Associating

Eva is beginning to really associate things she knows with things she doesn't know and trying to make sense of everything in her world. She has begun to make up terms for things and apply other terms to things she doesn't know to describe them. For example, in my last post about mom's thimble being a finger parka. Yesterday, Eva came to the college at the end of the day and we were in the bathroom. There are little circles, that poof out, on the water faucets that are half red and half blue to indicate the direction of hot and cold water. Eva insisted that there were volleyballs (Bollyballs) on the water faucets. At school they have red and blue volleyballs and she was associating.

I just find my daughter delightful. I tell her often that I trust the women who are watching her to take good care of her...to help her feel safe when in their care. This morning, she gave me a hug... looked me in the eyes and said, "I trust you mommy, take good care of me." Personally, that more than made up for the fact she had told me a minute earlier that "Your breath stinky."

Life with Eva

Granny informed me that Eva calls Granny's leather thimble that she uses for quilting a "finger parka." We're thinking that she combined those words herself because we can't imagine where she heard them.

Eva is doing well. She's not so challenging as she was a few weeks ago. She loved Halloween, or "Harvest Night" as the party at the church was called. I liked that this year she didn't break out with hives following halloween--no chocolate. She could not wait to go to the party and get candy and dance and be with Ba Ba and Mommy. She was a delight.

More Kitty Cat pictures

Happy Halloween

Eva is a kitty cat

This is last year...look how far she has come...

Happy Halloween everyone!

"Da-Beisel"

Last night I was at dance practice at my church, as I am every Monday, and Eva was home with Granny and Ba Ba. Granny told me this morning that they were watching Thomas and Friends, and there was a short on the diesel train. Eva was calling it a "Beisel," so Granny looked her in the eye and very clearly and slowly said, "Da... Diesel." To which, Eva looked Granny back in the eye and very clearly and slowly said, "Da...Biesel."

This morning, when she woke up David was just coming into the bedroom, half an hour before leaving for work. He gave Eva a hug and she hugged him and patted him on the back and then told him, "Baba go work now. Bye bye." Bossy little girl. Actually, I think she's just used to a hug preceeding him saying he's going to work. On the phone, when I was giving him the grocery list to pick up at the store this evening before coming home, she repeated each thing I said directly into the phone for him so that he was sure to get it right. She's very involved.

Yesterday was a good day for Eva with school and daycare. She came home with the same pull-up on that she wore to school. She likes to play with the boys at school... there are two in particular that she is very fond of. She even pretends that the "little people" at home are these two boys and plays with them at home too. My daughter is beginning to pretend to shoot things and pretend box. Not that I would tell her, but I really kind of like it, too much "girly" gets to me after a while.

China-girl

2 1/2

Today is Eva's half birthday, she is now 2 1/2 years old.

Eva is also, after 3 weeks, finally at the place where I can say she has adjusted to her new school and daycare. She misses Mrs. J and her children a lot though. I need to plan a play date. In any case, Eva is relaxed again and telling me she loves me again. For a while she was stressed about this change. Eva does not handle change well at all!

At 2 1/2 years old she is really starting the "I do it myself" phase of her development. She wants to do everything herself and if I do it for her throws a fit until she can do it herself. Then, because she can't really do it herself, throws a fit because of that and wants me to help her. Then, when I help her, throws a fit because she didn't do it herself. Then, when I let her, throws a fit because she can't really do it herself. So, I do it and she throws a fit, etc... This continues until I've had enough and tell her that she has to calm herself down and if she can't I'll put her on time out so that she can. At that point she makes the decision to either accept it not done or let me do it. Ah, the complexities of 2 1/2... {sigh}

Cheezy

Eva's developed her "picture" smile now. Do you recognize it yet?

My older sister Kathy had one of those when she was this age, I think it is a result of frequent picture taking.

Coffee time

Cloud walker

Yesterday after I picked Eva up from daycare, there was a big fluffly cloud in the sky. Eva informed me that it was really pretty and we should go walk on it. I told her that I thought that was a great idea, but we couldn't do it at that time. It would be cool though...

