Hope 11 Months/13 Months

While Cindy and Charlotte were here I enlisted their help to take Hope's 11 month pictures.  It was quite the ordeal.  But look at this one...  What a sweetheart.

I'm writing this just as she turns 13 months, and I can barely remember what she was doing at 11 months.  I don't think she had much teeth - maybe just one or two, and she's up to 7 now with more on the way.  She still hasn't taken any steps or even balanced standing without holding on to anything, but is getting more sure on her feet every day, walking along furniture and while holding our two hands.  She is still vocal and will say "Da-" when Marc comes in the room.  She's eating lots and nursing less and less - becoming more of a toddler than a baby.  She loves to climb the stairs and climb up on short platforms (and has taken her fair share of topples off them - the platforms, I mean, not the stairs).  She cries (and stops) at her daddy's stern "no", which I think is so cute and Marc is quick to comfort her (though not let her continue what she was doing).  When you pick her up, she lovingly pats you on the back and is quick to give hugs and kisses.  She can blow kisses, though I don't even feel like we taught her that.  What a joy!

C & C Visit

Oh man!  Cindy and Charlotte came to visit on their way home from Colorado.  What a treat!

Hope got a ride in her favorite - the Cozy Coupe!  As I was fixing supper I could see Cindy taking her all around the yard, picking up twigs as she went.  What help!

A trip to the City Park while Daddy kept Hope - some good three on one time for Cole.  Cindy took us for a drive to the zoo...and grocery store...and post office.

We took them over to see the progress on our new house and we took a jaunt down the alley to the "Cole's Park".  Charlotte enjoyed herself on the old fashioned merry-go-round.

We all got lots of love and lots of attention.  Thanks for coming to visit!

Hope Outside

I'm not really in any hurry for Hope to walk - except for when we play outside.  It doesn't seem to bother her to crawl on any type of surface, though, if I can get over it (and the knees of her pants can handle it).  Here she is making her way around the yard, exploring with the lawn mower.

Friend Comes to Play

Our friend, Lilli, came over to play.  She's the same age as Cole and they do really well together.  She stands up for herself but is really easy going - doesn't get riled up by hardly anything, which suits us well when Cole's behavior feeds on reactions.  Cole loved having her over.

And this is Hope's favorite thing to do outside - take a ride in the Cozy Coupe.  And Lilli was happy to oblige.

It's fun to have friends come to play!

Lunch

The Blogger App on my phone has stopped working, so I've stopped blogging.  But Marc reminded me that I had uploaded a bunch of pictures before it went on the outs.  So, here are some blogs from a while ago.

One day after our 9 year old friend, Ashton, mowed our lawn we took him out for lunch at Subway.  Ashton hadn't been to a Subway in ages since his sister can't have gluten and also doesn't have much bread at home.  He took his first bite and said it was as good as eating a hamburger.  That made me laugh.

He was a big help with the kids at lunch - getting straws and napkins and chasing Cole.  We had some good conversation and talked about being a big brother.  At one point Cole was annoyed with Hope getting into his space or bothering him and I asked Ashton how he handled it when his younger siblings did the same thing.  He said that sometimes he calmly asks them to stop and other times he gets upset, even though he knows he shouldn't.  I thought that was pretty good and pretty honest.  

Cole looks up to him, and I think that's a good thing.  So glad to have community like this.