Monday, April 22, 2019

Happy very, very belated 4th Birthday Evie!!

It has taken me a while to put this post together...8 months to be exact...haha! Better late than never...

Evelinne Rose...is 4!!!! Wow!!! She has been practising for the last week how to hold up just 4 fingers (that thumb is tricky to hold down!) and scratching off a number on her birthday countdown calendar since early July!! Months of planning her birthday cake (rainbow theme) and talking about who she wants to invite and where she wants to go (the Hilton Hotel for a swim and some pool-side fries to eat). So, she is beyond excited that her birthday has finally arrived!
Kaitlyn and Lily decorated until way past their bedtime the night before and made the place look super fun (I managed to find some rainbow balloons at a store here and I had brought some streamers from Canada) complete with a nice arrangement of gifts with fun wrapping paper and our favourite colour (turquoise blue) gift bags with little treasures that Evie will like!
Evie is our baby...our little one who is growing up! Some days I tell her to stop growing up so fast and other days I wish she would just grow up!! :) We love that we have 3 girls and couldn't imagine our family without Evie. Here are some things that I want to remember about her at this age:

- Loves her blankie still (the tag is her favourite) and will bunch it up when in bed and squeeze it
- Has a slight obsession with me...wants me to do everything with her...including bedtime, sitting beside her at dinner, pushing her on the swing, reading her books, playing with her (and no one else will do most of the time)
The birthday girl and her spoils!
- She loves her squeezy pack and banana in bed routine with talking about good/bad of the day, praying and singing songs while I tickle her back...try to skip one of these things and she'll let you know!!
- She LOVES our cat whiskers and tries desperately to have him sit or sleep with her but he bolts as soon as he sees freedom...
-Evie learned how to ride a two wheeler again after a winter hiatus (when we were in Canada) and enjoyed pedalling like crazy around the compound....a persistent flat tire as hampered her biking joy but she is looking forward to riding again when we can locate a new inner tube (can't find that size in chad!!)
Pink mashed potatoes with a candle that won't blow out!
-Evie loves coke (I blame that on Phil!!), noodles, whole carrots, pink mashed potatoes (ever since we had that for valentines day...she has had a slight obsession!) and serving herself at the table
- As soon as she sees me in the kitchen she wants to 'help' (aka lick whatever yummy thing I am making)...her favourite thing to make with me are banana mini muffins and she is getting good at spooning the batter into the muffin tin
-She loves her friends here in Chad...Selina, Becca, Bethan, and Karis to name a few.
Evie with her favorite guy...and a chameleon.
-Evie loves playing house, barbies, playmobil, calico critters...and always wants me to play and make the characters 'talk'. Funny thing is, when I make them say things she says 'No! Don't say that...say this!....). I can never get it right apparently! :)
- She is my grocery shopping buddy and knows how to milk the system to get a free candy from the shop owners...she just stands on her tip toes, peers over the counter and stares at the candy box! Works like a charm!! Of course her cuteness helps her succeed too!
-Evie loves getting a 'ssant' (croissant) at the French bakery

Evie and her friend Merilee


-Hours upon hours of swinging on the swing....guess who is pushing her? :)
- Evie loves playing with her sisters...they are good sports and try to include her in their more sophisticated play...she does well (some of the time)
-Evie knows what she wants and doesn't like to hear the word 'No'. We are working on that one. :)
-Her favourite books that we read over and over are: Curious George goes to the hospital, Harry the dirty dog, Aunt Nina and her Nieces, Alfie gets in first, and Corduroy to name a few.
-She loves to wear dresses and skirts and when she wears shorts she says 'Mom, I look like a boy!" (women and girls don't wear shorts here so she equates them with men!)
-She gets dressed herself, and wants to do everything herself....brush her hair, teeth, and pour her own drinks, serve herself at dinner....all good practise...but with sometimes disastrous results (I don't like cleaning up messes!!!!)
-She loves to carry around a little notebook at draw "E's" or more recently, people (the kind that have their arms and legs coming out of their head...so cute!!)

Evie is full of life and she wants to be heard and in the middle of whatever is going on. We love her to bits and think she is super cute...which is good because she, more than Kaitlyn or Lily, has tried our patience and tested our resolve as parents. She is strong-willed and we have to daily remind her of 'who is in charge'....some days she thinks she is in charge! It has been encouraging to see her slowly learn what we expect of her and begin to make good choices in those moments. Some days we wonder if any of it is sinking in...but other days it all clicks and goes well. Lots to pray about...

Evie, I love you! I love your sweet around the neck hugs and the way you like to hold my hand when you go to sleep. I love that you want to sit beside me, play with me...do everything just with me (even if I sometimes don't appreciate it in the moment). I love your silliness when you try to be funny and you wrinkle up your nose and move your lips to the side...You are precious to me. We were just reading today in Psalm 139 :13-14

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

And we are so thankful that God made you just the way you are...and that He gave you to us. We love our Miss Evelinne Rose. Happy 4th!

Love Mom.
Practising to be a busy mom!

Friends are sooooo important to you!
Going for a walk...to buy some gum from the corner store


Your bestie....Selina





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