State Fair (Labor Day Weekend)

If anyone is curious about what I consider "Too many people," then this picture should help you understand, because that was too many people.

Eva was a little bit grossed out by the butterflies. She didn't want them touching her.


Eva could have spent all day with the horses. She really liked this miniature.

FYI: David is not pleasant to be around when he's hot, over-crowded and tired.

Eva loved the rides and is still, 2 months later, talking about that bumble bee ride.

popcorn

Eva has a Elmo toy, that was given to her by my Aunt Sissy, who says "What’s up? Let’s talk." This evening, after Elmo said that, Eva sat down very importantly on her little chair. Held Elmo up eye to eye and said, "I got my passport. I go to Canada. Do you?" It’s her favorite topic of conversation, that passport is.

Eva can use scissors. She can us them to cut the plastic wrapper off of a bag of microwave popcorn. She does it perfectly. She can also throw the wrapper in the trash and put the popcorn in the microwave (granted she does slam the microwave door). She can also push the "popcorn" button and start. She can make her own popcorn. How’s that for a not even 2 ½ year old?

Let's talk a while

That is Eva's new favorite thing to do. She will plop down next to me, lean towards me, look me in the eye and say "Let's talk a while." It is very adorable, and enjoyable. So, we talk. I have learned all kinds of things I did not know. Most importantly, I am learning how the world looks through Eva's eyes. She is amazing.

Eva has been acting very two-year-old this past week and weekend. She wants to tell us "No" whenever we tell her something. She won't come. She hits when she's mad. She cries when she doesn't get her way. As a result of all of that, she is living in time-out. I have to say, though, that it is working. Her behavior improves and she doesn't do the same thing the next day. For example, on Saturday, it was telling us "No." After going to time out half a dozen times for that one, she stopped. Then on Sunday she was hitting. After time out, she stops. So, it does work, it's just a never ending challenge. She tests constantly to see if we mean what we say. David and I are just concentrating on being consistent. We're trusting the rest to work itself out. We keep telling ourselves that it's better to deal with it now when time out works, then when she's a teenager. I know that it's age appropriate behavior, but that doesn't mean that I think it's acceptable behavior. She's doing well though, and actually I think the discipline is helping her. She was having some difficulties dealing with the change in daycare and going to preschool now--she was getting very clingy and upset with me about it. I think she has been testing us to see if it is the same at home as it always has been, you know, "Does a change in one part of my life mean that everything has changed?". I am noticing her being a lot more calm about going now and not clinging any more.

Eva Stories

Eva has a little green plastic piece that came from one of her toys... I think a train set. It looks like a plastic "Tee," and Eva calls it her hammer. She uses her hammer to pretend to shave like Baba does. He tells her that he has to shave the fuzz off. Yesterday, Eva wanted a lot of holding... I think it's finally sunk in that she's changed daycares. Anyway, she was on my lap and looking in my eyes. She was touching my face, when she came accross the small amount of stubble I have on my chin (yes... I am not embarrassed to admit it) when she declared very loudly. "Mommy... I need get my hammer. You are fuzzy." I told her I appreciated that.

Our church is building on and making a new addition. The other day, David & I took Eva up to see the new building. We talked about how great it was. On our way out, we asked Eva if she liked it. She looked around very seriously and sagely told us "I 'preciate it."

Pictures from Rollag

Over Labor Day Weekend, Rollag MN has a steam thrashers reunion and lots of steam powered machinery. Needless to say, it is a highlight of David's year. He has been teaching Eva all about steam trains... they pour over pictures of them together and Eva was very excited about going to Rollag. In the pictures, she has her stoic "I'm in a new place, I must not show emotion" expression on her face, but she did enjoy it immensely. She talked about it for days and days afterwards.
Eva and David took a ride on this little steam engine first. Eva wanted to go again, but we distracted her with the promise of ice cream.

It was a very hot day and Eva was upset that the sun would dare to melt her ice cream.


We got to take a ride on the big steam train also. Eva thought it was noisy. However, since then she has really taken to imitating the noise.

