365 Days

What a difference a year makes!
365 days
19 inches : 29 1/2 inches
6 lb. 11 oz. : 21 lb. 11 oz.

Has it really been a YEAR?!?!

Wow! Our little Evelyn Rose is a whole year! Obviously, I can't sum her up on this blog, but I'll list a few things that make her who she is, and show what she's doing now.

She's one of the most laid back well mannered babies I've ever seen. She's always just gone with the flow. HOWEVER, she will make it well known if something doesn't suit her (doesn't happen often, but she makes it clear). She really is happy 99.9% of the time and doesn't seem to work her way into a twit...yet. We'll see how she measures up, but to me she seems to be short and compact. Cutest thigh rolls ever! Her hair hasn't been growing a whole lot. It's a bit of a mullet if she is looking up and we pull it straight, or out of her collar, in the back...you really have to look for it. Not yet enough to hold in a bow, and very straight and fine. It's got a red hint and a blonde hint, but mostly light brown, I'd say. She still only has 2 teeth. She loves clapping! She does it to music, when mimicking, and when she's happy or proud of herself. She sleeps well through the night (7:30 or 8 to 6:30 or 7) and naps very erratically to fit everyone else's schedule...but she never complains about that or wakes up in a bad mood. She smiles a lot, but doesn't laugh all that often (more now than she used to). She really wants to be a part of the action when she sees kids playing. She crawls after the boys when they're racing the Fred Flinstone cars in the cul-de-sac. She LOVES food and will eat almost anything she's been given, but particularly likes sweets...and gets very angry if you take them away, or worse, eat them in front of her. She loves her big brother, but doesn't want him to hold her back when she's on the move. Her absolute favorite game is peek-a-boo. She'd play it all day with dirty laundry and never get bored. That's one thing that makes her laugh. She wears mostly 12 month clothes, but still fits in lots of 9 month pants. Size 3 shoe. She's also a master at raspberries...not the fruit, but the noise. She does lots of head banging and head butting...not sure what to think about that, but she's not doing it too terribly hard yet, so it's still fun. She stands, squats, and dances well, but is still at max 2 steps. I think mostly because she's got lightning speed on her knees.

Monday we had her birthday party. The day before she was born we hosted a low country boil for our small group. We usually do that at the beach, but for obvious reasons couldn't go, and I wasn't going to miss out on the shrimp. When it was over, we left for the hospital, and a few hours later, early the next morning, welcome Evelyn Rose! So, this year we decided to host a repeat celebration-minus labor and delivery. We had lots of fun. Here are some pictures....

Eve and Grandma...hmmmm you think Grandma likes her "role"?

Clockwise left to right - Mahala, John, Zach, Tiffany, Lauren, Rachel, Noah (can't quite see him), and Ned. All coloring with permanent markers. I must be crazy!




At the risk of rushing her to the emergency room during her birthday, we gave her her first bite of shrimp. Come on, we had to. She seemed to like it. Maybe because it's in her blood...maybe because she was born on it. Either way, it was a hit.

She likes juice, too, and has her own personal drink holder. Otherwise known as Grandma. Eve doesn't yet know how good she's got it.

Buck, Zach, and Chris making sure the table is empty before the next batch comes out

We had a fish theme because both John and Eve, but especially Eve, loved the fish at the zoo and we got a tank for her birthday. I took a shot at making the cake myself. Doesn't look professional, but looks like it was made with a lot of love - and it was. This is her little personal cake.

And here goes the cake progression. She started out so clean. People may wonder why we strip our children down before giving them cake. You'll see......

It's all over when it gets in the eyes, poor thing.

After Eve was finished with the party hat, John took it for a spin. He looks so pretty in pink.

John was such a good helper opening gifts - of course.


It's my party and I'll cry if I want to... Having a birthday is so exhausting

John can't wait 'till it's his turn.

That's one small step for man...

She did it! Eve took her first (to my knowledge) step today! We were playing outside and I was in the process of handing her a juice box. She must've been really excited about it because she took a little step toward it. Within 5 minutes she had taken two more individual steps (not in a row). She must've decided today was a good day for it because I didn't have pants for her to wear, and I couldn't find one of her shoes, so she was getting a little scraped up on the concrete. I think she'll be a lot like John with this one. He could've walked earlier, but just didn't have any interest (he did a funny bear crawl all the time, which I think helped him learn to walk earlier). A neighbor loaned us a walking toy for him to try. The next day he took one step, then a few more, then was full out walking in no time. Eve has been really good on her feet for a while, dancing and squatting, but not interested in walking. She's been doing really well pushing furniture around, but we haven't been able to trick her into taking a step because she just would rather crawl...it's much faster. I think she'll be off and running in no time. I'm glad for her knees and that she won't have to wear pants in the heat (and tear up the knees as well as the toes of her shoes), but it's going to be tough to chase two on their feet! Either way, Yay Eve!!!!

