What's In a Name???

We have a ...hum hum... few names for Evelyn around here.
Her full given name is Evelyn Elaine Fu Mei Dillon.
Evelyn is her very own name picked out by Leslie and I.
Elaine is after her Aunt Melissa (Melissa Elaine) who is named after our Aunt Tanya (Tanya Elaine)
Fu Mei is her Chinese name, given to her in China. Fu Mei means Lucky Plum. (pronounced foo may)
As if that isn't enough, we have added a few more monikers into the mix, mostly these are nicknames or a once in awhile kind of name. Some of them are for specific times(you know, like Hungry Pete-for when she's hungry). Here goes:
Butter Bean - Leslie called her a tiny butter bean about 3 hours into having her and it stuck- from that you get....
Bean
Bean Dip
Beanarella
Bean-o-licious
Dip
Dipper
Dipper-Do
Dippanella
Dippity Do
Then from Evelyn you can get.....
Ev
Evie(counts as two for eeeeveee and ehveee)
Eve
Evie MacANevie
Evers
Evers b'devers
A few from Fu Mei....
The Fu-ster
Fu Mei
Yi Fu Mei (her Chinese name with the surname Yi-pronounced eee)
Mei
Mei Mei
Plum
Plumarella
Lucky Plum
Then there is just silliness.....
Muffin
Muffin Head
Muffin Top
Hungry Pete
Sticky Vicky
Sweaty Betty
Thirsty Thirsty
Hungry Muffin
Jabberwocky
The Jackhammer
Slappy(she hates this one)
The Road Troll
Monkey
Monkey Head
Monkey Jane(one of my personal favorites)
Bossy McBosserson
Nosy Parker
oh and when she was a toothless Butter Bean? She was, of course, Gummy Gummerson.

Attmept No. 1

I tried and tried last night to get a picture or two for Ye Olde Christmas Card and guess what? They didn't quite make the cut for cards- surprise surprise. In previous years it has taken about 200 pictures to get a decent 4 or 5 to choose from for a card. Arggh. The CG Christmas party is Friday and I am hoping that we will be able to get a few there that will work. Even though these are cute, they won't be on the card (unless I get desperate).

Evelyn and I have spent the day just being House Trolls. We made a construction paper chain to count down the days until Christmas, we worked on letters and numbers recognition, we played Spa Day -that's where there's a huge warm bath drawn and Ev gets to play in the tub forever with several "warm-ups if needed, using every soap in sight- then out of the bath for a total body massage, hair blown dry and styled and make-up applied. Now she is coloring downstairs with Billy Bones close by offering assistance and by assistance I mean that he is trying to chew on her paper, the crayons, the crayon box, the table, her hands, her head and maybe even the couch- I know this because I hear "NO!!! BILLY BONES YOU STOP THAT!!!!" about every 4.5 seconds.

Have I ever mentioned that Billy chews things? He chews anything, anywhere anytime-really- metal, paper, cardboard,plastic,fabric-anything. He also talks. yes, I know-don't roll your eyes. He walks around making these little chirps and burbles -all of the time. He makes announcements about his goings on, he inquires about your goings on, he burbles at the animals outside, he holds entire discourses on any number of catly subjects....So when I say that he is downstairs chewing on things, he's also talking about it.

Between Ev and Bill? It's like there's a whole zoo in here and it's just the two of them.

Monkeys and Tigers and Gigglers -OH MY!!!!

Playing with Papa

Leslie can sit and play for, what seems to be hours with Evelyn. It usually involves building things, or Pirate Wars....

A note on the Pirate Wars though- ever since we were in Savannah last year and Ev had the scare of her life at "The Pirate House" restaurant- she HATES pirates- anything vaguely piratical in nature is summarily dismissed. She has this cute pirate ship toy that we got her last year and she just wasn't playing with it - um duh? And Les finally figured out that she did not like the pirate action figures that came with it, yes it took us a year. So we tossed out the pirates and her ship is now manned by Ty Beanie Babies and one black and white kitty puppet. Hey -it works.

These are pictures from the latest building session. They ended up with a big crane and Ev was acting like a Buoy Deck Supervisor on a CG Buoy Tender (like her Papa was in Alaska) and she was using the hand motions and all. It was very cute but I was well into toilet cleaning by the time they reached that stage and could not stop for pictures.

They Call Her...Pink Fury

This is Evelyn doing some "Sword Moves". She really gets into this as you can see and takes herself completely serious. Leslie was holding up couch pillows as her targets and she was going at them as if they were ill mannered Goblins (you know, like Link). I love her face and the breathing and the defiance. I especially love the juxtaposition of the pink pj's with the Death Bringing Equipment- don't you?

Thought I'd Mention

I have been bustling about the house today- catching up on some housework that I have let slide for awhile. Leslie came in from work and started playing with Bean. As I went through my day of cleaning, we all passed each other, we helped each other and we sat at the table for two meals. Pretty much we had a regular, no frills kind of day.
It was wonderful. I love having this chattering little being in my life. I love hearing Leslie and her, in the basement playing. I love holding her and feeling the warmth of her body, smelling her hair.
I am so grateful to have her in my life. I am so lucky to be her Mama. I am so lucky to have Leslie- he is pretty much the best husband a woman could have.
I can not even imagine my life without her in it. I look back at December 2003- that was our last Christmas without Ev- and it was awful. Everything just felt wrong. Everything was empty. It makes me really think about the folks I know that are waiting for their daughters. I have nothing to say to them to soothe this time. Just know that when you hold your daughter for the first time, these long dark days will fade so quickly and you will only think about them again to compare how absolutely full your life is with HER.