After waiting in line, Eva got to ride on one of two steam powered Merry-go-rounds in all of the United States.

Eva had so much fun on that particular Merry-go-Round that she cried for at least 15 mintues afterwards because she had to get off. She really didn't want to get off. Unfortunately it was at the end of the day so we had to leave. I think she would have rode on that for hours.

Preschool

Well, David came home from work yesterday and asked me if I was really busy right now. I told him, "Yes... it's midterms at the college, etc..." Then I wanted to know why he was asking. He then informed me that Eva's been doing lots of cute things and I haven't been writing about it on the blog and I still hadn't put up the pictures I promised a month ago. So, sorry... I have been very busy and am only getting the chance to write now because I'm multitasking while giving an exam to my organic chem students. They are very intent at the moment.

Eva is such a little girl anymore, and not a baby. She is a delight simply to talk to and carry on a conversation with. The other morning, she was telling Baba what she wanted for breakfast. I commented that David was letting Eva boss him around a lot, to which Eva pipes up, (very loudly) "I a bossy woman!" We all agree, and fortunately for her I happen to really like bossy women. If I didn't, I'd have a hard time liking myself or any of the women in my family.

She is delightful to watch dancing, she gets her whole body into it--wiggling, bouncing, swaying, waving her arms. She also will sing along with songs only she misses half the words and the ones she gets are in the wrong order and well are mostly wrong. But it's really cute and she sings them enthusiastically.

So, Eva started pre-school this week. Yes, she is young for pre-school. She is 8 months younger than the next oldest child. However, she is responding very well to it. She thrives on structured activity and learning. Her teacher says that her knowledge is on par with the other students, and that she has a great attention span. She will sit and listen to the entire story and look at the pictures, she will stay at the station and finish her project instead of wandering off. I am told her attention span is better than that some of the older kids have. Also, her teacher says she is very well mannered and polite. I was also told that Eva's favorite part of the agenda was the music. The other kids enjoy her and one of the little girls even gave her, her phone number (granted it was a bunch of random letters, but still it was sweet). They all greet her when she comes and say goodbye when she leaves. I think that Mrs. J trained her really well for pre-school with her story time etc. Also, Mrs. J worked with Eva on her shapes and numbers, letters and colors a lot. Eva knows all the shapes short of a parallelogram and the equivalent. She still gets mixed up on her colors, but she can count to 5 really well and understand what the numbers mean. She is forever counting her toys now and telling me how many she has of something... I try not to get tired of hearing it. She is very good at matching and doing puzzles. At church this weekend, she informed Granny that she was sitting at a table that was a circle. Granny told her that she was correct and asked her what the shape of the table next to her was. First Eva said, "I don' know," but then immediately added "It rectangle." (Which it was) Then she looked around and noticed that "There lots of rectangles Granny." When we were walking into Walmart last week, I was holding Eva's hand and watching for cars when Eva comes to a complete stop and I hear a voice say "Mommy, you step on triangle." I'm thinking, "What in the world?" When I look at what she's pointing at and sure enough, there was a triangle painted on the parking lot. She's very observant when it comes to her shapes.

I have been told it is normal, but Eva talks from the moment she wakes up until she goes to sleep. She does not like the cats to sleep on her things or play with her things. She's still quite competative with the cats. Some time last week, Eva decided that her Baba was her favorite person, so she's been spending all the time she can with him. They particularly enjoy looking at train catalogues together and watching Thomas the Train on TV, which is far and away her favorite program. In fact it is the ONLY program she will watch all the way through. She's been making me read her "Shoaoy and Dot" before bedtime each night, which is a story about Chinese adoption. On one page of the book there are pictures of babies in these little walker, high chair things that they use in the orphanages in China. I've never talked with Eva about them before, but the other night we're reading the story and she is studying that page. I was going to turn the page when she put her hand on it and looked up at me very seriously and said, "Mommy, I have one of those." I said, "You did?" Eva replied, "Yes, I think so. I sit in it, sometimes. I play with my toys." I believe her and I think she actually remembers being in one of those, which is amazing to me anyway. Nothing else would explain her statement, because it's not like she's around them nor have I ever talked to her about it. Have I told you what an amazing brain that little girl has? In any case that is her favorite book right now and she will tell me what is going to happen before I get there. In fact, Eva loves to give commentary. She also gives commentary on her Thomas the Train shows. Granny finds them delightful.

