Last week I entered my 2nd trimester and almost overnight I got my energy back!  I'll blog more about the pregnancy next week after my doc appointment, but am just so happy that I am awake again!  With that, Eva and I were ready to take on San Diego and all its fun attractions.  We took a visit to the zoo to see what the all the animals have been up to since our last visit.  As usual, we headed right to the flamingo area, which is Eva's favorite spot.  She likes watching them walking around, but even better, she likes their company, the ducks!  She could watch them forever.  (well, for like 20 minutes, which is forever for a 17 monther).  As we were about to leave the ducks we almost ran right into a peacock with its feathers all sprawled out.  It was so pretty.  Surprisingly, Eva was really good about watching it without running up to touch it.  It was so close to us...

Once we made it onto the Monkey Trail, we stopped to pay a visit to the Gorillas.  And while they were all in great view of our spot, Eva found it more interesting to play with the Gorilla statues.  It was actually pretty cute because I explained that she was touching the mommy Gorilla and she went up to it, patting its back and said "Mommy", then turned around and plopped herself right into mommy Gorilla's lap...

Today, we spent the day with mommy Melinda and Mr. Aiden at Seaworld.  The kids had a blast, staying up hours past their naptime.  We played in the Sesame Street Bay of Play area for most of our visit going on rides, running through rope obstacles, and playing with water.  We visited the dolphin encounter, which the kids really enjoyed, and even managed to fit in the Shamu Show.  The weather turned out to be perfect and so did the day!  Here we all are on a ride...

Over the weekend, we spent most of our time at home.  Eva usually doesn't mind as long as she can spend her time out back.  She really knows her way around the yard and helps herself to just about anything.  She knows her limits and only plucks all the flower buds or not-ready-to-eat-yet fruit when she's ready for her nap.  For the most part, she likes to help.  She will carry her trusty little bucket with her everywhere (or her wagon) and helps pick whatever is ready to be harvested.  This last weekend, we picked a bunch of blueberries, which she ate all of pretty quickly...

But was also kind enough to ask me if I wanted some...

Then, we picked all the ready-to-eat strawberries, yum!

And once we were finished eating, Eva helped herself to a sniff of her favorite flower...

While Eva and I spent our time on the ground, Uncle Derek flew into town to reshingle our roof.  Daddy helped all day Sunday as they stripped the old shingles off...

As soon as the roof is done, it will be time to play with Uncle Derek for the rest of the week.  Eva just loves her Uncle!  We are so happy that Derek was able to make the visit out and help us with our roof.  Not only are we saving a bit of money, but we also get to spend time with my brother. 

Until next time, have a good week everyone!

Of course Eva and I are always up to something new, fun, and exciting.  This week there's a couple things that are fun to share.  On Thursday, with our class, Eva and I went to Kid Ventures in Pacific Beach.  It's a big indoor play area for little kids.  I'd heard about it, so I was excited to see what is was all about.  It was great!  They had themed rooms, toys galore, and an adult section in the center where you can go to use your computer and drink coffee while your kids play.  Being that Eva is still pretty young, I had to keep a close eye on her.  And, being the adventurous little girl that she is she was not shy about checking out all the rooms and everything they had to offer.

She found some plastic animals to play with in the library...

She found a ball and a wheelbarrow in the treehouse area (and right after her elastic hair band broke--check out the hair)...

Of course, a slide!  Which I would like to report she is doing great on.  She had been so scared to go down a slide sitting up for so long and has been conquering her fears with even the biggest slides at the park.  She gets up to the top, looks for me at the bottom, then slides down yelling "Weeeeeeee!"

A horsey

Dressing up as a firefighter in the fire department...

Sitting in a chair she found in the doll nursery (This girl loves her chairs, I tell ya!)

And finally relaxing with the big bear before heading home...

If Kid Ventures wasn't so expensive, we would probably frequent there more regularly.  Regardless, it was a super fun day together.  :)

Another fun day we had was Sunday.  Our friends, Andy and Melinda, invited us to their place for a BBQ.  As soon as we got there, Eva took to the water toys in back, which created a naked baby for a while until her clothes dried.  She was having a blast with Aiden while us adults hung out together.  Eventually it was eating time and let me tell you, the food was amazing!  Yum, yum!  (Andy reluctantly modeled the food for us ;)  )...

And while they did that, the kids watched Cars and played with toys.  Eva's toy of choice?  The Cars couch, of course!!  She was having so much fun in just a diaper jumping on the couch.  She couldn't stop herself.  If was pretty entertaining to watch...

Eventually, we dressed the little ones and they started playing together.  They had fun hiding in the couch and finding each other...

