonder if my daughter walks in her sleep... I know that she talks in her sleep. And, there is that one morning that David and I mysteriously found her curled up on the floor of our room... we never heard her get out of bed and she never woke us up or cried like she would if she were awake or had fallen out. There are so many things to discover about her.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Steamed Eggplant
This post is in response to a request from Sharon... however, I believe this recipe sounds good enough for everyone. (If you like eggplant, that is.)
The cookbook that Granny gave David has several recipies for eggplant, but this one seems like it is the closest to what we had in China. However, I didn't get a chance to eat much while there, so I don't really remember. The other recipies have beans with it, mash the eggplant into a sludge or serve it in a clay pot. Let me know if you want one of the other recipies.
Steamed Eggplant
Cut eggplants into thickish slices. If you are using dark purple eggplants, sprinkle them with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. (If you are using pale Chinese eggplants, there is no need to do this.) Place the eggplants in a steaming bowl, top with rinsed black fermented beans (soybeans), dried chili flakes or sliced fresh chilies, a dash of oil or lard, and salt to taste. Steam until the eggplants are meltingly tender. Alternatively, steam the eggplants on their own, and then dress with finely chopped garlic and fresh ginger, soy sauce, Chinkiang brown (or black) vinegar, salt, sesame oil, and finely sliced scallion greens.
The cookbook that Granny gave David has several recipies for eggplant, but this one seems like it is the closest to what we had in China. However, I didn't get a chance to eat much while there, so I don't really remember. The other recipies have beans with it, mash the eggplant into a sludge or serve it in a clay pot. Let me know if you want one of the other recipies.
Steamed Eggplant
Cut eggplants into thickish slices. If you are using dark purple eggplants, sprinkle them with salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. (If you are using pale Chinese eggplants, there is no need to do this.) Place the eggplants in a steaming bowl, top with rinsed black fermented beans (soybeans), dried chili flakes or sliced fresh chilies, a dash of oil or lard, and salt to taste. Steam until the eggplants are meltingly tender. Alternatively, steam the eggplants on their own, and then dress with finely chopped garlic and fresh ginger, soy sauce, Chinkiang brown (or black) vinegar, salt, sesame oil, and finely sliced scallion greens.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Excerpt about the Hunanese
Granny bought David a cookbook for Christmas, entitled Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Provice, by Fuchsia Dunlop. The excerpt below is from the introduction to her cookbook... we found it delightful information since we have our own little Hunan girl living with us.
Most Chinese people insist that the Hunanese have the hottest tastes in the country. As the old joke goes,
The Sichuanese are not afraid of chili heat;
No degree of hotness will affright the people of Guizhou;
But those Hunanese are terrified of food that isn't hot.
Their spicy diet is said to make the peole of Hunan hot and fiery in nature: in fact, so renowned are they for their valor and tenacity that the Chinese say you can't have a true army without them. Hunanese women are known for their amorousness, and sometimes for being a little shrewish. I've even heard them described as hou la la, a phrase that literally means "fire-hot-hot," but is used admiringly to express their strength, straightforwardness, and capability.
Our own little spice girl definitely has enough opinions to fill up 12 little girls her size. I love every single one of them.
Most Chinese people insist that the Hunanese have the hottest tastes in the country. As the old joke goes,
The Sichuanese are not afraid of chili heat;
No degree of hotness will affright the people of Guizhou;
But those Hunanese are terrified of food that isn't hot.
Their spicy diet is said to make the peole of Hunan hot and fiery in nature: in fact, so renowned are they for their valor and tenacity that the Chinese say you can't have a true army without them. Hunanese women are known for their amorousness, and sometimes for being a little shrewish. I've even heard them described as hou la la, a phrase that literally means "fire-hot-hot," but is used admiringly to express their strength, straightforwardness, and capability.
Our own little spice girl definitely has enough opinions to fill up 12 little girls her size. I love every single one of them.
Call me "E'ah Er'ert."
Yes, Eva Hurlburt can say her name, minus a few consonants.
Update: I uploaded these pictures again, hopefully they don't x out on us this time.
Update: I uploaded these pictures again, hopefully they don't x out on us this time.
All about tea:
This picture sequence is all about Eva and her skill at instructing people what to do.
Yesterday morning, Eva and I were hanging out on the bed after taking our bath. Eva decides that I need a nap. She grabs her blanket (called "bangkok") and spreads it out over me. Then she says "mommy nighty night," and plops down next to me and pretends to snore. I guess she's not fooled by us doing the same thing to get her to sleep.