So, David (significant Dave?), as pertaining to your comment to the previous post, I apologize that I only have words for you to read. I find them interesting, anyway, even if no one else does. I will work more dilligently on posting some pictures. My O. Chem students hare half an hour into the test and no one has shot me a dirty look yet... I think they're still too busy. It is a hard exam.

This is october and at the end of this month Eva will be 2 and a half years old. She wears a size nine shoe (which is getting too tight for her) and a 4T top, with a 3T bottom. She will have been with us for 16 months and it feels like it has to be longer than that. This being a mom business really is the best thing going. I am very much in love with this family that God has given me.

Moon Festival

Today is the Chinese Moon Festival.

This is a celebration much like Thanksgiving is. Families get together, have a big meal and remember why they are thankful. If you can't find any moon cakes, have a moon pie instead this day and think of Eva when you do.

Happy Moon Festival!!!!

Snow

Eva told me yesterday morning that she wanted to call Baba at work. After finding the phone, I asked her what she wanted to talk to Baba about. She replied, "I want Baba make me snow." Apparently she thinks Baba can make it snow. I told her maybe she should talk to God about that request, not Baba. Eva is obsessed with wanting to make a snowman. She thinks all the Halloween images of ghosts are really snowmen and everytime she sees one it initiates her conversation in which she tells me all about how she is going to make a snowman.

Yesterday, also I signed the paperwork to move where Eva is at daycare. I am simultaneously excited and sad about the change. Mrs. J has done a great job with Eva and Eva really likes going to her daycare. She is moving because she has the opportunity to be in a pre-school class each morning. She is young to get that opportunity and I really like what she will be taught and the environment--it is at our church, where Eva feels very comfortable. In any case, I'm really nervous about the change. Eva does not do well with changes, surprises, new women, different people, etc. In any case, she is going to start at her new daycare on Oct 8th. I've been talking to her about the fact that she is going to go to school. She liked the idea, but told me that Mrs. J was suppose to go with her. Apparently Eva believes Mrs. J is part of her entourage and is suppose to follow after her for her whole life. I told her we would visit Mrs J and her kids often... they are our neighbors.

Arctic Cat

Eva informed us this morning that Arctic Cat was # 1 and even sang a song she made up about it. Her daddy is very proud.

Actually, I am posting this morning because Eva had a conversation with her Aunt Kathy, albeit, Aunt Kathy didn't know she was having it. Eva called Aunt Kathy on her toy cell phone and after their conversation informed me that Aunt Kathy said to tell Baba to give her some candy. Why Baba is going to do what Aunt Kathy tells him to do is still a mystery to me, but in Eva's mind it makes sense. I told Granny about her conversation, and Granny thinks that Kathy probably would tell Baba to give candy to Eva if Eva asked her to. So, apparantly, Eva has us all figured out.

Catalogues

I forgot in my previous post... I wanted to talk about Eva and her love of merchandise catalogues. We got a Fisher Price catalogue in the mail yesterday. Eva poored over the catalogue last night. She looks at every single picture and then informs Baba that He or mommy should immediately drive to Walmart (pronounced "mallmart") to buy it for her. To date, it hasn't worked for her, but if she actually knew how cute I think she is doing it, I would be in a lot of trouble.

Another point of interest. Eva likes to wear coats and hats. Something I have mentioned before. But now that fall weather is here, she leaves the house with me in the morning. Informs me that I really should have put her in a jacket. We go back in and put a jacket on her. I leave again, and she informs me that she needs a hat. We go back into the house and get a hat for her. I just think of all those mothers out there who overdress their kids, and fight with them to get them to wear the essentials of warm weather gear. And here I have a child that likes to be overdressed and she has a mother who doesn't. Ah, the irony.