Just for the Record

Just for the record, it was NOT ME that introduced the "princess" term into this household. Here's how it happened...

I was trying on the dress we had made for Eve's 1st birthday. John helped pick it up, so he knew it was special for her. He mentioned that Eve had a pretty dress. Then, out of the blue "Baby Eve has a pretty dress because she's a princess." It was so sweet and funny at the same time. I have no idea where he got it from. We seriously don't say princess except when we're mocking the dog, Callie (who is very much a princess). Mom said she doesn't say it either. So sweet that John doesn't have to be told that his baby sister is a princess. He just knows, and treats her like one...most of the time.

How Appropriate!

Not a whole lot to update lately. We're getting ready for Eve's birthday party. It'll be a repeat of last year, low country boil, but I've promised not to go into labor this time. Anyway, since Eve loved the fish so much at the zoo a few months ago, we're going with the fish theme for her birthday, and, shh don't tell, getting a fish tank for her birthday. Actually it's already setup...we just need to get the fish. We've told John it's a secret, so he whispers when he talks about it, but he's very excited. Anyway, it would only have been more appropriate today if I could've gotten to the camera in time...Eve started making fishy faces! I hope she'll figure it out again. John still hasn't picked up on the skill. She wasn't mimicking, just doing it on her own. It was very cute.

Mother's Day Weekend

That's right, I got a whole weekend. Saturday we went to Sandy Flat farm to pick strawberries. It's a Buckingham tradition, and clearly I have a lot to learn. We had a FANTASTIC time! The kids loved it. Typically they weigh your container before and after you pick to determine the cost. I think, to be honest with our money, we should've weighed the kids before and after we picked. Not many ended up in the bucket, and even if they did...they didn't stay there long. Grandma went with us, and we all had a ball. Buck told John "Red is ready". John would ask "Is this one ready?" as he picked it and put in in his mouth. He definitely preferred the taste test. Eve crawled around and picked up on the concept quickly, then found herself in front of the bucket and started the squeeze test...or making daquaries. Both had red faces, hands, arms, necks, legs, you name it, by the time we were done.

Sunday started with a mishap. We were ready for our normal Sunday routine. Buck goes to church early to practice with the band. I use that as motivation for John to get ready quickly (he loves to watch and dance and jump around). We pick up biscuits on the way and enjoy the practice while we eat. As we were walking out the door, I looked for the key. Just then the phone rang. Buck had the key in his pocket. There was no real way for him to get it to us, so we had to just skip church. It actually worked out wonderfully. John, Eve, and I had such a fun morning playing outside and at the playground. Somehow (maybe because it was Mother's Day) it was more fun that just a normal day playing outside. I went shopping for supplies for Eve's birthday party in the afternoon and came home to a lovely painting that John and Eve made for me. We sat and watched as John and Eve played, and cleaned off the paint, in the sprinklers. They had a blast and it was very entertaining. We sang and danced and had tickle fights. John picked lots of flowers, gave them to Eve, and said "Happy Mother's Day, Baby Eve", and I finished off the day putting them to bed and thanking God for letting me be their Mama. Actually, I finished off the day with a yummy adults only dinner after they were in bed. What a special weekend. What a special family.

Catching up on pictures...here goes!

I'm catching up from Easter eggs to present. I just have to insert this fun thing John has said a few times. He said it once when he tried salsa that was too spicy, then again the other day when he tried my Dr. Pepper (which, according to his face, he did not like). "Too tasty".

Notice the nice hairdo.

Batman stickers were the perfect final touch. If you're wondering if it's just you, if you're going crazy, or if John somehow lost his shirt, it's not just you. You're not crazy. The pink cup of dye was mistakenly dumed all over the table, floor, and John. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but his entire right arm and his belly are pink. Somehow he always manages to end up without a shirt. That's my boy.

At the zoo John LOVED the map. Dora the Explorer has a map. "Say map! Say map!" We often had a hard time getting it from him so we could actually use it to find things. Note to self. Next time when they offer two...take two. It was really cute to see him looking. Whenever we talked about finding something, he'd say "we have to check the map".

