Mud pie

And so it begins...

One day we have a sweet baby girl and the next day we have an assertive toddler who has an opinion, requests undivided attention, seeks independence...and says "NO." We have definitely entered into the toddler stage and with it comes new skills for Evelyn and new parenting challenges for us. And so it begins...

In the last week, Evelyn has started to say the word "no" with a very assertive voice. We have done our best to keep the word no out of her vocabulary as long as possible, but it has officially joined the other 75+ words she uses regularly.

Story time used to be easy, she would be happy with whatever book you read to her...but now she will say "no" if you choose a book she is not interested in or "all done" before you have turned the first page. The girl knows what she wants.

Snack time was a no brainer. Evelyn would say "cracker" and be happy with whatever kind of cracker she was given...but now she knows exactly the cracker she wants and will say "no" to every cracker you give her until you land on the kind of cracker she had in mind.

Finally, bed time used to be a calm ritual of brushing teeth, reading books, and into bed. Now it is "no" to brush teeth, "no" to numerous bed time story choices, and "no night night" to being put into bed.
 
The funny thing is, most of the time Evelyn seems to say "no" just because she can...and we quietly giggle at the sound of it.

Nurture

v to encourage the growth and development of.voed يُغَذّي، يُرَبِّي، يُنْشِئ отхранвам chovat, pěstovat, vychovávat opfostre; nære aufziehen ανατρέφω, καλλιεργώ criar, educar üles kasvatama پرورش؛ تربيت tukea élever לְגַדֵל, לְטַפֵּח पुष्ट बनाना, शिक्षा देना njegovati felnevel; ápol; táplál membesarkan fóstra, ala upp allevare, educare 養育する 양육하다, 키우다 auginti, prižiūrėti, ugdyti audzēt; audzināt pemeliharaan verzorgen fostre opp, (er)nære wychowywać, hodować educar a creşte ухаживать;воспитывать vychovávať; pestovať vzgajati gajiti föda, nära บำรุง bakıp büyütmek, bakıp beslemek 培育，養育 виховувати; вирощувати پالنا، پرورش کرنا nuôi nấng 培育，养育

n care; help in growing or developing.

Evelyn is so loving and nurturing to her baby doll. She rocks her, feeds her, changes her clothes, wraps her in blankets, kisses her, and tucks her gently into bed...everything a baby doll needs.

Ice cream

Happy Mother's Day!

Awesome stuffed french toast made by my loving husband

Chalk

It was a glorious 72 degrees today and we spent the majority of the day outside enjoying the sun. Evelyn experienced sidewalk chalk for the first time. It was a big hit.

Hand in hand

Evelyn and I met up with our friends Mary, Kristi, Lucy, and Max for a walk across the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis and a picnic in the park. The weather was beautiful and I can't think of a better way to spend the day.

Evelyn absolutely adores Lucy. They were so cute today...holding hands, sitting next to each other in the double stroller, and playing 'Ring Around the Rosie.' Below are some great pictures that Kristi took of the day.

Evelyn loves her friend Lucy

Hand in hand

Evelyn trying to keep up with Lucy

Evelyn (17 months) and Lucy (2 1/2 years)

Adorable Max (6 months)