Evinator

 This little pistol just turned four.  So I shall inundate you with pictures of her. When I look back at all she did during year 3, it was a pretty packed-to-the-max year for her. The biggest event for her was probably becoming a "Big Sister" with the arrival of Wyatt. She continually asks when I'm going to have another baby in my tummy and I say "not anytime soon" or "Wyatt is still a baby". There. For all you wisecrackers out there. Side note: Nulkie & I went on a  weekend getaway this summer (thanks Mom & Dad) to VT and did not come back preggo or with any Dakin Farm (sad). But we did come back with pewter candlesticks, my new love. Let it be known, there are no "announcements" to be made. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, we can move back to Evinator.

She was quite thrilled with Baby Brother, after overcoming the shock of his gender. Someone may have wanted a baby sister. And had a epic meltdown when she found out "it" was indeed a "he". She moved on eventually. I think the sparkly BIG SISTER shirt Grandma brought helped. It is purple with pink lettering, long sleeves and she wore it daily for a month after Wyatt's birth. Mind you, this was August in Colorado, but she didn't care. Try reasoning with her about that.

After "becoming a big sister", Evie used this as her life motto on what she could and could not do. For example, "Evie can you make your bed"? "Yes Mommy, I'm a big sister now and big sisters make their bed". Or Evie can you put your toys away? "No Mommy, big sister's don't pick up toys". She could make that philosophy work for any scenario.

The above pics were from Balloon Fiesta 2014 in ABQ with Nana & Gramps. Can't wait til Balloon Fiesta 2015!

We call Evie our "sheepdog". She's always wanting to take care of people, to help people or be in charge of people. Sometimes she's more concerned about others following the rules than what rules she herself is following. Did you get that? If Gabe isn't eating his dinner she's quick to point that out while her own dinner has yet to be touched. But don't bother her with the facts. She is my shadow at home, constantly asking, "Can I help you Mommy?". She's very good a picking up- she likes things organized. That's probably why she enjoys emptying the dishwasher and putting everything in it's proper place. Or putting away her clean laundry. I'm not even joking. She's actually very helpful! I hope she never outgrows this.  She gets around with her little white kitchen stool and loves to do things by herself. If someone puts something away incorrectly, she's quick to point out your error and have it fixed on the spot. This was amusing to Grandma when she was helping us after the arrival of Wyatt. Evie made sure to tell Grandma, "it's dinner, not supper" among other daily corrections.

She loves to be outside. And playing with (tormenting) her older bother. She wants SO badly to be able to do all that Gabe can do. She has started sounding out words so she can read "like Gabe". So far she's sounded out "big" and "hat".  She should be reading novels by next week. Right now her thing is to emphasize the beginning sound of a word and have you guess what she's saying. "Mommy, this weekend can we go to the Puh Puh PuH?" She expects me to guess "POOL" because that starts with a "puh" sound. It's cute sometimes, but other times we have NO IDEA what she's talking about. "Mommy, when is SSSSS?" Me:???? "Mom, I mean SSS-SOOOOCCCEERR" (insert Evie's you-should-know-this tone) . You get the idea.

She is a total FISH. After about 15 swim lessons, she's finally swimming without the ladybugs. We passed those on to Wyatt. Sorry bro. At least your bathing suits are masculine. Anyways, the last few weekends at the pool Evie has wanted to practice and practice and practice jumping off the side of the pool and swimming halfway across to you and then swim back. It's great. Except when her (jealous) big brother wants attention and cuts her off. Sometimes we have time out at the pool.  I wish I could have a mommy-time-out and sunbathe. Le sigh. But we are so blessed by our neighborhood pool. I was concerned about my sanity, the heat and all 3 kids alone this summer but the pool made it easy peasy. Maybe not easy, but tolerable with a hearty does of enjoyable. I'd load up the passé in the batmobile and head over there for a few hours every day. Usually there would be other kids to play with- so it was like a play date at a resort. I think we'll be renewing our membership there next summer.

Gotta have that pink noodle. The temps were a little chilly at Paradox Lake during our visit- but don't think that kept Evie & Gabe out of the water! They would stay in till they turned blue, go take hot outdoor showers and have some ramen or hot cocoa to warm up! Tough life for those Nulk children. Note in the above picture, the water is above the dock. The kids thought that was great!

At Great Grandma's house in Long Island. Evie LOVED the beach! Girl after my own heart. She asked to go to the beach from the second she woke up till bed. She was in the water constantly or helping look for shells.  Even with some jellyfish spottings, she still wanted to be in the water!

Here she is decorating her pink cupcakes on her birthday. I was trying to make fancy butterfly cupcakes but the humidity was not having it so gave up and let her decorate these. You know what? She was thrilled! Eat that Pinterest. Turns out just going simple is way more fun for you and your kids. Her favorite thing was to dump ALL of the toppings on the cupcakes, while taste-testing to make sure they were good.

For Evie's birthday, Nulkie & I snuck 20 pink balloons into her room while she was sleeping. She asked me the next day who put them there. I said, "Who do you think"?  Evie: "God! God must have put the balloons in my room"!!

Mary & I found Evie kid-sized infinity scarves and we had to get them for Evie. I mean seriously! Love her.

Butterfly-Bitty-baby-matching outfits for the win!

First day of Pre-K. I dropped her off with no tears (from her or me). She happily marched into her classroom and proudly put her pink lunchbox on the shelf and her backpack in her designated basket. When I picked her up she told me, "I don't want to leave yet." Whomp, whomp. That made me feel SUPER good about my mom-skills. Meanwhile other children have to be physically ripped from their mothers at drop off.
   After I pick up Evie we head over to Gabe's school for what I refer to as "THE LONG WAIT". Lets just say, the car pick-up line is a continual test of patience. It takes at least 15-12 mins to go through it, get Gabe in the car and exit the school parking lot. And Fifteen minutes is my fastest time. So Evie & I have some quality chat opportunity.

On School:
Me: what was your favorite part of school?
Evie: Music
Me: Why?
Eve: Cus i like singing!

Evie: There's a boy in my class that has a mad face when he comes in.
Me: Why does he have a mad face?
Evie: He has a mad face cuz he's a little scared.  And he calls Teacher, Teacher cuz he doesn't know their names. I call them Miss Martha and Miss Brittney cuz that's their names.

On Religion:
Evie: Where is God? Is He here right now?
Me: Yes, but you can't see Him
Evie: Oh, is He a cloud?
Me: No. Part of Him is called, The Holy Spirit. That's in your heart
Evie: Oh, that's why I can't see him. He's in my heart. If I went inside my body then I could see Him.

Sometimes it's really hard to explain theology to a 4 yr old.

First soccer outfit. NAILED IT. She is on the Diamonds and her first game is this Saturday.

Overall Evie is a total delight. She is super ticklish, fickle, wakes up happy (and early), and has the most magical belly laugh. She's always singing or mothering things and has a great sense of humor. We've yet to meet someone she couldn't charm. I think we've had three ladies offer to be her Surrogate Grandma since we've moved to Texas. We're so thankful to be her parents!