Coffee and toys

So, I posted about how last week started. Eva came to work with me on Thursday, which she loved! My mom came with us and sat in the comfy chairs outside of my lab and office and played with Eva during my lab. Then we had lunch and just spent time together with the girls. It was great and Eva is still telling me about how mommy works at the college and she went to the college with me. She really likes to play with the molecular model kits.

I did learn something last week that helped me with my issue of getting her not to take toys to daycare. She doesn't like that the younger kids at daycare take toys away from her as younger kids will do. Eva gets very possessive of things she considers hers (and people too). So, now I simply tell her that if she takes the toy with her, one of the little kids will probably try to take it from her. She looks at the toy, declares that it is hers and puts it back down. We haven't had any more temper tantrums. I think in this case, I have just learned her language and her buttons.

David and I give Eva coffee. There, I admitted it to the world and if people think I'm a horrible mom because of it, that's too bad for them. Eva likes coffee. She will drink it black, although prefers it the way David makes it with a little cream and sugar. She will drink it strong. It is the most adorable thing in the world, watching my little two-year-old drinking coffee, with a big mug and looking eerily like a teenager. I have always believed it was an acquired taste, well it didn't take her long to acquire it. So, on the weekends when David makes coffee, Eva gets a cup. Up until now, that has only been one cup a weekend and not every weekend. And, the caffeine doesn't seem to affect her... she naps and sleeps and is calm. Well... this weekend, David had more time and made coffee on both Saturday and Sunday. Eva had some on both days. On Saturday, she was fine. On Sunday, we had a different child on our hands. She wouldn't nap, she wouldn't hold still and she talked like an auctioneer. You may think us crazy, but Dave and I decided that our two-year-old daughter simply doesn't get coffee more than once a week...

I don't feel like I have enough time with her and I've been missing her lately. I think I'm going to have to just plan time with her. In the meantime, she is now over 3 feet tall (yes, her last measurement put her at 36 1/2 inches), her size nine shoes are getting too small for her and she is wearing 4T shirts (3T bottoms). I've even got some 5T shirts that she wears. She is getting good at her shapes and she seriously talks all the time. I am enjoying immensely our conversations. She actually will tell me what goes on at daycare and what Baba does now. She's only batting about 50% with the potty training. I have not pushed it, but let her determine what she's ready for.

That Girl!

Eva has decided that she will do what she wants and that she will get away with it by throwing temper tantrums. I have decided that neither will work for her. It has resulted in a lot of time out for my sweet, beautiful girl.

Friday morning, Eva found one of her baby bottles. I knew it was a mistake, but I let her play with it anyway. However, when it came time to leave for daycare, I told her she had to leave the bottle at home. I told her she could take her sunglasses instead. She was throwing a fit because I told her no about the bottle and, in her tantrum, said "NO" So, I took the bottle away from her and we left. At that point, she realized she wasn't going to have either the bottle or her glasses and went into a full blown temper tantrum. If I wasn't already late, I would have put her on time out to calm herself down, as it was I didn't have time and so buckled a kicking, bucking, screaming child into her car seat. She screamed the entire way to Mrs. J's house. I left while she was still screaming. Mrs. J said it took her 15 minutes to calm down and then she had to be on time out three times during the morning. She also lost the right to wear her glasses for a week. I was very agitated, that is not a great way to start the morning. So...

Yesterday morning, she had some of those plastic hooks that came with her tights when we bought them at the store. She declared they were keys and wanted to take them to daycare with her. I told her no. She seemed to let it go, so I didn't worry about it. So, when several minutes later she came downstairs with her purse ready to go to Mrs. J's house, I thought, "Oh, that's cute." We talked about how she had to put her purse up when she got there, she was fine with that. So, off we go to daycare. We get to Mrs. J's house and I take off her jacket and shoes and start to take her purse from her when she unzips it and out comes those plastic hooks that I told her she couldn't have. I promptly took them away from her, she threw another temper tanrum, and I put her on time out at Mrs. J's house.

