Winter, Spring?!?! We just don't know!

Daddy, Pumpkin and Mommy at Disney On Ice! 2012

So I'm obviously failing at my resolution to update this blog on a more frequent basis. What can I say, my new job doesn't allow me...how shall we say...the free time...to post during the day anymore!

So last we left you...Disney on Ice!! It was awesome!! We went with my sister, Tim and their kids, Brianna & AJ, and it was 'magical' to say the least! When Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Ev's personal favorite (other then Bear Bear) Goofy took the stage, her face was PRICELESS....Mommy even teared up a little bit. The heart strings that comes with parenting! Evelyn was sooo good throughout the entire show. She did get a little antsy here and there, but what can you expect from a 2-year old. They had all the characters there with different shows for each, but overall when Mickey and the gang were 'on'...Evelyn was all ears (no Mickey ears pun intended...lol!)

Since then we have been doing day-to-day life with our pumpkin, which has the makings of an Academy Award winning actress if you ask me. Ohhh...the drama! 'Mama....I need this...I need that. She is too much. And oh, can she turn on the waterworks with the drop of a dime! But, it comes with the territory...right?

Nolan and Evelyn @ Nolan's Bday Party!

She went to her little friend, Nolan's, birthday party. It was too cute! Her first 'friend' gathering. Gotta tell you, Mommy was feeling more out of her element. Strange house, people I don't know?!? I more or less followed Evelyn around hoping she would need me....no luck...'Mama, I with my friends." Ok, then pumpkin!!

For Valentine's Day, Evelyn got flowers and a balloon from her Valentine - her Daddy! I know she felt special...and she should. We made valentine's for everyone at daycare. Mommy signed them for her, but the pumpkin applied the stickers to each herself (some of which Mommy had to reposition, reapply or just plain fold over the side). In all, it was a fun day for Evelyn and she came home with lots of treats and sweets! All of which, she wanted for dinner!

Now, onto our most important news - Evelyn is 95% POTTY TRAINED!!! While I'll save you the details of the 'accidents' (I'll never forget coming home and Jay is putting away the carpet cleaner with this 'look' on his face...LOL...he tells me 'I saved you the potty clean-up, I don't know what to do 'with that.' HAHA!). But she wears her undies all day now!! We only put her in pull-ups at this point for naps and night night. We are very proud of her. There is still going to be accidents, but she has come very far and tells us regularly if she has to go or at least does the 'dance' to give us the heads up! Evelyn - GOOD JOB!!! And I just have to mention...3 M&M'S....NANA!!!!! (this is Evelyn's 'treat' for going........and we don't hear the END of it!!! Needless to say....this house is stocked with M&Ms!!)

This weather has been crazy to say the least for a Buffalo 'winter'. We are expecting 50 degree weather in the coming week and its not even mid-March!! The only 'sledding' we did with Evelyn this winter was a couple rounds around the backyard as her 'pony' (aka - Daddy) pulled the sled! Then she ended up in dramatic tears because snow got in her gloves. I tell you....ACTRESS! (ok, ok, I know...that has got to be cold for such little hands!)

Her vocabulary is HUGE!! And I'm not being your bragging Mom (well, maybe ) but really, I put a shirt on her and she told me it was a polar bear (which it was) but a polar bear...not just a regular bear...how do you know that?! She saw picture of a ruler on one of her puzzles (one of her many favorite things to do) and told us it was a measuring tape...ok, so she was off, but still....measuring tape!? how do you know that! Evelyn, you are so smart, it blows us away everyday the things that come out of your mouth! Again, we are so proud of you!!

Up next, we have both her Aunt Jenny's birthdays. While Mommy will be celebrating with Aunt Jenn T, we are planning a big taco fiesta at our house for Aunt Jenn P...which Evelyn has already told me she will help 'cook.' LOL. (I know she just wants to sing Happy Birthday more than anything...hehe).

Later, we will have Easter dinner at our house. Of course the Easter Bunny will visit for all the kids and I'm sure an egg hunt will take place too! We are so looking forward to spring/summer and opening up the pool again! Can't wait to take her to parks, on walks, the zoo....everywhere!

I'd like to end with a newspaper clipping that Jay brought home....
Evelyn Rose: It's not like your Daddy to point out things that touch his heart. But, I want you to know that he thought of you when he read this...so much so he brought it home and made Mommy type it out so you can read it one day...you ARE his little pumpkin pie and he will stand steady...now and forever!

A father was holding his little girl's hand at a busy intersection where strip malls have multiple ins and outs on every corner and left turn arrows perform a precision-timed choreography.

The little girl was bundled in pink snow pants and a pink jacket with her hood pulled tight. The only part of the little girl that showed were chubby cheeks, a thick crop of bangs protruding from her hood and dark brown eyes.

Her father had a tight on her small hand. He looked left and right, over his one shoulder and then the other. He hit the pedestrian walk button again.

He took half a step forward with one foot, then quickly stepped back. It wasn't time yet. False alarm.

The little girl patiently stood beside her father with her feet planted. But her little arm, stuffed like sausage in a pink polyester casing, moved back and forth as her dad turned left, right and craned his neck to check cars coming from behind.

The father vigilant in protecting his little girl.

I couldn't help but wonder how long that father will remain that vigilant. How long will he take the lead? How long will assume responsibility for the safety and well-being of his daughter.

I hope he's there through her preschool years so that she has someone to hold her, a lap to sit on, a back to climb and a pair of shoulders to ride for a change of view. She'll sleep well at night knowing he's just down the hall.

I hope he looks out for her in elementary school, that her cheers as she rides a bike without training wheels, that he attends her school conferences, makes sure she's getting a good education and develops a moral compass pointed true North.

As he protects her from traffic, may he protect from what she sees and hears. Monitor that television and computer as much as those left-turn-arrows. Guard her childhood and shield her from sick images and warped ideas.

I hope that dad keeps his grip tight as she navigates through the water of early adolescence. She'll come to know a lot about herself through the eyes of her father. Girls often listen more intently to what a father says than a mother, because fathers tend not to talk as much as mother. Choose your words carefully. Dad, both the critical ones and the encouraging ones.

I hope he stands down any peer group that tells her a female is nothing more than body parts. As she witnesses the flat-out race to the bottom among many young girls competing to be coarse and vulgar, may he take her by the shoulders and say "Not you, You're so much more than that."

Hand tight, Dad. Not just at the crosswalk but in the years to come. She needs you - more than you both may know. (courtesy of the Buffalo News...I don't have the author's name on hand for proper credit, but there is no copyright infringement intended...just the love of one Daddy to his daughter.)