Four Years Old

May 17, 2011 - Evelyn's Fourth Birthday

What a grown-up girl she has become in just four short years! Although there are still many things that are daily frustrations in parenting a 4-year old, I am so proud of all the ways Evelyn is growing and maturing.

She's beginning to make insightful observations - often coupled with numerous questions! Although her constant questioning and "whys" often drive me up the wall, I do hope this trait will serve her well as she matures. I don't want to stifle her inquisitiveness, after all that's what leads a person to discover new things. But boy do I need wisdom on how to teach her how to be thoughtful in her inquiry!

She's also picking up writing - mostly through her own initiative since I don't make it a point to sit down and have her practice writing or sounding out letters. She's been able to write her own name for a while and is now always asking how to write other people's names. She's gotten pretty good at being able to make many letters on her own.

She's a very devoted sister to Isaiah, and although there is competition and fighting, many times they are so sweet in their interactions.

Other things she loves are singing (I often hear her singing songs to herself that she's learned or mixing them up into something completely new!), reading books (both kids will sit and demand stories until you a hoarse!), running, swinging and swimming.

We were privileged to have Jeremy's parents in town for Evelyn's birthday, so as part of the festivities we made a trip to the Space Needle and rode the elevator up to the observation deck. Something she's wanted to do for a while now! We kept it a surprise and even though the day didn't turn out sunny, Evelyn still had a wonderful time.

3 months of posts in 1

I admit that I am a complete failure at blogging. It's a good thing I'm not trying to make money off this blog!

My only excuse seems to be a bit of writer's block - but that seems like a poor excuse since how could I possibly be at a loss for words when it comes to my fabulous little girl?

As the title of this blog suggests, here is a quick run-down of highlights over the past 3 months:

July

Evelyn and I spent the 4th of July weekend with friends up at their cabin at Snoqualmie Pass. It was the first overnight trip I had taken with Evelyn. Jeremy did join us later in the evening after he got off work, so I wasn't completely on my own.
Things I learned from this trip:

• Evelyn no longer is lulled to sleep in the car. We left right when Evelyn would typically be taking her morning nap. While I suspected that it might take a bit longer for her to go to sleep than usual, I thought surely might sleep at least an hour of the 2 that we were driving. Wrong. Evelyn is quite good at entertaining herself to stay awake in the car.
• Despite not getting her morning nap in the car, taking a nap in a strange place when there are interesting people in the other room is out of the question. I believe I did manage to get her to sleep for about an hour, after at least 30 minutes of trying. A small victory.
• 2 adults + 1 14-month old + a creaky bunk bed = no sleep for anyone. We finally managed to get a few hours of sleep after I brought Evelyn into bed with me.

Lest you think the entire weekend focused around our lack of sleep, we actually did have an enjoyable time with our friends. Evelyn had several other babies to play with and entertain. We even took a walk around the lake during a break in the rain.

Somehow I only managed to get one photo of the weekend. Here are Evelyn and Kyla enjoying a story with Denise (Kyla's mom).


Later in July Evelyn got to enjoy some time with both sets of grandparents. Grandpa and Grandma Shultz, along with Uncle Jon were in town for a family wedding, and Grandpa and Grandma Monfort book-ended their trip to the mid-west with a stop in Seattle. It's always a treat when grandparents visit and we've been fortunate that both Evelyn's grandparents have been able to come so often.

Evelyn, Grandpa Lucky, Uncle Jon, Grammy Cathy, Grandpa Phil

I really like this picture of Evelyn and Grandpa Lucky. The family resemblance is so evident!

August

Summer finally decided to arrive in August, so we spent most of our time outdoors enjoying the slide in our backyard, playing at the park down the street, and of course - the wading pool. Evelyn LOVES water! She would probably spend all day in the bath or pool if we'd let her.

Playing with Tatum

Playing on the slide.

Chasing bubbles at the park during our PEPS group get together.

Conquering the climbing wall - with daddy's help.

Moving up to the bigger slide.

Playing in the wading pool at the park. Evelyn is quite the water baby!

September

We started the month with a labor day camping trip with some of our friends. This was our first camping trip with Evelyn. We had to borrow a bigger tent in order to fit all of our gear - our sleeping bags, the pack and play, and the dog. In the end we ended up not using the pack and play. It was so cold! Our beautiful summer weather ended up with 40 degree temperatures at night. Evelyn ended up sleeping with us because it was just too cold to be by herself. We had a great time despite the cold though. There were other kids and babies along to play with.

Playing ball at the campground.

Kyla & Evelyn each have a ball to play with!



Keeping warm around the campfire.

Evelyn is really becoming quite a grown up girl. She's very busy and always wants to help out, as you can see from the picture below. I was getting dinner ready and Evelyn wanted to get up to see what was going on. So I stood her up on the step stool which was just the right height for her to help put the salad together. Actually helping only held her interest for a little while, she was much more interested in trying to eat the tomatoes and other vegetables going in the salad!




In other news,
I also started a new job in September. I'm working part-time as an office assistant at Brooks Rand Labs, a chemical lab that does trace metals analysis and speciation. It allows the perfect balance of home and professional life. So far I'm enjoying it. It's not the most challenging job, but that's kind of a nice change. Now I can concentrate my energies on more important things!

We also learned that our family is going to be expanding. Baby #2 is due May 3 - just 2 weeks before Evelyn turns 2!