And, then it was time to go.  They topped us off with some delicious dessert, then it was time for our trek back to San Diego.  It was the perfect way to wrap up our weekend.  Thanks Andy, Melinda, and Aiden, can't wait to see you again!

On Tuesday, we attended a neighborhood pool party.  There were tons of kids, a big kid pool, a small kid pool, a big trampoline, and lots of warm sunshine...

On Wednesday, we skipped out on the class field trip to take a field trip of our own.  Eva and I spent the morning at Balboa Park, where Eva admired the big water fountain...

And, sat in the shade to talk on her cell phone.  Eva's been mimicking alot of what mommy does these days.  She loves to pick up anything (or nothing at all) and put it to her ear and say "Hewo? Bye!" Then hangs up the phone.  It is just too funny.  I caught her in action here...Hewo?

We then went to the Chidren's Science Center where Grandma Nevins treated mommy to a membership for her birthday.  (Thank you, Mom Nevins!).  Eva had a blast with all the balls scattered everywhere, computers to play with, and of course, counting time...

We received a box in the mail last week which contained many styrofoam peanuts.  Toddler + big box + lots of styrofoam peanuts = many minutes of fun time...

On Friday, our great friends Jen, Carlos, and Elvis came to visit.  They traveled 8 hours from their home in northern California to San Diego for a baby shower with friends and family.  We were lucky to spend an extra day with them at the house before Baby Shower Day...

Saturday was the baby shower.  Jen opened tons of fun gifts...including my very first diaper bike (thanks to Pinterest)...

An up close of my masterpiece...

We sure had a fun and busy week.  Hope yours was, too!

This last Friday, we had our friends Emily and Kyle in town.  The last time we saw them, Emily was just in the beginning of her pregnancy with son, Max. So, this visit was extra special because we would get to finally meet the little guy (who's now 8 months old). 

He was such a cutie, and so quick to move around.  Eva like checking him out and calling him baby, but when it came time to sharing her toys, it got a little interesting.  See, she understood the idea of sharing, for she would hand Max toys...but, as soon as he reached to actually grab the toy she would push his hand away and take the toy back.  So I guess you could say we'll be working on the sharing thing a little more.  Regardless, it was nice to see them for the short time that we did, thanks for stopping over Emily, Kyle, and Max!

The rest of our weekend, went as it usually does.  Daddy doesn't have to go to the office, so its time to smother him with our love.  While I usually blog about all the adventures Eva and I are on all week, I thought I would give you a glimpse of what a weekend at our house looks like.  Dana usually needs a day at home to get things done.  He wants to spend time in the garden, tinker with the bronco, or relax and watch a little TV.  And while doing all those things, he has a little buddy to help him with it all :)

Picking Broccoli (Dana picks it and Eva adds it to her wagon)...

Fixing a sprinkler head...

Compacting the recycling bin...

They do it all together.  I can't tell who enjoys it more. 

When all the hard work is done, they are finding creative ways to have fun.  Trying to fit a big girl in a small wagon...

Walking around in Daddy's big shoes...

And fist bumpin'....

The relationship between these two is just adorable.  Eva thinks her dad is just plain old goofy and Daddy thinks she is the smartest little girl alive.  If you leave the two of them alone for too long, watch out.  There is usually alot of dancing to House Music, Fist Bumpin', High Fivin', and chasing Rocky around the house.  Something Mommy isn't even going to try and compete with.  :)

I was super excited for this Easter, knowing Eva would enjoy all the festivities.  I went a little overboard on gifts and just couldn't wait to put them out the night before...

When Eva woke in the morning and walked into our living room, she was so excited to see all the new toys and things to look at.  She picked up each individual thing, checked it out, and gave it the stamp of approval...

After her nap, it was time to get ready for Easter dinner at our house with friends and family.  Eva wore her Easter dress, made by yours truly...and looked adorable toting around her little Easter purse so proudly...

Everyone started to show up and get their food items together.  Of course, Eva had to show off her kitchen skills and grabbed her stool, heading right over to Aunt Heather to help her with her salad...

After eating a scrumptious meal, all the kids enjoyed an egg hunt in the back yard.  Eva was a little slow compared to her professional egg-seeking cousins, but she managed to snatch up a couple and get them in her basket.  Here they all are together...

And then Eva enjoying all the goodies inside...

A funny pic of Eva and Rowan wearing the mustaches that were hidden in their eggs...

And a family pic (minus Rocky)...

It was a gorgeous day and we were so happy to share it with so many wonderful people.  Hope yours was great as well!

Being that Eva's classes have spring break next week, they celebrated Easter this last week with an egg hunt for each class.  I had a hunch Eva would pick up on the sport pretty quick since she loves to carry buckets, putting small objects into them and carrying them around.  Everyone was to bring a basket and 6 eggs to class for the teacher to hide.  We waited for teacher Michelle to give us the ok, then Eva took off, and boy was I right about my hunch!  She looked high and low to find the best eggs...

