Life

Let's talk about Eve for a moment:

She toots her own horn sometimes, but right now it's my turn.

Eve Rosa Ames is a complete and absolute dreamboat.

Always happy, always moving, loud, funny, silly, determined, snuggly, and addicting; that is our Eve.

She is becoming the girliest of girly-girls as of late: necklaces have quickly become her trademark.  If she can get her hands on a necklace, you'd better believe it will be around her neck in 2.4 seconds.  I've taken to keeping strands of mardi gras beads in my purse because they are the ultimate in special treats and distractions for her -- she's so fancy :)

She is our brown-eyed girl, and I love it.  I love that my parents express continual amazement at how she is identical to me as a baby -- love that. I love that she is a total mama's girl, but also can't get enough of Brian.  Or Charlie, or Lucy, for that matter. She is an equal opportunity lover baby.  You cannot spend time with Eve and not feel important and loved.  She has an amazing gift.

Eve communicates surprisingly well for a girl with one understandable word; and its all because of her little point.  I'm mama; Brian's mama; Grandma is mama; Charlie and Lucy are mama.  But she let's you know who she is talking to because she will proudly point at you with her pointer and middle finger, thumb sticking straight out.  It's so cute.  I know it doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it is ca-ute.

Her famous line is "ook" (prounounced like "look," minus the l), and it means, appropriately, "look."  With those 2 little fingers pointing, she will exclaim "Mama, ook!" and all it takes is acknowledgement of what she was pointing to to evoke a huge grin and often a small applause from the sweet babe.  Eve reminds me of what is truly important in life: to be surrounded, and acknowledged, by people who love you.

I took her in for her 15 months appointment today and she is long and lean, just like our other babies.  At 20 pounds and 31 inches tall, she is in the 20% for weight and 75% for height.  She has her daddy's long torso and her mama's long legs; I call her our super model baby.

What'd I tell you? So fancy, right?

Eve came into our family when I needed her the most.  I had mild postpartum anxiety/depression after Charlie, and then really bad postpartum anxiety/depression after Lucy.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize it at the time -- I just thought that having kids was really, really hard.  It wasn't until Eve was born that I was given a clear view of everything.  For the first 5 weeks of Eve's life, I was myself again.  I was happy, excited for life, and able to laugh again: it was WONDERFUL!  And then, after that 5 weeks, I crashed into that same dark, painful place that was all too familiar.  Because of my 5 weeks of happiness, I knew that the anxiety and depression I was feeling wasn't normal and I was able to get the help I so desperately needed.  I literally was given my life back.  I find it no coincidence that Eve's name means "life."  She gave me my life back.  She is my gift.

 I am so grateful for my beautiful baby Eve.  She is my joy, my gift, and my life (well, 1/4 of it, atleast).