For instance, we've learned that Evie likes lions. We've decorated her entire "nursery" in an adorable jungle theme (post is pending) covered in lions, elephants, monkeys, giraffes, etc. One day I was rocking/burping her, and she got really interested in the miniature animals on the burp cloth. I started pointing to the different animals and saying their names for her, but she was most interested in the lion and hardly gave the others a second glance. She just kept staring at the lion until she was done burping and wanted to play instead. Ever since, she's paid particular attention to the larger lions on her blankets. Also, I'm currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia to her. We started with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and when we got to the part when Aslan gets killed, she got REALLY upset. Then, as soon as he came back in the next chapter, she calmed right down again, and let me finish the story in peace. Now, I'm reading Prince Caspian, and she hasn't seemed too interested for the majority of the book so far, but we're getting to the part when Aslan shows up, and she's been perking up a little more. Last of all, when we were visiting Colorado last month, Todd and I went to dinner with Margot and John, leaving the baby with Todd's other sister, Jenette. While she was there, she seemed really fascinated by a red and black toy lion rattle that belongs to Jenette's little girl, Julia. In a gesture of touching generosity, Julia gave Evie the toy to keep, and it still helps calm her down when she gets a little cranky.
Another thing that NEVER fails to cheer Evie up is the song "I've Been Working on the Railroad." I don't know why, but if I start singing it, she'll calm down until the end of the song. If she's still grumpy enough, she'll start crying again once the song is done, but not if I start it over. We have no idea why she loves that song so much; I didn't sing it at all while I was pregnant or even in the hospital. I just started singing songs out of the Reader's Digest Children's Songbook one night when she was a couple of weeks old, and that song did the trick. Lately, I've started singing "Rubber Ducky" to her during bathtime and she thinks it's funny when Mommy quacks like a ducky. She also thinks it's funny when I say the word "booty" while I'm changing her diaper, especially if I use the phrase, "Your booty is ewww!"
Recently, I've discovered that Evie loves her fuzzy blankie. She didn't show much interest in it until a couple of weeks ago, but now it has become our own private game. She likes it when I cover her face with it and then flip it off really quickly, similar to peek-a-boo, but even just stroking her cheek with the soft fabric can make her smile. When she's in the cradle and I'm out cooking or something, she loves it when I pile the blanket all on top of her tummy so she can kick it off for a while before I have to come back in and pile it on top of her again. That way, she can also grab the edges of it and bring it to her mouth so she can suck/chew on it, which she thinks is lots of fun.
Speaking of her cradle, she's learning to sleep in it without much complaint, and has even started sleeping through the night. And when she wakes up, she's all smiles. Evie is turning out to be a morning person, which she did NOT get from me. But even I, when confronted by an adorably grinning baby, can't help but admit that mornings have their perks. One morning in particular, I heard little babbling noises as Evie talked to herself. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a pair of dark eyes lined up perfectly with the bars of her cradle, and those eyes immediately crinkled into a huge grin. She spent the next ten or fifteen minutes smiling at me and telling me little jokes and stories before deciding that she was hungry.
It is fairly gratifying for both Todd and me that Evie is able to recognize us now, even when being held by someone else, and to prefer us over everyone else. She knows who her Mommy and Daddy are and is able to follow us with her eyes now, even across the room. We can usually get her to smile at us, too, when nobody else can. Sometimes she's a Daddy's girl, and sometimes she wants Mommy, but very rarely does she want anyone else. Although a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my mom on the phone, and I put the phone to Evie's ear so she could hear her Nonna's voice. At first, she looked really confused and turned her head to see where the noise was coming from. But then she started smiling as her Nonna told her how much she was loved. She also sometimes smiles at herself in videos and pictures, but mirrors disturb her, I discovered yesterday.
Just a week or so ago, Evie learned to roll over. Todd was doing the dishes and I was playing with her, but I put her on her tummy so I could go to the bathroom. When I got back, she was on her back. I got the camera and put her back on her tummy. After a couple of minutes, she rolled over again, and I was able to catch the moment on camera! A few days later, she did it again for Todd. She's been having trouble the past couple of days, but I know she'll eventually remember how to do it again.
Evie is such a smart little girl, and she's learning so fast that it seems like she's doing something new every time I turn around. It's hard for me to keep track of everything, so I probably forgot some of the cute things she does lately, but I do know that it's fun to watch her becoming her own little person and figuring out what she likes. She always has her eyes wide open, soaking everything in. Just in the past three months she's learned so much, and she's taught me some important things too. And as she grows, so does our love for her!
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