This picture sequence is all about Eva and her skill at instructing people what to do.Friday, January 12, 2007
7 months
Today is the 7 month anniversary of the day that we met and held Eva for the very first time. I told her about it this morning, and that the last 7 months have been the most challenging and incredible months of my life, that I love her without measure and that I can't imagine my life without her. Eva looked up at me, took her finger out of her nose and responded with, "Mommy, snotz ucky." She then tried to wipe on my shirt the booger she had stuck on her left pointer finger. Such sentimentality... I love being a mother.
Eva's world revolves around food. It has been this way since we first met her seven months ago. She has taken to feeding everyone else a lot recently. The cats particularly enjoy Eva for this. That is before, she kicks them out of their comfortable position. In any case, she doesn't eat as much as she did before, and I have a sneaking suspicion that her wanting to feed everyone else is actually just an extension of her innate bossy nature. But, I love it, and at least she hasn't tried to feed me one of her boogers yet. I guess I can't complain too much that she just wants to wipe them on my shirt.
Our cat, Enoch, likes to sleep on Eva's couch... she doesn't like it. She throws a fit, wakes him up and informs him that it is hers, "mine" and that he must immediately leave. Eva is just a tad bossy. She tells her granny where she is suppose to sit and what she is suppose to eat. Mrs. J at daycare told me yesterday that before story time, Eva went and got a chair for her son (who is almost 3) and brought it over to where she thought it should be and instructed him to sit down on it. When he got his own chair, she threw a fit. She apparantly thinks she knows what is best and of course everyone else must comply. It reminds me eerily of my older sister, Kathy, when she was younger. My mom says that she talks non-stop just like Kathy did also.
When David comes home from work, he gets the newspaper, lounges back on the couch or the chair and reads it. You can get an idea of exactly what he looks like when he's doing it if you look at the pictures above of Eva copying him. She enjoyed that particular advertisement flyer for several days. She watches her daddy get out the paper, then she runs over to her couch, gets her flyer, lays back and looks at it, turns the pages and exclaims over the pictures. She peeks over at baba to make sure he's still reading his paper and as long as he reads so does she. She even gets the same expression on her face that he gets on his... you can see this really well in the first picture.
Eva's world revolves around food. It has been this way since we first met her seven months ago. She has taken to feeding everyone else a lot recently. The cats particularly enjoy Eva for this. That is before, she kicks them out of their comfortable position. In any case, she doesn't eat as much as she did before, and I have a sneaking suspicion that her wanting to feed everyone else is actually just an extension of her innate bossy nature. But, I love it, and at least she hasn't tried to feed me one of her boogers yet. I guess I can't complain too much that she just wants to wipe them on my shirt.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
"'uck 'nort" & "I L'you."
Yes, my daughter can proudly and loudly proclaim, " 'uck 'nort." It is often the first word I hear when waking up in the morning and the last word I hear when going to sleep at night... "Buck Snort." This is the phrase that my dear husband has taught my girl-child to say whenever someone (or she) passes gas.
"I L'you," is probably my favorite phrase I've ever had spoken to me in my life... it is how Eva says "I love you." She also says "Bope," for "soap" and her words for "cheese" and "keys" sound a lot a like. She can tell us when it's dark and when we need to turn on the lights. She loves to say "I'll be right back," only it sounds more like "be ri' back." She tells us that whenever she leaves the room.
So, Eva started back at daycare yesterday. She loved it. I think she really missed going and playing with her friends there. She didn't cry one tiny bit, and then didn't want to leave when I came to get her. There is a world of difference between starting this semester and last semester. In any case, Eva was in a very good mood last night and David and I were rather happy as well.
Update: My mom says that Eva's "Buck Snort" sounds more like "Butt 'nort" than " 'uck 'nort." Also, David says that I should have mentioned that Eva has renamed Enoch to "Knee-Knock," and that chips are called "bips." Also, candy is called "nandy."
I forgot to mention earlier today also, that Eva got her very first step stool today. She has had no end of delight with that thing. We got it for her so that she could wash her hands in the bathroom sink and brush her teeth. Apparantly, it means much more to Eva than that. She carries it around the house (yes, even up and down the stairs) and keeps it ready for a moments impulse. Does the sigh in my voice come across in written word? I must find somewhere new to put those knives, countertops are no longer safe...
"I L'you," is probably my favorite phrase I've ever had spoken to me in my life... it is how Eva says "I love you." She also says "Bope," for "soap" and her words for "cheese" and "keys" sound a lot a like. She can tell us when it's dark and when we need to turn on the lights. She loves to say "I'll be right back," only it sounds more like "be ri' back." She tells us that whenever she leaves the room.
