Big Girl

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of months, but I figure that now that Evie is a year old, it's past time for me to make a list of all the "big-girl" things she's doing now. However, there's so much that she's doing now, that I've decided it's going to be easier to break this post down into several other, more focused, ones. This post is just a list of a few of Evie's specific accomplishments that don't really fit into any of the other posts, which means it'll probably be the messiest of them all. Sorry in advance!
Ever since our flight back from Idaho Falls in January, Evie has been saying "Ma-ma" if I prompt her, and she knows that that word means me! Only while she was in the hospital did she start saying "Da-da" and associating that word with Todd. Before that "Dadada" meant "Whatever thing I'm currently looking at." And it still does, for the most part. On the rare occasion that she's actually talking about Todd, though, her "Da-da" is slower and much more deliberate.
I taught Evie how to clap back around Christmas time, and now anytime anyone says "Yay, Evie!" she smiles and claps her hands together. Along a similar line, Todd taught her how to give high-fives, so if you hold your hand out and say "Give me five!" or "High-five!" she smiles and pauses for a moment before whacking your hand several times in a row.
Evie crawls everywhere now! And she's super fast too; it's almost a challenge keeping up with her now! She's become mistress of the stairs, and can climb them quite quickly. She's recently learned how to go down one step at a time, by practicing on the sidewalk steps outside. We haven't tried it on real stairs yet, though. If she's on something tall, like our bed or the couch, she's learned to slide down on her belly feet-first. She likes to pull herself up using pretty much any piece of furniture, and just stand there being big. Her balance while standing on our bed is actually quite remarkable; she wobbles a little, but doesn't fall over nearly as often as she used to. She's also recently developed an obsession with light switches. She's perfectly content to perch in someone's arms and turn the lights on and off. On and off.
Evie likes being a big girl. She likes eating whatever we're eating, especially if she can feed herself. She doesn't really grasp the concept of how spoons work, but if we stab something with a fork, she can usually get it into her mouth. It would help if we got her some little forks because the ones we use are just too tall for her little hands. She also likes to brush her own hair and teeth. She understands quite a bit of what we tell her, and I sometimes have to be careful of what I say around her. She can follow simple commands like "Eat a bite of your banana, please," or "Let me see your face [so I can clean it]," or "Go snuggle your bear!" She understands, but likes to ignore, the word "No!" If I accompany it with a shake of my head, she sometimes just smiles at me and shakes her own head in response before turning back to the forbidden activity. She also understands the phrase "Come here!" but she sometimes ignores that one, too, especially if she thinks that what she's currently doing is more interesting than Mommy or Daddy.
Many months ago, she suddenly starting doing this cute little thing where she scrunches her eyes shut for a quick moment. I'm not sure if she's trying to wink, or if she's just being flirty, but it's absolutely adorable!

Her Daddy also taught her how to make noises with her lips, and she loves doing it! Unfortunately, that last video and this next one were taken in February, right before her hospital visit, and you can hear how rough her breathing was and just how sick our sweet little girl was feeling. And yet, through it all, she remained such a bright little spirit, silly and happy despite coughing and wheezing.

These are just a few of the many things our precious Evie has learned how to do in recent months. More organized posts will follow!