Evie Words

Evie seems like she is saying new words every day, so I thought I would start a record of them ;)  Here's what she's got so far (there may be more, I just can't think of them all at once, haha):

1. Dad/Dada
2. Mom/Mama
3. Dog
4. Down
5. Up
6. Puppy
7. Ow (when she falls down and it doesn't make her cry she says: "Ow!"
8. Banana
9. Snow
10. Snowman
11. Night night
12. Doll
13. Chi chi
14. Uh-oh
15. No
16. Mmmm! (ok, not a real word, but that's what she calls all food and drink)
17. Shoes
18. Toy 
19. Yeah/yes 
20. Help!

Christmas Evie!!!

Okay, I'm sure everyone is tired of this by now, buuuuut, I'm obsessed!  Look at how much of a difference one measly year can make:

Evie, Christmas 2011....

Evie, Christmas 2012...

Anyway, to get on to the good stuff!  Christmas this year really was awesome.  It has made such a difference to have an Evie in our house for the holidays!

Christmas Eve we spent at my Aunt Bethany's house with all our Moore relatives.  It was loud and crazy with too many people to fit into one house, but that's just how we roll ;)  By the time we got home it was so late we just had to put Evie's jammies on and put her right in bed.  Karl and I cleaned the apartment and got things all ready for Santa, and then stayed up WAY too late playing Minecraft and eating cheese ball and Christmas treats!  Evie woke up about 8 o' clock and we rushed to get the lights all turned on in the living room so we could video her seeing the presents.  It was pretty funny, we had moved her Nativity scene so there would be room under the tree for presents, and she got so distracted by it that she didn't even notice the gifts!

Evie LOVED opening presents.  We had a little bit of a hard time convincing her it was okay to rip paper (since we usually tell her not to do that, haha!) at her birthday party, but luckily she had so much practice at the beginning of the month, she was a pro by Christmas ;)  She even helped mommy and daddy open all our presents

Evie got a lot of presents (mostly clothes, since we're getting to the end of her baby shower gifts), but I think her favorite was the puppy!  Evie is obsessed with kitties and puppies, but especially puppies, so this was a special present. She was unsure when I helped her open the bag, but as soon as she realized what it was she made this disbelieving little laugh and wouldn't stop cuddling the little doggie she called "puhpuh".  It was the first time she's said puppy (she usually says "dogdog") so it was super cute!

 

Karl and I had a pretty good Christmas too, we actually ended up getting each other kind of the same thing!  When Karl opened his present from me, he started chuckling, and I couldn't figure out why, until I opened my present!  Apparently we both had the idea to give each other special homemade coupons and and fashionable jeans, lol!

 

I love my family! I'm so thankful I have an awesome hubby and a superly cute baby to share my holidays with, they really do make my life a million times better!

Evie's 1st B-day Party

For Evie's first birthday we had a "Tangled" party (or two!).  For her first party we were lucky enough to have some friends come over to celebrate!  Andrew, Erica, and Emma Lord were there and also Jon, Emily, Iley, and Mae Schwarzmann (about all our little apartment could hold!)  It was so much fun having some friends to play with on her birthday (and getting some fun presents was awesome too!) 

For Evie's second party, we had my family come over (my parents and siblings and Evie's one and only cousin).  It was pretty rowdy and crowded, but super fun to see everyone!!

Here are the pictures from her special day:

My Tangled themed sign; I was so proud of it!  It looked awesome, I wish I had gotten a better picture of it!

Tangled Flowers and Flower Cupcakes ;)

Evie REALLY wanted to get into it all!

Paper lantern! We had a bunch of these hanging from the ceiling, like the lanterns in the movie :)

Evie and Emma were totally transfixed by the movie, it was super cute!

Evie's big present from mom and dad... a princess tent!

Rapunzel Doll!

Begging Grandmama for water, she had to sign "more" to get any, haha

Birthday Cupcake

Not so sure about this cupcake thing...

Hmmm... This tastes like SUGAR!!!

EAT THE CUPCAKE!!!

And it fell out onto her tray...

One Year Old!

Wow, I honestly can't believe that it has been an entire year since I held that tiny little newborn in my arms... It feels like it was just yesterday!  And yet, SO much has happened in this past year, I can't believe it's ONLY been a year!  I've decided that the first year is the best EVER.  It is so incredibly challenging, with so many obstacles and huge changes to get used to, but it is the most amazing journey I could possibly imagine.

Evie is so much different from that cuddly little bundle we brought home from the hospital, but it's not so much that she's changed, it's more like she's grown (yes, you may call me captain obvious).  She still has that same personality that she did even in the womb, but there's just so much more of it now, haha!  It's like we've spent the last year getting to know her better.  She is just so determined, she loves a challenge!  She will do things just because they are difficult, a trait I greatly admire, since I do the exact opposite ;P

Evie loves to carry things that are big and heavy, and if there is ever anything that she has a hard time doing, she will do it again and again until it is easy for her.  A couple of weeks ago I had her at my office and there is a little sloped ramp in one of the hallways.  The first time she walked up it she almost tipped over because she wasn't used to walking on a slanted floor.  We moved on, took her to another part of the office and went about our business trying to distract her with other things, but Evie kept running back to that ramp.  She walked up and down and up and down until she could do it with ease.  I really love this about my baby.  She has such great ambition and determination; she knows what she wants and she is willing to fight to get it.  I hope she never changes!

Another thing I love about her is how happy she always is!  She is a very smiley little girl :)  She's been a little shy in new situations and with new people lately, but if you give her a bit to warm up, she is more than happy to share some smiles and giggles!  She is just full of energy and curiosity.

I love that she loves her babies too; she's such a good little mommy!  She discovered babies at around 9 months, and has been obsessed ever since.  Anything we do for her, she will do for her baby. 

On the First Day of Christmas...

It's finally December!!!! I can't possibly tell you how excited I am!  So, to celebrate, Karl, Evie, and I went to Riverwoods to check out the Christmas lights :)

I've driven by and seen the lights, so I wanted to go check it out, but I didn't realize how much they have going on over there!  Of course it's much more of a commercial experience than seeing the lights at Temple Square, but I think it's a great alternitive for us, since we can't drive very far with Evie (plus she has an 8 o'clock bed time!!).  They have lots of pretty lights, carriage rides, entertainment at the gazebo, and even Santa in a cute little house (who we did NOT go see because we knew Evie would have a fit, haha).

It was a really nice night, a little chilly, but honestly not bad at all.  We walked around with Evie, who was pretty overwhelmed by the whole experience, but seemed to enjoy seeing all the people and lights :)  We shared a belgian waffle with whipped cream and strawberries as a treat to top off our night (which was very delicious, but totally over-priced!).

It was a really nice, relaxing experience for us.  Things have been so busy, crazy, and stressful with me working, Karl going to school full time, and also working two jobs, we really needed this break!  It was just so nice to get out of the house, break out of our regular routine, and get into the holiday spirit just a little bit :)  I am so grateful for my family!!