And when she found 6 of her favorites, she sat with her friends to see what was inside...

Thursdays class was similar, except since Eva already knew what she was doing she became very attached to her basket with eggs.  Here she was on the way to class...

When the teacher gave the kids the ok, Eva ran right to the eggs and started putting them into her basket like an old pro.  She farly exceeded her 6 egg limit, so after she was done, we helped rehide the extras...

As soon as she was done, we regrouped with Marieva and mommy Paula to check out what was inside.  I think Eva might've liked Marieva's snacks a little more...

Now that I saw how much Eva enjoyed it, I'm really excited for Easter morning when she gets to egg hunt with her cousins at our house :)

On Friday, I needed to make a Target run and decided to buy Eva a potty chair.  No, I'm in no hurry to push her to learn, but lately she's been excited to have me change her when she has a poopy diaper.  And, being that she has a huge love for chairs, I thought why not put a potty in the bathroom for her to be curious about.  Sure enough, everytime she sees mommy going potty, she asks me "Potty chair?" pointing to her chair.  When I say yes, she backs her butt up and sits in her chair...

I'm not counting on miracles here, but it sure is great to see her early curiosity :)

Over the weekend the weather has been pretty cool, so I've been reluctant to spend too much time outside.  Eva STILL has a runny nose and has been showing other cold symptoms off and on.  I desperately want her to get better.  But, on Sunday, Dana and I just wanted to get out for a little while.  It was children's day at the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, so we went to check it out.  We ran around checking out all the beautiful colors of the flowers, munched on kettlecorn (Dana and Eva's favorite snack), and took a wagon ride through the fields.

It was the perfect way to end the weekend!

Now that there is no class this upcoming week, I am focusing on getting my little girl back to great health.  Please, everyone, send healthy vibes to Eva all week.  I REALLY REALLY want her feeling 100% by the time Easter is here.  Eva would appreciate all your vibes :)

For those of you who read our blogs often, I'm sure you can sense the joy Dana and I get in being parents.  We love our daughter more than any words can describe and I am so happy that she has entered into our world.  I look back and think how just 2 years ago, we found out Eva was growing inside my belly.

And, when she was born, I thought no other day in the world could possibly be as magical as this day...

I became a mother, Dana a father, and Eva a daughter in this new world.

More quick than Dana or I could've imagined, our little baby transformed into a toddler...

She has transformed so much in her short life, growing and learning...

And now she is gaining new recognition in our family as a soon-to-be....

We are happy to announce that we will be welcoming a new baby into this world, due November 8th.

As usual, Eva and I had a fun and very eventful week last week.  On Tuesday, we met up with Aiden and mommy Melinda at the Wild Animal Safari Park.  Now that both babies are walking (or shall I say, running), it made for a fun day for all.  The kids loved running around on the paths and checking out the animals.  Of course, Eva was super excited to see the ducks, as she always is, but this time she had a bit of a surprise.  A couple ducks were so close to her they could probably smell her breath...and as Eva started talking to the duck, "Quack!!"...the duck quacked so loud it scared Eva to the point that she jumped back and started crying, not wanting anything to do with the ducks again.  Little did we know that right around the corner you could actually feed the ducks right from your hand.  It took lots of coaxing, but Eva finally joined me...

At the end of the day, we treated the kids to a carousel ride (Aiden's first).  They loved going up and down! 

Being that Eva is Miss Popular on our street, especially with "Auntie Vonnie", she has befriended all of Auntie Vonnie's friends, too.  Lynn was visiting for a while from Canada, so Eva and I would visit with her and Evonne whenever they had some down time.  While Lynn was soaking up the California sun, Eva was keeping her busy running around in the backyard picking plants and reading books. I think Eva really enjoyed the extra attention from Lynn and Evonne :)

Here is Evonne and Eva reading a book (teaching Eva how to count)...

Over the weekend, Dana got his new bee hive and was SUPER excited to put the bees in place...

Eva and I enjoyed watching from a distance...

Lets hope these ones are happy with their home and produce lots of honey for us :)

On Sunday, our neighborhood had its annual street festival, which we were eager to attend.  We went as soon as they opened, knowing it would be raining later in the day.  Eva had a blast running around and checking things out.  Her ultimate favorite was when a guy gave her a balloon.  She was so happy with that thing, she couldn't stop smiling and running around with it...

This morning, Eva got her first big slice of watermelon.  Face speaks for itself...

And the perfect picture to end on. My baby girl all worn out after keeping busy all week long...

What's in store this week?  Gearing up for Easter with all her friends :)

While we are just as busy as ever, I just had to allow myself a one week brake from blogging, hence no blog last week.  And, after taking just one week off, I have so many new things to share (and no time to edit, sorry for the horrible transitions).

