Ever

It's time for a Dolly update, beginning with some funny things she did during Bags's visit. Glad Bags recorded these first few tidbits on her blog, as I would've forgotten.

When we were driving home one evening, Jim was pleased by something I did (can't remember what) and said, "Mommy, you're the best." Ever said, "Mommy's not the best. Only I'm the best." (We do tell her all the time that she's the best. Glad to see she understands the superlative.)

Bag Lady pinched Ever's cute, tiny little bottom and said, "Your bum is so pinchy." Shortly thereafter, as I was changing her diaper, Ever asked me why her bottom was crunchy.

I've been relentless trying to teach Ever to say "please" and "thank you."  When we were driving with Bags one day, she said, "I want my water."  I replied, "How do you ask nicely?" Ever asked, in a British accent, "May I have my wo-tah?" (I think she still forgot the please, but the "May I" and the accent did make it sound very polite.) We got a good laugh out of that one. She often uses a British accent when saying "water." Bags posted a video (which I can't figure out how to save onto my computer) here: http://courtneyhastings.blogspot.com/2014/04/california-ever-isms.html.

She often says "thank you" now without being prompted. She saw me folding laundry and said, "Thank you for cleaning my shirt. Thank you for cleaning my pants." I was wiping down her chair after breakfast, and she said, "Thank you for cleaning my chair." And so on. It's really sweet.

She loves her hand-me-down nightgown, which she calls her "nightground."

She likes to bake with me, and she likes to eat as we go - even if it's just bread dough:

After watching Ever one Wednesday, Karen/Nanny sent Ever home with a "pack-pack" (backpack) full of letter magnets. Ever would put it on and say she was going to school. I would hand her a pretend lunch, we'd say our goodbyes, and she'd go into the next room. Then she would say, "No, teacher!" and pretend to hit her teacher. Then she would come back and tell me she hit her teacher. It was a fun game.

On General Conference weekend, Jim made his famous Belgian waffles. Dolly was happy about it - especially the whipped cream portion:

As Jim's hairdresser, I apologize. I have since cut his hair.

We took Ever out for a bike ride between sessions on Saturday. We headed around the golf course to our friends' house (the Sorensons) for a spontaneous visit. She wanted to wear her pack-pack.

Sometimes Dolly prays. Once when I was teaching her about expressing gratitude, I gave the example of saying thanks for our clothes. Now her prayers always begin with, "Thank thee for my clothes." Once I was getting ready in Jim and my room, and Ever said, "I'm going to pray to Heavenly Father." Then she ran around the corner toward the bed (I couldn't see her after that) and said, "Heavenly Father, thank thee for my clothes. Thank thee for Daddy." At that point, she ran down the hall into her bedroom and picked back up, "Thank thee for my clothes. Thank thee for Mommy." Then she said she was finished and came back into my room.

Last Christmas, Deetrix gave me some music by a band called First Aid Kit. They have a song that includes the line, "Just sing, little darling, sing with me." Dolly's a big fan. We were driving and listening to it, and Ever said, "She singing for me. She say, 'Sing, little Dolly, sing with me.'"

We've been potty training. Ever's doing great. (More on that later.) Now that she goes on the big potty, her baby potty is just carried around the house for use as a stool:

Who sleeps like this?

I took Ever with me to clean the church the Saturday before last. I want to make church-cleaning Saturdays fun, so I decided she deserved a doughnut. She loves her some doughnuts:

I was doing something in my room while Ever entertained herself. Eventually she began screaming in frustration. When I went to see what was going on, I found that she had carried this play station down the hall and was upset because she couldn't get it through her bathroom doorway. She's got this grin down (note the hands don't clap the face anymore):

We went to an Easter party last Friday (more on that coming up), and Ever came home with a balloon. She was playing with it upstairs, hitting it into the air and then catching it when it came down. She said, "My balloon keep trying to get away from me. I keep getting it." Then, to her balloon, "Time-out! [She'd put it in the corner and count.] 1, 2, 3, 4. Why you got a time-out? Do you know why you got a time-out?" (After I put her in time-out, I always ask her to tell me why she got a time-out, and we talk about what she did wrong.)

One of our favorite things is when we go to get Ever in the morning or after a nap, and these are the first words out of her mouth (in a kind of whiny voice): "I love you!"

Does it get any better than this?