Eva's Big Oh-Four

(Eva dancing in her new tutu)

So it's taken me two weeks, but I'm finally posting some pics from Eva's 4th birthday party. We had a great party with a lot of our dear friends and family. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to everyone for coming to celebrate Eva's life with us; for your kind gifts and for your generous donations to the Whatcom Humane Society. We took a collection of animal food and treats and some money to the Whatcom Humane Society. Eva was very excited to gather presents for the animals. This was the first birthday that she really knew what was going on and I'm glad we were able to incorporate the idea of giving to those who are in need.

We encourage you to donate to the Whatcom Humane Society (click here)or to your local humane society. It really is a wonderful thing to see a child give so freely. We should all learn (re-learn) to be more generous and compassionate.

(5 minutes before party time, Eva was still in a diaper and Peacock Lady dress, dancing around the living room with balloons and singing "Hap Burrrday to EVA!")

(The deck was shakin' when the kids got dancing fever. Thank goodness the weather was good so they could run around outside and play on the swing set!)

(Eva blew her candle out by herself this year! She didn't touch the cupcake, though...maybe next year.)

Sunny San Diego

The three of us and Jerry's parents spent a long weekend at a gorgeous resort in San Diego. It felt sooooo good to be in the warm sunshine and to go outside with just a t-shirt on! We went to Sea World two of the days. Eva loved to see all the animals (and run around and play with other kids). If you ask her, she'll sign whale and tell you that the whales go "big spwash!!" She told me as soon as we got into Sea World that she wanted to see starfish. Though she loved the orca whales, dolphins and all the fish, her favorite thing to see were the starfish.

Eva and her Papa splashing in puddles.

Jerry, Eva and Papa doing "1, 2, 3, whee!" There was a LOT of this game on the trip. To the point where two people couldn't hold her hands without her kicking her knees up and dangling from our arms.

Quick-moving kid in a tunnel at Sea World.

Eva loved being able to run around and play with other kids.

A very friendly older girl helped Eva touch a beloved starfish! Oh, it was so exciting! And yes, she actually touched it!

Uno, dos, tres...PINATA!

Eva's preschool class, kindergarten, first and second grades have been rehearsing a musical called "We All Celebrate". All the kids sing a few songs together and each grade sings a song or two on their own. Unfortunately, Eva (and Jerry and I and his parents) will be in San Diego the night of the performance! Her teachers said that she has so thoroughly enjoyed the rehearsals and being with the big kids. She does love music.

I went to a rehearsal today and took this video. They're singing "Uno, dos, tres, pinata!" The kids are encouraged to dance while they sing. Eva is, of course, the little cutie in the green sweater. (Thank you, Abby for the beautiful sweater!)

Peacock Lady, continued

An update on the Peacock Lady post: In the video, the singer wears a big, dark blue cape that she theatrically flips around during her number. Eva asked for a Peacock Lady dress, so I put a blue blanket around her shoulders and fastened it with a twix-it clip. (It looks like a superhero cape, if a child were so inclined to think of it as such. To Eva, it's a Peacock Lady Dress).

So now, wearing her blue cape, she walks around the living room, flipping the sides out dramatically and sings the Peacock Lady song as she does in the video I posted earlier. Even when the Violin Show isn't on, she'll do this. It's so dang cute I almost cry. Of course, she's a camera-shy performer so I'll have to be sneaky to get this on video--and I MUST because it is so cute.

It's a...

This video is for our dear friends, Lynn and Carole. Thank you so much for the gift. Eva loves it (clearly)!

Holiday Joys

Happy New Year, everyone!

We three spent nine days with family in the south Sound. It was so wonderful to get out of town, away from domestic responsibilities and work and relax with family and friends. We're glad to be home now--sorta--and getting back into our routine--sorta--in time for school and work next week.

We hope you had a great holiday, too!

Eva's favorite presents included (but are not limited to) a kid's digital camera (seen here backward)...

...and bongos!

Eva loves to play the piano at my mom's house. This video was a sneaky attempt to capture her musical genius. If she saw me with the camera, she'd stop playing and yell at me. So I put the camera on the edge of the counter, pushed the button and stepped back. Next time, I'll get another angle so you can see her more clearly, but this was better than nothing!

Snow Day!

"Ack, Mama! It's snowing and I can't see!"

We've had snow all week. At times, though, the temps have been so low and the wind so fierce that we couldn't go out to play. We managed a couple of times and Eva and I had fun. I'm glad I can still feel the wonder of the snowfall as a child does. The way it transforms my otherwise ordinary yard, my street, my world. I'm glad I appreciate it when it's here, before it goes away and my world becomes ordinary again.

Eva was too busy uncovering her sandbox to look at the camera.

It's serious work. No distractions, please.

My snow fairy. I went first to show her how. She thought it was very silly!

She did a snow fairy, too. But she didn't want to lay on her back, so it's a reclined snow fairy.