Two scoops of cute, please!

When it comes to Halloween, I'm a bit of a Scrooge. I don't like planning costumes, making costumes, wearing costumes, going to costume parties... you get the idea. But I don't want to project my bad attitude onto Marla, especially since Halloween is such a big deal for kids. Besides, how could I deprive the world of seeing this girl dressed up like an ice cream cone?

It started out a little rocky...

She settled in once we got Betsy posing too.

(Betsy didn't have a costume per se, but she did dress up as a dog wearing a pink jacket.)

We eventually got some smiles out of her.

Who needs candy when you've got a baby this sweet?

Happy Halloween!

 

Ten months

Just when I got used to Marla being nine months old, she went and got a month older. Crazy how that works.

Wait... I'm HOW old??

Let's see... what's new with our girl? She's become quite the crawler:

But also spends a lot of time doing this:

And this:

And this:

(It's difficult to see in the cruddy photo, but that's a head stand she's attempting in her crib.)

She's growing enough hair to accessorize!

Apparently ten months is old enough to start sharing my clothes:

She even talks back to me sometimes!

(I hope you all enjoyed Jeff's psychology narrative. Can you tell his class is currently studying child development?)

Happy ten months, baby girl!





Apple orchard

We took Marla to the apple orchard a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful, sunny day and a good time was had by all.

We stopped at Papa Murphy's on our way home, and while we were waiting for Jeff in the car, Marla and I played a rousing game of peekaboo.

Multi-tasking

I know everyone has their quirks, but sometimes Marla is downright weird. Her latest fascination is with stuffing odd things in her mouth and letting them hang there while she goes about her business. I'm choosing to think of it as multi-tasking, rather than mimicking the dog.

Maybe this is where they came up with the phrase "put a sock in it"?

Last night she crawled around for about 20 minutes with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. "Hey Mom! Don't mind me, I'm just brushing my teeth while I head toward the power strip."

After much manuevering underneath the table, she reached her destination, where I was forced to intervene. She screeched in protest, which I took to mean, "You're no fun and you don't understand me at all!" I can only imagine what we're in store for when she's a teenager. 

Our bookworm

Marla has always liked books, but lately she just can't get enough of them. In fact, she bypasses all her other toys to get a hold of one. She turns them over in her hands, flips through them, talks to them, bangs them together, and of course chews on them. I think most parents want their kids to like books, but as an English major, it makes me absolutely ecstatic.

The only time she sits still is when we're reading to her, so we do it a lot. She seems to have a few favorite books and definitely a few less-than-favorites. She figured out how to turn the pages on her own, which has made reading with her feel much more interactive. Here we are reading "How Do I Love you?" (We read this book about six times a day. I could recite it in my sleep.) 

This morning I caught her "reading" one of her books by herself, turning pages and jabbering at each one. I'm amazed by the way she seems to be absorbing the whole process. She GETS it!

 

For Grandpa

My Grandpa, Joseph James Martodam, passed away two weeks ago. He lived a long, full, healthy life. He was 85 years old. He was tough and proud, but still teared up when he said goodbye to his family before leaving for a winter in Texas. He was stubborn, with a gruff demeanor, but quick to smile and wink mischievously. He was a veteran and an athlete, and the only grandparent brave enough to jump on our trampoline with us when we were younger.

He worked for the DNR for years. He loved working in his yard and his shop. He was a fisherman, hunter, and jack-of-all-trades.

He was a loyal and loving husband, married to my grandma for 64 years. Joe and Marcella's wedding, October, 1947:

At our wedding, June 2006:

He was a father to five, grandfather to ten, and great-grandfather to six:

 

He was a strong Catholic and a faithful Christian. He was a good person, who loved and was loved by many.

I'll end this post the way Grandpa used to begin every evening meal, with the blessing that will always, always make me think of him:

Bless us, oh Lord,

And these thy gifts which

we are about to receive from thy bounty,

through Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Rest in peace, Grandpa. We love you, we will miss you, and we will not forget you.

 

Risky business

As soon as she learns how to slide across the floor in those socks, we're shipping her off to Hollywood to earn some money for her college fund.