So, Eva started back at daycare yesterday. She loved it. I think she really missed going and playing with her friends there. She didn't cry one tiny bit, and then didn't want to leave when I came to get her. There is a world of difference between starting this semester and last semester. In any case, Eva was in a very good mood last night and David and I were rather happy as well.
Update: My mom says that Eva's "Buck Snort" sounds more like "Butt 'nort" than " 'uck 'nort." Also, David says that I should have mentioned that Eva has renamed Enoch to "Knee-Knock," and that chips are called "bips." Also, candy is called "nandy."
I forgot to mention earlier today also, that Eva got her very first step stool today. She has had no end of delight with that thing. We got it for her so that she could wash her hands in the bathroom sink and brush her teeth. Apparantly, it means much more to Eva than that. She carries it around the house (yes, even up and down the stairs) and keeps it ready for a moments impulse. Does the sigh in my voice come across in written word? I must find somewhere new to put those knives, countertops are no longer safe...
Monday, January 08, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Holidays...
I have been thouroughly enjoying my time off and haven't had time to sit down and post much. I'll try to get caught up here, although I have more holiday pictures of Eva that will show up in the next few days.
Eva had a good Christmas... I talked already about how she liked her presents. She has had a lot of fun playing with them all week. Our church has a New Year's Eve celebration which we took Eva to this year. She loves to party! She spent most of the evening with "poppa Wayne," one of our brothers in Christ and loved every minute of it. She got lots of attention, got to eat lots of food and got doted on all night. She especially loved the run in circles dance she got to take part in with some of the other children. Needless to say, we slept in on New Year's Day.
On thursday, before New Years, our social worker came out for our 6 month follow up visit for Eva. She was shy around a new woman, but did well I think. It's just incredible to think that we're almost to 7 months that we've had her. It's incredible because it feels like it should be longer, I can not imagine my life without her anymore.
This week, I've started back at getting some work done and getting prepared for the spring semester. Today, I have Eva with me here in my office. Right now she is taking a nap while I post. Yesterday, Eva and I had tea at our friend Mei's house. It was a fantastic afternoon. Eva was shy at first, it took her about two hours to warm up... just before we were going to leave for home she finally became comfortable. She has made tremendous progress since we first brought her home and I am very happy that it only took her 2 hours to get used to a new environment. She kept asking for more tea, so I assume she liked it a lot, and she ate all her snacks that she was given... it was slow going at first because she pretty much glued herself to me, but by the time we got home she had declared all the snacks that Mei sent home with us were hers and hers only. She had a fit when David tried a couple of them. She was in a very good mood all evening and it was a lot of fun putting her to bed last night. I got lots and lots of kisses and hugs. I think it helped that I spent the day yesterday just focusing on her and not trying to get other work done. She blossoms under direct and constant attention.
I look behind me and I see that my sweet little girl is waking up from her nap on the floor of my office... I better go.
Eva had a good Christmas... I talked already about how she liked her presents. She has had a lot of fun playing with them all week. Our church has a New Year's Eve celebration which we took Eva to this year. She loves to party! She spent most of the evening with "poppa Wayne," one of our brothers in Christ and loved every minute of it. She got lots of attention, got to eat lots of food and got doted on all night. She especially loved the run in circles dance she got to take part in with some of the other children. Needless to say, we slept in on New Year's Day.
On thursday, before New Years, our social worker came out for our 6 month follow up visit for Eva. She was shy around a new woman, but did well I think. It's just incredible to think that we're almost to 7 months that we've had her. It's incredible because it feels like it should be longer, I can not imagine my life without her anymore.
This week, I've started back at getting some work done and getting prepared for the spring semester. Today, I have Eva with me here in my office. Right now she is taking a nap while I post. Yesterday, Eva and I had tea at our friend Mei's house. It was a fantastic afternoon. Eva was shy at first, it took her about two hours to warm up... just before we were going to leave for home she finally became comfortable. She has made tremendous progress since we first brought her home and I am very happy that it only took her 2 hours to get used to a new environment. She kept asking for more tea, so I assume she liked it a lot, and she ate all her snacks that she was given... it was slow going at first because she pretty much glued herself to me, but by the time we got home she had declared all the snacks that Mei sent home with us were hers and hers only. She had a fit when David tried a couple of them. She was in a very good mood all evening and it was a lot of fun putting her to bed last night. I got lots and lots of kisses and hugs. I think it helped that I spent the day yesterday just focusing on her and not trying to get other work done. She blossoms under direct and constant attention.
I look behind me and I see that my sweet little girl is waking up from her nap on the floor of my office... I better go.
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