This morning, she wanted to take some small toys with her to daycare. I told her no... it's a choking hazard for the younger kids and against the rules. She didn't argue about them, she just walked away. Then right before we were to leave, she came back with some different toys. I told her no again. She threw a temper tantrum, and went on time out. She was fine when we left the house. We got to Mrs. J's house and as I hug her goodbye, I feel something in her pants. In her pockets, I found those first toys she was forbidden to bring. I don't think she noticed as I surrepticiously removed them and took them with.

I have to watch that girl constantly! She is smart and sneaky. And, we're going three for three in starting the mornings with time out. This will eventually end, right?

Steam engines and the Fair

Eva told me this morning, "I busy, you have to wait" when I called her into the bathroom. Fortunately for me, she didn't see me laugh before I made her actually come then. We have been busy a lot lately, especially this weekend. On Saturday, we drove down to Rollag for the Steam Thresher's Reunion they have every year. They have added a carnival this year to the festivities. One of the fun things about Rollag is that kids under 15 are free and you don't have to pay for the rides once in there (very different than the state fair which we also did this weekend). Eva got a chance to ride on one of two steam operated merry-go-rounds in the United States. She also got to ride on the little kiddie steam train and on the big one. She was fascinated with the trains... it helped, I think, that her daddy is a steam train enthusiest and they talk about them often and look at pictures of trains etc... In any case, she enjoyed herself immensely. She had another ice cream cone, which she divided into three parts. Part one went inside her (that was the smallest part), part 2 she wore and part 3, she dumped on the ground (that was the biggest part). It was cute watching her eat it. She loved the bus ride also getting from the parking area to the entrance. I couldn't help but remember the last time we were on a bus with her, when we were in China, and how much she hated the bus then. She marched up and down those hills for 3 hours before she said she was tired and then we left. I thought it was great, because she napped on the way to Rollag and then napped after we left, I think we thoroughly wore her out.

After Rollag we drove down to the Twin Cities and stayed with a friend of mine, so that on Sunday we went to the State Fair. There were too many people at the state fair... I'll just put that out to begin with. It was also nearly 100 degrees. I think I could have handled the people if it wasn't so hot or the heat if there weren't so many people, but as it was it was too much for me. I got very claustrophobic and agitated. David was hurting because since his broken leg, he can't walk that much without experiencing pain in his hips and lower back. Eva on the other hand, had a great time. She got to ride the merry-go-round again, and the bumble bee ride (she remembers that one really well). She loved the horses, loved, loved, loved the horses! We did tire her out again and I ended up carrying her for over half and hour to get back to the car. I am thinking we should have brought a stroller or something for her. We left our friends at the fair and went to some Chinese/Asian markets. Eva's eyes get big and alert at Asian markets. She is constantly observing and looking... more so than most places. I think she notices that the people in the market look like her, in fact David and I are the minority inside Asian markets. It is very fascinating to her and she did not want to leave. We had Thai food for dinner that was very good... Eva ate lots of it.

Some cute things... my friend lives near the Minneapolis airport and Eva saw a Jet plane for the first time in her memory. She got excited, "Baba, Mommy, a birdy! Look a birdy." We told her it was a jet plane like the one we flew to China to get her. She then informed Baba that he "buy Jet plane. We go to China." David told her not in this lifetime, and that we could buy a ticket to fly on a jet plane to go to China. She thought that was okay. Eva has watched the movies of when we got her in China ad nausium, and has all of them memorized. When we went to the cities, she realized that it had big buildings like in the movies of China, so she was convinced that Minneapolis was China. That was an interesting conversation with a 2 year old. It reminds me of another conversation I had with her this week. Have you ever had to explain to a 2 year old that even though there are pictures of strawberries on the outside of the cereal box it does not mean that there are strawberries inside the cereal box? Seriously, I thought she had a point... it is upsetting to not get what you expect. In any case, we had a good trip to the Cities. David rode in the back and served as Eva's attendant for the trip. She loved it all, and bossed David around as much as she could get away with. Personally, I have never had so much fun at Rollag before and I am amazed at how much better so many things in life are when you have a child to share it with. I absolutely love doing things with that beautiful little girl.

I will post some pictures of our trip as soon as I get a chance.