"She's so, so cute. And not only cute, but like, she never causes any problems with the other kids, and just plays her own little independent games and has the best little personality!"
That's what your nursery teacher just said to me about you at our play date to the park this morning. And she's right. On all accounts. You make your mama so proud, and burst with joy! And today I'm feeling especially tender and mopey about you because it is a most excellent and special occasion--today is your birthday!
Baby Eve "Tiny Tuna" Sophia Palmer, Happy Birthday! You are two years old today... which is a big milestone for all toddlers... and all mamas of toddlers. What you don't know, is this is the year you'll become a full fledged little human...
I plan to tell you all about yourself in this post, and I hope someday you'll get to read it. And you should know, while I fully intend to gush about you for the most part, I also plan to talk a little shiz... just so you have a point of reference when you have your own high-spirited little munchkins. And also because it's good for mommies to talk a little shiz about their most treasured little jewels once in a while.
First off, this is what you look like on this very day:
You keep yelling, "Ima buful butterfly!" You are beautiful. And smart. And already funny. Not in an, "I'm a chubby toddler so I make people laugh when I fall over," kind of way, but like really funny. Like, I think you're being sarcastic with me sometimes. You do your mama proud.
You should know that one of your favorite things in this life is ABC gum. You can't get enough of it. If I'm chewing gum, I know it is only a matter of time before you spot that tell-tale movement of my jaw from across the room with your eagle eyes and come bounding over to pry my mouth open. I've tried to ward off these attacks in the past and it generally ends with my face getting all scratched up and one or both of my eyes being blackened. But I forgive you.
I imagine, if anyone were able to take a picture from inside my mouth when this is happening, it would look a like this:
And don't think I haven't spotted you pillaging your dad's ABC gum, either. Because I have.
Every morning at breakfast I ask you if you want a banana, and every time, you respond, "Ina nana, ooowaaaay!" (I want a banana! Hooray!) And then when you get it you immediately say, "Ina monkey oo oo ahh ahh!" before stuffing it down your gullet.
You are obsessed with your pillow. You wallow around with it on the ground all day, smashing it against your face like it's trying to suffocate you. You also drag it up into my lap, hold it close and pet it like Mr. Bigglesworth, saying, "it's a niiiiice pillow." You pronounce pillow, pallow.
Whenever I try to take you away from anything you are interested in, you yell every sentence you know in rapid-fire protest, "hey! Get back here! Don't touch it! It's mine! No, no no! No way, mommy! Sowy mommy! It's my turn! Be careful! Thankyeew, mommy!" You just hope one of them will have the desired effect.
You are a carnivore. Your favorite foods are tilapia, salmon, meatballs, pulled pork, rotisserie chicken... and bananas.
Your favorite shows are Little Einsteins, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, Little Bill, Strawberry Shortcake, and Max and Ruby. That's a lot of shows...
You LOVE to color and do puzzles and every time you sit down to draw, you shout at me, "I want a circle!" And you make me draw a circle, square, triangle, oval, octagon, diamond, heart and star, in order, and shout the name and, "I twy it!" in delight after each one.
You ask for mighty mini popsicles no less than 800 times a day. You're always so bright-eyed and hopeful when you ask, "Ina paw-sicle stick?" And when I tell you no, you do a devastated flying squirrel into your pillow--every time. Like this:
You are a delight to all strangers. Every person we pass in the grocery store gets an enthusiastic (and always unexpected), "Hey there!" and a big wave from you from your perch in the front of the cart. And people, without fail, come screeching to a halt to have a little conversation with you. This lengthens our grocery outings considerably...
You have piffy, unruly bed head at all times.
You still look like this dinosaur:
...but with piffy, unruly bedhead.
Every time we pick Leah up from school you yell, "Weeeeeee-uhhhh!!" and spaz around her classroom for a while. Then she runs towards you with open arms, lifts you up, and gives you a good spin. This sends every adult in the room into pieces, even though they see it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Whenever I buckle you into your carseat you yell "beep-belts safe!" (Seat belts, safe!)
