10 Reasons I'm Grateful for Everly

Sometimes I focus too much on how hard of a baby/toddler Evie is, but we love her very much and she has so many great qualities. And I'm a little late to the internet thankful party happening yesterday, but better late than never, right?

So here are 10 reasons I'm grateful for Everly 
(phew, text heavy, beware! But I'll sprinkle in some cell phone pics.)

10. She takes me places. Or rather I take her places. I'm experiencing a whole new world of story times, aquarium visits, park exploration, and trips down the toy aisle at Target. Places I might not frequent otherwise. Good times Evie, good times.

9. She's my little buddy. I'm never alone. While this is one of the hard parts about motherhood --- the loss of independence, it's also fun to have a little buddy everywhere you go. A little friend to share secrets with, talk to, hang with. I look forward to the day when she's bigger and these conversations can go both ways, instead of me looking like a crazy person talking to myself as we stroll through the grocery store together.

8. Dressing a baby girl is fun. I wanted a girl, I got one. And while she won't really stand for any styling of the hair she does let me dress her in almost anything I want (no hats!). I have a lot of fun with it.

7. She reminds me of me. Though everyone (and I do mean almost everyone) thinks Evie is a little Joey in appearances (and they are right) she is much more like me in demeanor. And seeing those traits in Evie makes me see both sides of the coin -- the ways those qualities could be seen as both good and bad. And I'm glad she's mine so I can help her focus her energy on the positive sides of those qualities (persistence, determination, strong sense of taste (she knows what she likes), broad range of interests, social). It also reminds me of the negative side of some of these same traits I personally want to avoid....enough said. Thanks Evie!

6. She is funny. Okay sometimes unintentionally so but she really does make me laugh. This week it was when she was stuffing her cousin's face with cheerios. He's 15 months, she's 17 months and whether he wanted those cheerios or not she was determined to "share" with him. So funny.

5. She lets me tickle her
Joe won't let me tickle him. Most of the time when I try to tickle Joe he gets bugged. Sad.
Everly not only lets me tickle her but she has an awesome giggle when I do. Giggle giggle giggle. It's a source of great joy, tickling a baby. Thanks for that Evs.

4. Everything is magical to Evie
Lately, every single time I put Evie in her carseat she points at the light by the door. She thinks its the greatest thing ever. Then she looks over to the other unopened door (where the light is off) and looks back and forth. I say to her "on...off...on...off" and she thinks this is awesome. It's so fun to have a little person to get excited over the "magic" of everyday things.

3. Raising her is intellectually challenging. I'm a bookish, learning, school addicted person. I've always loved fall for the back to school time that it was. New pencils, backpack, calculator, protractor -- and then in college, very expensive textbooks too. I loved it. All of it. And I loved it because I loved learning. I miss that structured school type learning, but being a parent is intellectually challenging too, just in a new way. Being a parent requires more research, innovation, and experimentation than any non-parent can possibly imagine. I'm amazed by all I have learned and continue to learn.

2. She's made me more grateful for Joe. Watching her with Joe has been amazing. He wrestles with her. She smiles in excitement when he comes home. And only dad would help her dance/punch to "Eye of the Tiger" on the radio. Hilarious. I'm grateful that the arrival of Evie has helped me appreciate Joe in new ways and especially appreciate ate quiet alone time together, which is far far to rare these days. You wanna know where I'd like to go on vacation? Back in time for a week to our pre-kid life so we could bask in our life before kid worries and naptimes and babysitter coordination and just be together. Sigh. For now I'll settle for a date to the Muppet movie with my man, and I cherish those 2.5 hours all the more since Evie's arrival.

1. She makes me a more selfless person.
Evie has been a hard baby from day one. She has a really charming personality but a tough temperament. And the nights of good rest have been few and far between. And more tears have been shed since her birth (hers and mine) than I expected. But while all this difficulty makes my life--well--difficult, at times. It also makes me a better person. It's made me more grateful and productive and overall selfless -- particularly, with my time & independence. And those are lessons in life I really needed to learn, painful though they may be.

So I'm grateful to Evie for that -- and grateful for all she's brought to our life: laughter, happiness, giggling, silliness, and a deep and resounding appreciation for things like chocolate milk. You're right Evs, chocolate milk IS amazing. Thanks for the reminder.