Our Bay-win

Evelyn,

Today as Isaac's preschool teacher placed him back into the car after a long morning at school, she inquired as to why he called you "Bella" when quite obviously your name is "Evelyn". I simply shook my head laughing, attempting to explain how his version of "Baby Evelyn" has morphed into something that sounds more like "Bay-win." which we all call you on a regular basis (along with "Evelyn", "Sweet Girl", "Baby Evelyn", and Mommy's own nickname of "Ev."). The teacher looked slightly puzzled at this nickname, but in our little family we know how terribly important it is and you will likely continued to be called "Bay-win" at various times in your life.

Yesterday you turned 18 months old, a feat I cannot quite wrap my mind around. It seems like we just brought you home from the hospital yet somehow it also seems you have been in our house since the beginning.

If asked to sum you up in one word at this stage of 18 months, I would quickly say "Passionate." Oh, my dear, you are terribly passionate....passionate about what you eat (only Nutri-Grain whole wheat waffles, only specific types of chicken nuggets, only plain rice), passionate about what you play with, passionate about various people (Isaac is your favorite far above anyone else in the family) and characters (To say you love Little Einsteins...although you rarely actually see the cartoon...is an understatement), passionate about trains, passionate about which bow I clip in your hair, passionate about every little detail in life. Your pediatrician attempted to reassure me yesterday at your well check-up that such a passion would serve you well later in life. At least I think that is what she said. It was slightly hard to hear her over your hour-long screamfest that apparently was the result of me having the indecency of taking you to the doctor's office to begin with (you were screaming so loud when we left I had to avoid making eye contact with an acquaintance, hoping she somehow did not see me nor my beautiful screaming child.) This passion expresses itself in joyous shouts of wonder over the smallest things (MOMMY! CEREAL!), over injustices (Isaac and you want the same toy), over people (Daddy!), and over sorrow (the huge tears that were produced today when I cut the tag off a beloved stuffed pumpkin due to its choking hazard nature. You cried as if I had cut the pumpkin in half.)

Your smile, wit, and energy bring us such joy every single day. At 18 months old, we figure you can say over 100 words and are forming 2-3 word sentences. Just yesterday, you marched into my bathroom and exclaimed, "Mommy. Jacket. Pre-ty." It about melted my heart. I figure we are just a few years shy of becoming best shopping buddies. You can run, jump, and climb as well as your brother. In fact, you love to stand on the window ledges in our kitchen and eat your snack in the afternoon. Besides talking, you also love to sing. You can sing pieces of the "ABC" song, can sing our own little family version of the "Night Night" song, can sing "Old McDonald" and "Farmer and the Dell," and are generally captivated by any music that happens to be playing in the house. You can also count to five, when you desire. You learn quickly and absorb information like a sponge with a cute little bow on its head.

You love things that are completely girly and things that are all-boy as well. Everyday you feed your babies, put them to night-night, and only manage to step on their heads a handful of times. Just yesterday when I told you to go to the backdoor to get ready to go bye-bye, you said, "Oh! Purse!" and ran and grabbed your plastic purse (known to others as a sunglasses case) and rushed to the door. Although you love your dolls, you also love cars and trucks equally as much. You will push cars around the kitchen floor, making sound effects as you go. Trains are your absolute favorite and you get giddy everyday as we approach our local depot. I am sure many have wondered who was yelling as we drive past, windows down, with two kids shouting, "Hi, ChooChoo!" as loud as possible.

To say that you are a delight is an understatement. You are also a smidge of a challenge. I think such a combination is what makes you absolutely and completely irresistible to us. We love you, Bay-win! Happy 18 months!