Y’alllllll. This post has been sitting in my drafts since May 12. Perhaps longer than that, who knows!
Spring is my faaavorite season, so of course there’s an abundance of photos below. ;)
Here’s some journal entries from April / May:
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I’ve started reading out loud a page from my friend @christinagracehutson‘s “Intentions” book every evening during dinner.
Each morning while we have breakfast, I read Everett a daily devotion.
& recently, my Mama started singing to him this old methodist hymn, “There's Within My Heart a Melody”. When she finishes singing to him, he looks at her and smiles so big.
Every single time we sing or talk about Jesus, Everett gets so still and listens so intently.
I had to look up the lyrics tonight so I could sing that song to him while I washed his hair (because hair washing has become very overwhelming to him lately), and as soon as I finished singing the bridge, he looks at me for what feels like an entire minute with the sweetest smile.
My eyes fill with tears.
It was like everything in our souls that brings us happiness collided between our gaze and there was just this explosion of love surrounding us.
I’m crying as I write this.
Being his Mama is such a gift.
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Everett has started copying me saying, “What a beau-ful day”! He also says, “big beau-ful trees, beau-ful gumballs, beau-ful leaf, big beau-ful bridge.” i love his big beautiful heart!
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He is the absolute sweetest! Everett will voluntarily clean up toys after he’s done playing with them. Recently, he’s started making 3-4 (sometimes 6) word sentences. Still working on trying to jump. He has also started pretending a little bit. His favorite way is to say “mama sleepy” where he wants me to lay down on the bed and pretend i’m sleeping. He’ll snuggle as close as he can to my face and just smile. It reminds me of when he was a teeny baby and slept in the doc-a-tot beside me in bed. He would get as close to the side of it as possible, as close to me, and i would lay my head on the side of it where he could feel my breath and know he was safe.
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Everett has been sleeping a little better lately, averaging 4-5 straight hours in his own bed! (if you’re a new friend here, my son has never slept longer than 2-3 straight hours in his 2.5 year life!)
He hit a big growth spurt and developemental leap recently, which is amazing to see! He usually repeats what we say or wants us to repeat what he says, but he’s starting to make his own sentences and it just blows my mind!
Yesterday at the park, Everett bent down and rubbed Funny Buddy (his elephant toy) in the dirt a few times and said, “Messy Funny Buddy!” He also played in the dirt/mulch on the playground for the first time, which is huge because he doesn’t like to touch stuff like that! Watching him become more understanding of his surroundings is the coolest thing.
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He very much appreciates perfect lines. He’ll get something lined up just the way he wants it and will say in the sweetest tone, “Perfect!” He pays attention to the smallest details; like dust… it’s absoute magic to him.
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We had a very good visit with my family on Easter. While he still doesn’t play with other kids, Everett did name each of his cousins a few times when we were at my mom’s!
He has never wanted to interact or play with anyone other than Nick, me and my parents. If someone tried to play with him, he would always get overwhelmed and cry or cling to me.
Yesterday, I was pushing Ev on the swing and my very good friend Nicole asked to sit beside him on the other swing. He was so excited! He kept saying her name over and over and laughing.
We moved to the hammock so he and I could swing together. Nicole was on the big hammock. Everett wanted to get down and swing next to Nicole!! After a few seconds of sitting with her, he got down and asked for her hand to take her with him to the trampoline!!! This is so big, y’all!! He played chase through the yard with her, too!
Earlier in the day we went to Nick’s mom’s house and for the first time he kept saying, “Lala and Grandpa!” over and over! He got to swing in the hammock at their house and ran through the yard, laughing and having a great time.
I am so incredibly proud of him!! This is such a huge answered prayer!!
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Everett's brain absolutely fascinates me. On one of our walks at the park recently, he was running past a chain linked fence and said, "Diamonds!".
Isn't it amazing how we can see just a plain old fence but children see art and shapes and extraordinary things?!
As he continued to run, we were approaching a patch of dandelions. Maybe 3 feet away, without stopping, he said, "4 dandelions". Sure enough, there were exactly 4! Like whaaaat!! This guy is a super genius!
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