The Jackhammer

Let me start off with a very, very simple statement- Evelyn Talks. Now, let me explain... Evelyn talks- all of the time- non-stop- in your face- answer requiring- talks. Evelyn talks all of the time. I am not sure that you can grasp this if you haven't been around her lately, for like, well, since she started talking. I have NEVER in my life heard a kid talk so much! I feel like some of you might be saying " Evelyn? Really? How bad can it be? Obviously that Michal is making use of hyperbole again just to be funny."
UMMMMM
Nope.
The kid talks people. You have no idea. Leslie and I really do call her The Jackhammer- because there is a constant rat-a-tat-tat of convo in your face from the moment that she wakes up until she falls asleep. Let me tell you, she starts talking to me in the morning, BEFORE SHE IS EVEN IN THE SAME ROOM WITH ME and she is still talking as I close her bedroom door at night AND THERE HAS BEEN NO NOTICEABLE BREAK.
Now I love my daughter dearly and would do anything for her. I love to hear what she has to say- just sometimes? I wish she would internalize her dialog. If you have a talkative child you can feel my pain - somewhat. If you have a quiet child, you live on a completely different planet than me and you should drop over some day in your rocket ship of sanity and give my tired ears a break-you listen to the endless lists of things that her Baby or Papa Juan have packed into imaginary backpacks, and I'll head out to a deep, dark forest and listen to myself breathe awhile.
I am pretty used to it by now and I do use the tricks of timers for "quiet play" and I am not shy about asking her to hold off on some talking while I say, use the facilities (because she WILL chatter thru a closed door at me the whole time I am in the bathroom). So I afford myself some breaks and I do set limits with her it's just- she's - well The Jackhammer.
I am mentioning this because she has ramped things up a bit lately and I am behind on my, much valued Ear Calluses and I have been noticing. We were driving two days ago, we were headed to my Mom's house. That drive lasts for 1 hour and 20 minutes and Evelyn talked every single second of the way. Well, except for when I burst out in Cleveland traffic and said "Ev you just have to stop talking now or I may have a car wreck!!!!! OKAY????" Do you know what she did? I'll tell you, she turned to Papa Juan (he is a stuffed orange tiger that was dressed in huge socks, a striped purple shirt and a baby doll diaper-his "Road Clothes") and said, in the most sarcastic tone she could muster, "Well ! Papa Juan I will just have to talk with you because obviously someone in this car can not drive AND talk at the same time" Yes, that's a quote- no hyperbole there either. And then she just talked to the tiger- at least she whispered for about 5 miles.
On the way home tonight? Same thing. Except in an attempt to put her to sleep I had the heater up a bit. So by the time we hit Cleveland again she went "whew! My mouth is so dry!!! I have talked this whole way home! Did you know that Mama? I talked the whole way. You are SO welcome for keeping you company"
Right now she is finally quiet for the day. I just peeked in her bedroom and saw her there all pink and cuddly and I was really wondering "oh what is she dreaming about?" I'll tell you this, I will only have to wonder for about 8 more hours as she will be telling me all about it, as she climbs out of bed, two rooms away.
If you doubt my ability to judge this Jabberwockie of a kid- just ask my Mom about it, or my Dad, or my Sister or Jodi- they'll tell you. It's really the only subject that any one of the above mentioned people ever, EVER give me any sympathy over. That's saying something.

Sigh....I am just now starting to digest all o' dat turkey

We are home. Actually we got home late Saturday night but since my food coma has lasted until about now, it doesn't really count that we were here. I mean we have just all laid about in pj's attempting to think about a plan , anything to get us out of the house. Well, I am not counting the trip where we went out and replaced all of the plastic kitchen stuff that we tossed out right after we got home Saturday night.
Yes, okay we do weird stuff like that. We walk in after being gone for a few days and we immediately so something very , umm, ocd- like cleaning out closets or taking several things up to the attic and then, whoa!, noticing the attic is kind of messy so we clean it (yes this has really happened). And it's best if these "Entry Projects" are completed at a really "off" time, like say midnight or later. This trip, I guess those nasty, cancer causing BPA's have been on our minds, apparently. Les and I walked in the house, put Bean to bed and then, without a word being said to each other, we just started divesting ourselves of the BAD BAD PLASTIC CRAP. The next day (Sunday), we were forced to go out to TJ MAXX and buy a whole bunch of glass and stainless steel stuff to replace the plastic. I feel better now. Les feels better now. It was necessary people, it really was. Other than that? Lifeless lumps-all of us.
We had a great Thanksgiving though. It is so great to be close to friends and family, I just can't get over it, it feels like luxury still. We spent Thursday with Leslie's family in Columbus. Man, can my sil Rae cook a turkey. I ate so much that day that I was in severe pain for several hours, I am not exaggerating here, I over-ate, it was bad but oh so good. The next day we spent with my family in Mansfield- where we continued the theme of over-indulgence. We then, stayed an extra day so that we could visit with Dan and Cheri, who were in from Chicago. Don't kid yourselves we overate that day too. I mean we went out to lunch at the best chinese restaurant in the states- so it was a given that I eat myself into a stupor on egg rolls and War Su Gai- right? Right? Right. OH? And before we left for the visits, Jodi came here and we all ate ourselves sick on Turkey Enchiladas that were to die for.
We had so much fun with everyone. It was nice to see Dan and Cheri as we haven't seen them since their wedding. Evelyn had a great time playing with all of her cousins. I had a great time watching Uncle Jeff dance to Michael Jackson (possible video to follow-if Jeff says he won't sue me or kill me if I put it on here).
All in all we got to see most of the people that we care about and we ate like Romans, or people who ate very well in huge amounts and super quality- yeah - Romans, Rich Romans. Good times.