"I love the train!"

Grandma came with us to the zoo. What fun! One day we'll teach her how to wear a hat.

GO TIGERS!

Somebody had fun in the sprinklers! This is Daddy's favorite hairdo. I'm concerned for when the day comes that I'm out of town and he gets them ready for church!


The lake looks gross, but it sure was lots of fun!

John's first ball game on Bowman.

Eve's first day sunning on Bowman.


Playing at Clemson is hard work. Both sacked out!I don't think I mentioned this earlier. Last week we went to Valdese, NC to visit with Laura and Lilah (in town from Bellingham, WA) and her mother. They've been my second family since middle school. Anyway, you'd never know it from the picture, but Eve has 5 months on Lilah! It was so great to see them. You'd also never know it from the picture, but they actually enjoyed each others' company. Two cuties. Oh, and look, John is picking up toys in the background. Write that down, Santa.

Here's Eve at 11 months with her size-me-up Tigger. After seeing her with Lilah, I looked back at her records and noticed she was 27 inches both at her 6 and 9 month check. I really don't think she's much longer than that now, so not a drastic change from the last picture (even though I've missed a few months). We'll see how she measures up in a few weeks.

And now for the beach pictures...

The whole gang...John, Maddie, Morgan, and Eve

John just learned that seagulls fly by flapping their wings. Keep trying, bud.

Here's my little sea turtle. Wouldn't you think this would bother her? Particularly with COLD water? It even got higher and more in her face...no reaction. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Surely there's a parent just out of the frame...right?
Don't worry, Baywatch is on it.

He already has the "Geesh, Mom" look. He doesn't like his picture taken lately.



I promise her feet didn't get sunburned! They sure do look red in the picture, though. Eve is very intent of fixing things. Something must be broken down there.

Maddie and John

A few things I forgot...

I almost forgot...

Eve started clapping about a week ago, and now it seems to be her favorite pasttime. She makes a sound that sounds like a baby version of "clap" when she's clapping, but she also says it when she isn't clapping, so I'm not quite ready to give it to her as her first word.

John has done some really funny things lately because he's just talking so much. He likes to make conversation, so at lunch with Grandma he was randomly telling her about his vegetables growing and such...very cute. He seems to be so eloquent now, but still stutters quite a bit. Today I was loading the dishwasher and asked if he'd like to help. His response was, "I'd love to, but first I have to...(can't remember what he had to do first, but it was probably fix a toy or something)". When he was done he dutifully came and helped me unload and load the dishes...and did quite a good job. It just cracked me up because any time he asks me if I'd like to do something like play or color with him, I'm usually in the middle of something. My response is usually, "I'd love to, but first I have to...".

Another funny thing John has been doing lately is wiping off kisses. At first I was just a tad bit sad that he was wiping off my kisses...even though it was funny. So, I've made it into a game. He wipes one off and I give him a bunch. More than he can wipe off. Then he starts wiping off his whole body and laughs.

For the first time today John got Eve to belly laugh (not her first belly laugh, but the first one he's caused). He was putting a hat on and taking it off and saying "yee haw"! She started laughing, so he continued. By the end of it we were all laughing. What a fun time!

Sea Turtle

I'm going to get further behind on pictures, but hopefully I'll catch up soon. Last Thursday and Friday we were at Myrtle Beach with some friends, Rob and Suzie, and their kids Morgan and Madelyn. Madelyn is a week or 2 older than John. What fun! It was still chilly, and the water was pretty darn cold, but still lots of fun. John went into the water the first morning, and seemed to have fun, but didn't really want to go in after that. I think it was mostly because he got really cold the first time. I don't really think he was afraid like he was last summer. I really think he just didn't want to go in after the first morning. I felt bad because I couldn't really play with him that first time. I had to keep my eyes on Eve, who is apparently a sea turtle! She crawled straight to the water - no fear - and just kept crawling directly into the waves. The cold didn't bother her, and neither did the waves. She even got tubled about in the waves a few times, took a few face-fulls of water, and just kept going! She never cried or really even gasped in like most kids that get a face full of water. She LOVED it! It was so unlike typical baby reaction that every single person that walked by stopped and watched a minute and commented on how amazing it was. I think she's definitely got some of Nana's (my mom's mom) genes. John had a great time in the sand bulldozing and building castles, and we all enjoyed chasing each other around. I think if we make it back to the beach later in the summer when the water is warm, we're not going to be able to get either one of them back to the room.