Gone are the days where I told everyone about my "really good eater".  It seems Eva has turned into "Miss Picky" overnight.  I can't get her to eat any veggies, barely any fruit, well, nothing seems to be interesting to her except goldfish and macaroni and cheese.  She wouldn't drink her milk, or juice, or whatever....so I finally caved in and tried chocolate syrup in her milk...and what do you know?  Little Eva is a regular milk drinker now.

At the same time, though, Eva is really becoming quite smart and been great at showing us everything she knows.  She baby-babbles ALOT, and she sounds so serious in her conversations.  Daddy and I are just dying trying to figure out what she is saying. 

Shes not just socially smart, but she's book smart, too!  She is now starting to match items.  Like, in a book they have pictures in a column that you are suppose to find throughout the page.  I point at something in the column, then she will point to it on the page.   She is also starting to count to 3.  I will hear her saying "Do, Two, Weeeee!"  And, if I'm counting to her, she will count right along with me.

Another new thing I've noticed is that Eva has shown a bit of a jealous side.  I've always noticed, in the past, that Eva has been very passive when other kids have become territorial over something she has or is interested in and has had no problems just giving whatever it is to them so they stop yelling at her.  But last week I experienced something a little different.  While Eva and I were playing with a toy that had 3 pop-up things on it, 2 other girl became interested in what we were doing.  First, Eva pushed one girl away, then when the other girl reached to push the things down, Eva quickly pushed them all down so the other girl couldn't.  I asked her to share, which she started to do, but them immediately sat on my lap and totally showed so much love to me to let the girls know that I was her mommy and not theirs. 

With that, Eva has become very infatuated with her "babies and puppies", which are her stuffed animals.  She prefers her lamb and penguin to sleep with, and when she wakes up in the morning, they need to come out of the crib first, then Eva, then she will carry them around everywhere.  I won't let her leave the house with them, so sometimes we have to set them up beside the door to say good-bye and be sure they are waiting for us when we get back.  It's actually pretty cute.  Eva really has alot of love to give and she will give it to just about any stuffed animal. 

Once all this cold rain disappears, Eva and I are going to be ready to hit the water.  To get a headstart on the summer season, we met up with some friends at a pool a couple weekends ago, where Eva had a BLAST.

And later that day, Eva had a date with her friend, Cole (these two were SOOO CUTE together)

While it was sunshine and hot days not that long ago, it quickly changed for us over this last weekend.  We were stuck indoors all weekend with tons of rainfall and hail.  Probably the only time ever that the midwest had better weather than us.  Daddy, Eva, Rocky, and I managed to entertain each other enough to not go stir crazy, and right when we couldn't take it anymore, Heather, Ryan, and the kids surprised us with a visit.  What a great way to end the rainy weekend!

Since Eva and I are so busy these days, I have a hard time selecting the pics I want to use in my blog, so this one might be a little picture heavy :)

First of all, I want to wish my Little Brotha Man a very Happy 29th Birthday....Happy Birthday, Derek!  And, in preparing for your big day, Eva was hard at work in her art studio (eating paint is part of the process for drawing her inspiration)...

On Monday, we had Eva's 15 month checkup, which went terrifically.  She is 2' 9" (97% for her age) and a solid 24 lbs (67%).  I knew she grew a ton in the last couple months so I wasn't surprised at the results. 

On Wednesday, we had fun at our toddler class, as we always do.  Eva actually sat down for a while and listened to teacher Michelle read "Brown Bear"...

On Friday, we made another trip to the zoo.  This time we went with our friends, Marieva and Mommy, Paula...Here are the girls having fun with the tractors...

And, you can also see Eva was super interested in the rattlesnake (Of course!  Of all things!)

On Saturday, neither Mommy or Daddy wanted to make dinner, so we went out to Fridays.  Eva discovered lemonade and mozzarella sticks (yummy!)

On Sunday, we went for a morning walk on the water downtown, making a stop at The Cancer Survivors Park (yes, a park for cancer survivors!  It was very inspirational)

And later met up with Lori and Steph for a beer tasting at Stone and a yummy burger at Station Tavern.

While hanging out at home over the weekend, Eva was a big helper.  She was out in Daddy's garden during the day, and helping mommy put away dishes at night.  She LOVES helping me and really is a great helper...

Lets not forget "chair time".  I'm telling you, this was the best purchase I have EVER made since Eva was born.  She loves chairs so much and is just ecstatic to have one of her own that she can carry wherever she wants.  She spends lots of time at night with her "babies" and her purple chair.

Lastly, to end this long picture blog post, I would like to leave with a picture dedicated to you, Miranda ;)