Everly at 20 Months

… doesn't like her hands to be messy. At all. As soon as she starts eating something messy, she will hold out her hands and say ‘mess’ and expect us to wipe them all clean.

… is putting two words together on a consistent basis.  Her favorites  are ‘mine Bailey’, ‘hey you’ and ‘what’s dis?’.  I just love to hear her talk- this is one of my favorite things about toddler hood.  She will name people and is able to point to everyone in the room when we ask her to identify someone.

… on a similar note, one of my favorite words to hear her say is ‘bah-tee’. Unfortunately this goes hand and hand with her loathing to get her diaper changed and squealing ‘bah-tee’ much to Emma’s delight as she runs around in her skivvies.

… finally found a person (with fur) she can boss around- poor Bailey.  If Bailey even looks at her while she has food, she will say ‘mine mine, no Bailey’ with authority.  She likes to pull on his tail, take him on ‘walks’, scold him when he is doing nothing wrong and spill his water bowl on a daily basis.

… pants when she gets excited.  This is so funny to me- if you ask her ‘Everly, do you want a Popsicle?’.  She will run up to the freezer panting like a puppy. If you ask her if she wants to go outside or swing, she will run to the door panting with excitement.

… has had some sleep regression this month. I am going to blame it on the top molar that she got right at 19 months combined with being (lazy) on vacation.  When we got home, I had to work really hard to get back to our nursing once before bed and once in the morning routine.  I think the work is paying off, Everly has slept through the night the last three nights in a row. Still in our bed, but that’s a story for another day.

...… gives hugs and kisses when leaving a place to everyone that we ask her to when it the right mood.  When not in the right mood, she will occasionally throw the elbow.  I don’t know why, but everyone melts when they receive an Eberleah hug or kiss. I think it is probably because for so long, it was so rare.  I wouldn’t say she is completely out of her ‘only mommy or daddy will do phase’, but she is getting close.

… made Eberleah history in the teeth department gaining a total of two teeth in one month.  So far, it has only been one tooth per month, if any at all.  This month the top right molar and top right tooth (next to the two front teeth) broke through! Even though the teeth have broken through, you still can’t see them in pictures so I will enjoy my little jack-o-lantern smile while it lasts. Maybe we are inching towards the end of teething hell?!?!

… loves loves loves berries. Most specifically strawberries, but she just refers to all berries as ‘berry’. She also likes blackberries, but she has a hard time getting her hands on those since Emma claims all the blackberries that come into our house.  In other food news, Everly still seems to love cheese, scrambled eggs and French toast sticks. At dinner, we typically give her what we are eating (unless we know it is too spicy) and if she tries something new and doesn't like it, she will spit it out while saying ‘yuck’.

…. Is back to loving baths. Which makes me so happy. As an added bonus, it seems as though her skin has cleared up.  I have chosen not to talk about too many medical type things on the blog, but for several months Everly has had some scaly, dry, red skin. So glad to see that it has cleared up.

… still doesn't recognize herself in the mirror. I don’t know why, but I find this hilarious that if I ask her who is in the mirror, she says ‘baby’.  Then if I ask her where is Everly, she will point to herself and not to the mirror.

… likes to hold ‘all the things’ in her hands. This girl will load up her hands/toy car/ laundry hamper with all of her ‘treasures’ and carry/tote them about. While most of the time this is endearing, it can be quite difficult to make sure she keeps up with two baby dolls, her sunglasses and her bowl of chex mix as we cart her through Target.

… imitates everything Emma does.  I think I have been writing this for the last few months, but seriously- all day, every day Everly copies Emma. What I have noticed more than ever is that it looks like she looks toward Emma to seek approval when she is doing something. As if to ask ‘is this ok?’ ‘Am I doing it right?’ ‘Are we going to get in trouble?’

… loves to play and as an added bonus is excellent when it comes to independent play.  Outdoor play is her favorite - she can slide down the slide by herself at parks, throws overhand all while saying ‘catch’ and runs as fast as her little legs take her.  My dad calls her waddle bu** when she runs, and I think that nickname suits her perfectly.

… speaking of nicknames, Everly goes by Ev’s, Evsie’s, Everly and most commonly Eberleah (thanks to her 18 month old sister when she was born J).  The name Eberleah just suits our Everly so perfectly; she is the perfect mix of sweet demeanor, the shyest of shy smiles and spirited spunk.