Unfun Birthday

My little Eva Alexandra is now a whole hand old! I wish I could say we had a nice, family night on her birthday but, unfortunately, that did not end up being the case. At the suggestion of her Montessori teacher, who said she's been struggling with letter sounds and has not been progressing in some areas at her normal pace, we went in for a visit with an audiologist and an ENT doctor.  I was prepared for them to maybe say she needed tubes in her ears because she's had some ear infections in her life; what I was not expecting was for her to completely fail the hearing tests in both ears and for the doctors to tell us that she's experiencing significant hearing loss.  On top of her middle ear canals not functioning properly (which the tubes should correct) she had a foreign body logged in her right ear canal.  She must have stuck something in there in the past month or two and we never even noticed. The doctor tried to dislodged it with this God awful ice pick looking tool and I'm certain it was the most physical pain Eva has ever experienced. Jason and another nurse held her down while the doctor worked but it was useless, the object didn't come out and Eva's ear had blood pouring out of it.

We're going in this Wednesday to have tubes put in, to have the object removed and to take out her adenoids as well.  I am so incredibly nervous for her to be put under for over an hour but modern medicine is a blessing and I know everything will be fine. And the she can get back to the silly, fully hearing self that she used to be and we can look forward to Kindergarten in the Fall!

In the midst of all this turmoil I've almost forgotten to step back and simply be amazed at the fact that my baby is FIVE.  Wow... time sure does fly.

Getting ready for her hearing tests

In the soundproof box, talking to the audiologist

Being a goof and playing Dr. Eva Parks before the ENT doc showed up and ruined her day

Daddy explaining what was going to happen, since he had it done himself when he was little

Moody Eva

 I've been really into low light black and white photos lately. Here are a few I took this past weekend in our hotel room in Wisconsin.

Gymnastics

I have been horrible about blogging lately! Truth is, we've had a ton going on and every spare minute I get on the computer I'm spending on photography stuff.

 

So, it isn't very exciting but here are some shots of missy miss in her current gymnastics class. The lighting in the room isn't that great so these aren't award winning shots but I know you all love seeing her in action nonetheless :-)

 



 

stick and finish!

 

Leg down

leg out in front of her, that's why you can't see it ;)

She's actually on the balance beam on this one, not the trampoline, which makes it even cooler in my book

 

Eva's Activity Review- March

We have a ceramics studio that's open to the public right down the road from our house. I've been meaning to try it out for years and we finally did with my friend LaRae and her two kids. It's probably better that we didn't go when Eva was any younger because my own OCD tendencies kicked in a little bit towards the end and I wanted to finish her jewelry box for her so that it was "perfect." I'll learn to let go someday.... right?? ha

For $7 you get access to the studio and all the paints and then you select the item you want design. We picked a vintage style heart with wings jewelry box and it actually turned out much cuter that I was expecting. Once you're done painting you leave the item with the studio and they fire and glaze it and all that jazz and a week later it's ready for pick up.

Overall I would highly recommend this place. I think we may even go back with my mom for Mother's Day and let her go to town on a big platter since all of the items are food and dishwasher safe once finished. 

Awesome concentration (in the beginning)



She is such a goof



Before



After

We added the date inside the box, hard to see from here but should be cute to look back on in 20 years
(assuming the thing isn't broken by then!)

Sunday Funday

I was away from Eva a lot last week. I worked my normal 40 hours at the city plus 3 five hour shifts at the restaurant on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Plus I was gone all Tuesday night for a photography class. Needless to say, I had some mommy daughter time to catch up on on Sunday. 

We started out the day sleeping in (yesss) and then heading to the Y to meet up with my friend Gina and her daughter Maria for swimming.  The girls had a blast in the water; I swear Eva was a fish in her last life.  After that it was time for lunch at Eva's favorite spot- Chipotle.  She is usually such a light eater but she goes to town on Chiptole. And of course we had to stop at the Coldstone right next to the Chipotle for some dessert :)

Next it was off to the movie theater for Escape from Planet Earth and, because Eva can't go to the movies without popcorn, she had second dessert. Sort of like a Hobbit and second breakfast...

Then it was salon time. I swear it's the best $5 I spend. Eva feels like a big girl princess, I get tons of compliments from the other ladies in the salon about how cute my kid is, the nail techs oogle over her good behavior and she walks out with fab-u-lous nails. Total win!

Finally it was home for some quiet time with daddy. We ended the night with tons of books and I let her sleep in our bed. Call me a sap, but I love snuggling up to that little girl in the middle of the night.  

Bathroom Playtime

For some crazy reason, Eva's newest spot to play is in the bathroom.  I suppose it makes sense to a 4 year old.  It's super warm - the heaters seem to run on full blast 24/7 in there - and there's great floor space for puzzles. Eva has taken to making a store out of the counters and tub and linen closet; she'll arrange all of her items to sell and then Jason and I come in and shop. She even has a cash register on the toilet! 

I snapped a photo of her playing while she wasn't looking; I love this photo. Such contentment, such concentration, such pure childhood innocence.

 

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” ~ Albert Einstein

Eva's Activity Review- February

Yesterday was President's Day so Eva and I both had off from school and work.  We met up with Eva's best friend Sadie and her mom at the most awesome green house that's just a few minutes from our house.  I had never been there before, as my green thumb might as well be blue for how well I handle plants, but we'll definitely go back.

For only $9.99 the girls got to pick a pot and customize them with plants and decorations. We spent over an hour just soaking in the warmth and humidity of the green house- a very needed retreat in the middle of a Minnesota winter. Overall this place was a great find; room for the girls to get their wiggles out without the crowds of most places on school release days, affordable, close to home and creative.

Striking a pose- just a ham

Riding on the cart

Prayer plant, a cactus and a pretty pink one :)

Could they be any cuter!?