Celebrating Eva

It's tax day.

But more than that, today is Eva's first birthday. A year ago yesterday, Salt Lake City was hit with a freak snowstorm that put enough other women in labor that I was booted from the hospital (I was first in line to be induced that day) until after 11:00 p.m.

After a very calm and peaceful labor (my first without problems), Eva came into the world. She barely beat the sunrise the next morning (I'd hoped to finally have a baby during daylight hours).

We named her Evalene after my grandparents, Evans and Marlene. It is the perfect name for her since she was born with a serious face, pokey-outey ears, and a large head - all common traits in that side of the family.

 

Also, my grandpa passed away within the year.

Eva fit into our family right away. It wasn't long before we knew how feisty an opinionated she is - just like her sisters. She likes to yell to get people's attention. She will hit you if you make her mad. She screams with every emotion, positive or negative.

Eva is adored by her siblings. She has been smothered, squished, and loved to no end. She's also been sat on, dropped, and steam-rolled. It's not easy being the fourth, but we know one thing: she is a tough little cookie!

 

Eva was my first bald baby, so it was fun to watch and wait for her hair to come in. She is the blondest and will, perhaps, will be a tow-head like her daddy was.

 

She was born with a scowl, and it hasn't gone away. All of my kids have been somewhat serious babies, but none so much as Eva. People are always commenting on her serious face. It is what it is.

But when she does smile, you can catch a glimpse of her unique bottom tooth. It has a slit in it, and when it first started growing in, I was terrified because I thought it was two teeth, and I didn't know how teeth so thin could survive the first five or six years of her life.

 

Eva likes to play with hoodie strings and cell phones. She loves eating french fries, beans, goldfish crackers, and cheese (especially cheese). She wants to help wipe things and will often try to wipe the table, the floor, and even her older sister's bottom.

She doesn't show a lot of interest in walking just yet, but she gets to where she wants to be by crawling. She is lightning fast at climbing up the stairs, and she recently started climbing up the playground at the park. She also likes climbing onto the rocking chair at home.

Eva has a a naughty streak already. She has no problem sorting through her food and throwing anything she doesn't like on the floor (green beans and eggs). Sometimes she'll sneakily set the food she doesn't want next to me on the table when I'm looking away, and then she acts like she doesn't know how it got there.

She has been known to chuck things out of anger. Don't try to sooth her with a toy or a sippy cup when she's angry because she'll nail you between the eyes. And she's not afraid to slam her head into your face and give you a fat lip.

Eva is not a snuggly baby, but she likes to give hugs. She waves bye and can say "Hi," "Bye," "Mom," and "Dad." Mostly, though, she just yells, "Eh!" and points at things. She's pretty good at getting everyone's attention by being loud (my neighbors can attest to this since they've heard her yelling across the street), and you have something she wants, she'll motion with her hands to "gimme, gimme!"

It's hard to believe that a year has already gone by, but at the same time, I can't imagine that there was ever a time when we didn't have Eva. She has been a wonderful addition to our family, and we love her so much! I can't wait to see where she goes from here!