You are the best little sister. Whenever you "accidentally" swat Leah in the face, you are instantly overcome with swatter's remorse, and will continue to say, "I sowy, Wee-uh," and "Is ok, Wee-uh?" until she says, "It's ok, Eve. I forgive you," and gives you a hug. This happens no less than 75 times a day. You are also an easy trader and compromiser in the Roman Coliseum of the toddler toy world.
You should know that your sister, Leah, LOVES you. She is a beater, but she beats you out of love. She delights in making you laugh and in giving you hugs and discovering activities that you can do together---like jumping off the couch into a pile of cushions in your undies.
This video pretty much sums up your relationship.
This video pretty much sums up your relationship.
You have a raspy voice and are very polite. You always say, please, thank you and you're welcome, yes please and no thank you, even to strangers. Adults who meet you are always commenting on your excellent manners.
You still sleep with me, and you still nurse to sleep, and even though I feel a bit claustro at times, the thought of this changing soon always gives me a grapefruit-sized lump in my throat.
You throw tantrums... you've got a high stamina for crying... still lingering from your colic days. But you're tantrums end abruptly, and always with you sticking out your bottom lip, sniffling and saying to me, "mommy, I cwying," by way of apologizing.
You follow me around all day with your arms stretched up towards me saying, "hep yew?" Which means, "help you?" which means, "help me?" which really means, "pick me up." You sometimes shorten it to just, "hep?"
You can almost count to twenty and you know most of your numbers. You count forwards and backwards. Because of this, I hear you counting down from three several times a day, which means you are preparing to leap, from whatever platform you have climbed onto, into my arms... whether or not I'm paying attention. More often than not, this results in you slamming into my side, or the back of my head, and dropping to the floor in a crumpled little heap. This whole charade gives me constant anxiety.
At bed time, you yell, "Nigh-nigh, Wee-uh! Nigh-nigh, Daddy!' and "I wuv you, Wee-uh! I wuv you, Daddy!" the entire way up the stairs. This assures every member of our family ends the day feeling extra smitten and in love with you.
And that's exactly how I'm feeling about you right now. Almost all of the time, in fact. Except when you start getting unruly in the grocery store (always by about the time we reach the dairy section), and in the middle of the night when you become a demanding, out-of-control, tyrant. But other than that, you can bet your mama has a moon-sized crush on you.
Oh, Baby Eve! If there is one thing I've learned in the two years that you've been mine here on earth, it's that you were mine long before then. You're my dream girl, my little monkey, and everything I can be proud of in this life. I love you more than I can ever say. Ever, ever.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my teeny, tiny, Tuna!
Here's what we did for your big day:
We took a little jaunt to the Oakland zoo. And this treacherous little lillypad crossing nearly took the life of you and your sister... because while your sweet daddy was carrying you across, you started doing the bucking bronco and you all started flailing and slipping and spazzing around. It was a real nail-biter for all those spectating. And a real treat for your mother.
You especially loved these elephants.
A little birthday cupcake to kick off the festivities. You ate it medieval times style...
And your sweet sissy, Leah Mae after her first of several "overcome with jealous rage because it's not MY birthday" meltdowns. You should know, lest you ever feel you need a little edge on your big sister, that today was the worst day of her life. She's only four, after all.
Out for PIZZA!
You were through having your picture taken by this point.
But you were not through hoovering pizza. You ate 3 slices.
And of course, we opened some good birthday loot when we got home.
You'll notice Leah Mae got a plasma car as well on your special day... and while I don't make a point of giving siblings presents on birthdays, I knew you two would only be happy riding together. And I was right.
Cutest bleeping present opener around...
And we ended the night with some delicious birthday chocolate cream pie.
You should know, the party doesn't end here. We're not quite finished celebrating the glorious day of your birth. But that'll have to wait for the next post... because it hasn't happened yet. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
