Eleven Months with Edith

In the past month Edith has changed a ton. Her hair is getting thicker, she's getting taller, she says more words, she has finally gotten over her nervousness about pulling herself up to standing, she's developed a teenage attitude... All signs that she's getting older.

Edith has added several more words to her arsenal and can say Ginger's name better and better every day. I think my favorite new word of hers is 'saw'. I guess that's what happens when you have a worker guy like Big around. It's the tool he always lets Edith use, since she tends to shove the wrenches, screwdrivers, and hammer handle too far into her mouth so she gags. It's not very much fun to play with someone who's making constant gagging noises. 


I love it that sometimes when we walk up to Edith she'll say, "Hi, Baby". Guess she's heard that a few times before. Oh, and Edith has begun calling me by my first name on occasion. When she's tired or hungry it's always 'Mom', but in casual conversation she tends to refer to me by my actual name. A little earlier than the other kids have tried it out, but whatever.

Edith is also beginning to make more sound effects-- she can roar like a lion and makes car sounds when she plays with vehicles. She still loves to sing-- she joins in during the hymns at church, and she'll often crawl over to the cold air return here at home and strum it like an instrument as she sings. I love it. She attempts to sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star', doing the motions as she goes. It's so cute when she tries to make a diamond shape with her little fingers. 


Looking outside at what's going on in the yard is one of Edith's favorite pastimes. 

Although, Edith's love of doing that is usually eclipsed by her love of looking at herself when she notices her reflection in the window. Better give that cute baby a kiss.

*(Tired baby warning for the rest of the pictures in this post. I had to make her stay awake until after we had picked up Big from school. Some heavy eyes and a bit of attitude may be in evidence.)

Edith is a bit obsessed with balls. Especially her dad's basketball that she calls a 'ball-ball'. 

Once she gets her hands on it, she doesn't want to let it go. It can make doing some things a bit difficult.

After some wrangling, though, and some brief panicked moments when I had to remove the ball from her hands, I finally got Edith dressed. Let's take a few photos of how cute you look, Edith!

After about 3 more photos the whole exercise seems to have lost it's luster. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

I swear that she just asked, "Are you done yet?" No, no Edith, I'm not. We've just barely started. You're going to be so happy with me. We have 15 more minutes until we go get Big from school. Why don't you stand here at this window and I'll take some photos while we wait. You can show everybody that scrunched up face you've been working on. You kind of scrunched your face up in the first photo in the chair, but I think you can do better. 


"Are you serious, Mom? Do I really have to? I'm tired."

"I'd really rather just pick the grout...

...and look outside...

...and, hey! I wonder if this will provide my gums any relief?"

You can do better than that, Edith. Work it, girl!

(We pause for a brief baby zone-out due to exhaustion)...

Okay, back at it.


"What?"

"Really, Mom? I'm disappointed in you. You're such a slave driver."

I know, Edith. I'm sorry, but we still have 5 minutes to kill. Smize for me! (smile with your eyes, for those not in the know)

Okay, that felt more like an attempt to kill me with your deadly glare than a smize, but we can work on it at another time. Why don't you just be yourself.

Okaaay. Never mind. Hey, it's time to go! 


"Really, Mom?"

Really. Let's go get, Big. Happy Eleven Month, Edith, we love you.

Friday Favorites

1. I really do enjoy to cook. More than the cooking even, I appreciate the results. Especially when there are leftovers. I made a nummy cauliflower cheese soup this week and got to eat it 4 times. I love it when I'm hungry and I realize there's something waiting in the fridge for me to eat with little additional effort needed. Tonight's salmon was great, too. I'm glad I've been blessed with the 'good cook' gene. 


2. Speaking of making things in the kitchen, I made some english muffins for the first time this week. I love me some breakfast sandwiches, but it's tough to find english muffins that don't have a bunch of yucky added ingredients/preservatives. Plus, they're so expensive. The muffins I made were a big hit, so much so that I only got one. I think I will start to make them at least weekly. They're really not that hard and taste so much better.


3. Edith turned 11 months old today. Looks like another blog post will be on the way soon. 


4. Rophone is so supportive. And he thinks I'm hot. I like that.


5. Rophone worked the equivalent of two days yesterday. I didn't like that very much, but it allowed him to take the day off today. Now that I loved. It's so nice to hang out together and we managed to get some errands run. Big and Edith were happy to have him around, too.


6. Rophone braved Costco today with all of the older kids while I hung out at home with Edith while she napped. Heavenly. I mean, not only not having to go to Costco, but getting some alone time, too. Thanks Rophone!


7. A few years ago, I was asked to take some pictures of some students at a school for autistic children. Today I received a copy of their brochure and was so glad to see that they were able to use my photos. It makes me feel good to think I helped in some small way. Along with it I was given some fantastic salsa. I ate it with my lunch and my taste buds sang. 


8. I love my family, and I'm learning to love my life even when it's not going super well. I think I've been guilty of being happy when things are good and moping when they're not. I'm trying to be better. 


Happy weekend! 

Finally!

We finally got a little snow that stuck around. It's hard to believe that it took until the second half of January for it to happen, but we're glad it did. It allowed the kids to go out and do a little of this:

The boys got out there first and made use of the perfect little slope we have out back. Well, perfect except for the bushes....

...and the branches. Oops.

No wonder they were wincing every time they went down the hill. 

It didn't seem to faze them, though. 

It's funny, I didn't even notice the sticks until I looked at the pictures later. The boys weren't reacting much as they went through them. Pen, on the other hand....

Ginger just went right over it all.

We even got Edith out there to give it a go. Doesn't she look excited?

Yeah, she could hardly contain herself the whole way down.

Oh, yeah. Her enthusiasm is palpable. 

Maybe if we give her another turn...

Nope. Still nothing. Maybe if you scream with enthusiasm when you get to the bottom, Pen. Surely Edith will do the same...

Hmmm. Guess not. 


We trundled Edith back inside and the other kids continued to have a great time. For ages. It seemed a lot more fun once the girls located a few less bush and stick ridden paths for their sleds to take. 


This is the kind of winter fun I was hoping for when we moved into this house and I saw the little hill in the back. This is the reason we made sure we had a few sleds on hand. I'm glad we finally got some snow so my dreams could be realized! 


I'm hoping for more snow storms this winter so I can enjoy a couple more hours of the kids amusing themselves so I can read a book watching the kids have fun!