Making It Mediterrasian: Happy 1st Birthday, Eva Charlotte!

My baby turned 1 today! Every day she brings me so much joy. I am so sad she is past the infant stage, but I am excited for the days to come. We have so much fun together, and we adore each other. She's definitely a mommy's girl, but when dahdah comes home, all is right in the world. I can't believe I have a one year old. The weeks just fly by. Time already flies by the older I have gotten, but when you have a kid, it's like warped speed. I sometimes miss the days where she was a cute little booger who was helpless and needed me to do everything for her. But it's amazing owning a mini-toddler. She can open drawers and cabinets by herself. She knows how to close doors, shut our refrigerator and dishwasher, attempts to climb in her high chair when she is hungry, knows how to sign for more when she is still hungry, point at objects she wants us to get for her, play by herself, push buttons on toys, feed herself, and drink out of straws. She's her own little person, and definitely a go-getter. She is the best at mimicking sounds, although sometimes I feel like she is making fun of me. She will randomly fake laugh, that sounds just like mine. *facepalm* She also coughs at you, after you cough, or will clear her throat after you clear yours. It's so funny, but slightly embarrassing when she does it in public to other people.

We spent the fourth of July mostly at the pool, but we ended it with good food and family at my parent's house. The weather was so lovely, so we spent a lot of time outside that day. We didn't get to see any fireworks, but we were lucky and Eva slept right through all of the commotion once we were back home.

Eva learns new tricks every day, and she never ceases to amaze me with what she's picking up on! Here are some of our favorite tricks that she does for us:

1. Super: she flings her arms behind her like she's trying to fly like "superman." She used to only do it sitting down, but she can do "super" standing up as well now

2. Yoga: she literally does downward dog. It's the cutest thing ever. I don't even know how she figured out how to do it. All we say is "do yoga!" and she bends over and does downward dog! My brilliant little girl.

3. Dancing: She can now dance while sitting down, crouching, and standing.

4. She can also point to several different body parts. She knows where her teeth are, her hair is, and where her little chubby foot is.

5. Her latest obsession is with ceiling fans. You ask her where the fan is in any room, and she will look up and point to the ceiling. She loves them!

6. She loves to play with phones. Real ones, toy ones, land lines, cell phones, whatever. She picks them up and holds it to her ear and says, "this is..." It melts my heart. Someday, she's going to amaze me and say, "this is Eva!" She's close, but not quite there yet.

7. Lastly, Eva is obsessed with water. We've spent a lot of time at the pool lately, and she has an absolute blast. She loves to wash her hands in the sink, take baths, play with the hose at my parent's house, and guzzle down her sippy cup full of water. I'm telling you, this girl is crazy for her water.

Of course, I can't forget her chalkboard photo... or my attempt at one.

So it's pretty much impossible to get a good posed picture of Eva these days. She always wants to be on the go, doing something! So trying to get a good picture of her laying on the ground next to her chalkboard was a lost cause. I couldn't let her cry on her birthday, so we compromised. From now on, I imagine her chalkboard photos will be different!

I wanted to share a collage of all the chalkboard photos I've taken so far! Goodness how she's grown! Sometimes, she doesn't even look anything like she used to.

Speaking of taking good photos of Eva, I am so excited to share our cake smash session photos with you guys! My mother in law is seriously so talented. She beautifully captures the moments that are so special that you never want to forget them. Honestly, it was too hard to choose which ones to share, so I'm sharing a lot of them! But there is just too much cuteness, I couldn't not share!