while most normal people may think that one month is plenty of time to plan a birthday party...i've been daydreaming about our turtle's spook-bash for over six months now.

if my farmer would have let me...we would have celebrated her six month birthday and nine month birthday.

but for now...she's 11 months old and we'll settle for some milestones:

1. we have a runner on our hands. she's been walking for over a month and a a half now and the head injuries have finally subsided. so as she gains confidence she's been speeding up.



this turns into her new most favorite game called, "shadow." i have a shadow when i get dressed. i have a shadow when i go to the bathroom. i have a shadow when i'm picking up toys.

i'm waiting for the moment when we can make this shadow thing beneficial. like maybe she can carry a broom or duster around?

2. girlfriend is now feeding herself. i'll load her little fork up with food and set it in front of her and she'll pick it right up and aggressively shove it in her mouth. she's always been an enthusiastic eater, but now that we have a sharp object in the mix i anxiously watch every bite. so far, no injuries. she has great aim and hits the majority of her mouth-hole every time.





3. pointing - when i was a little girl i remember being told that pointing was rude. well...i have one rude, little chica on my hands. she points at everything. books, toys, dadadada, tv, coffee, dogs, etc. this always means she wants us to interact with said object in some way. this is nice, because now we know what she wants instead of her whining and us playing the guessing game.

4. speaking of whining. we have the whiniest little gal this side of...the universe. i remember my farmer's mom saying that farmer was quite the whiney little guy and i can safely say our little gal is cut from the same cloth.

this whininess reared its ugly head when i went to dinner at a friend's house. a friend who is pretty "up in the air" about whether or not she wants kids. so as kaye was throwing epic fits (the worst i've ever seen) i could see my friend's decision confirming.

then kaye decided to throw some more tantrums/non-stop whining when my sister and her husband came for a visit.

when kaye's whining/tantrums ceased as soon as they left i've deduced that she doesn't enjoy sharing my attention. we have one spoiled farmer-gal on our hands. whoops.

5. kaye also loves loves to bring us things. it started with books. it was the cutest. she would hand us a book, we would pick her up, read 1.5 pages and then she would wiggle until we put her down. then she would go grab another book.

it has now progressed to her bringing me random objects: dad's dirty shoes, a whisk, mini pumpkin, chair cushion...i'm waiting for her to bring me a mouse trap or a dead fly.

that's a shoe in her hand.
6. and quite possibly the cutest thing? she is now obsessed with giving herself kisses in the mirror. all we have to say is, "give that cute baby a kiss!" she quickly slobbers up the mirror with complete satisfaction.





oh turtle...you're such a little turtle. it's your lips. when you snap them together and walk around like a little penguin...your dad and i just laugh at you (or with you) because you're the cutest little snapping turtle we've ever seen.

speaking of your dad. you loooooove him so much and get super sad whenever he starts putting his boots on.

what don't you love? you don't love hats or headbands. but don't you realize what a cute hat or a little headpiece can do for a gal's outfit? get with the program. you have one year pictures in a few days and you will be wearing both.

nicknames: turtle, turtley mcturtle toots, sweets, girlfriend, sis, baby, sweety-bear...but mostly i call you turtle.

favorite food: bean-wa bowl. i found a recipe on TGITRS blog that she makes for her little man and so i snapped up this super easy recipe for kaye. girlfriend LOVES it. and i love it too. i guess if you mix anything with cheese and sour cream it's probably going to be a win.

likes: still in love with that pink blanket. she sleeps with it every nap and at night. it also goes on all car and stroller rides. tractors are also her top pick for toys.



dislikes: diaper changes, not having my undivided attention, mac n' cheese

oh girlfriend, thank you so much for putting a smile on my face every single day. you are funny, busy, adventurous, curious, and lovable. i can't get enough of you...most of the time. (actually, sometimes it's nice to have a little break from you...let's be honest.)

i love when you growl at me, then i growl back, then you growl...we go on and on and on. if someone were to peak in on our play-time they may think we're a little crazy. especially when you growl with a full body-jerk. you're a little weird.

we have a few things to work on though.

first order of business: stop biting me. we have one month of nursing left to go and then i'm done-zo. so let's make these last four weeks a positive experience yes?

wudduya say you start enjoying the stroller again? the weather is cooling off so it's time to get back outside for some jogging. i need you to relax just a little so we can get 30 minutes of fall-fresh air. mmmmk?

the whining. we've already discussed this. stop it.