swoon

am in some sort of parenting denial. is this common? it must be. my teeny newborn is nearly one:

my OTHER teeny newborn is three months shy of THREE. As in YEARS. OLD!!!!!

i... just can't process it. AND YET:

already they are laughing at me. ALREADY.

eleven months

my sweet audrey beans. yesterday she turned eleven months old. where did the last year go? no, seriously. i'm asking.

this kid is incredible. i mean, let's not rewrite history. the first four months were a nightmare. so colicky. so barfy. i feel like i didn't even meet her until september. but OHMAIGASH was she worth it.

i remember thinking no way would i ever want to have another kid after she was born. i mean, her birth experience was AWESOME, but everything after that was really, really, really difficult.

but then... it changed. somewhere around nine months she fell into this completely awesome stage and i want a million more of her. (HIGHLY unlikely there will be more, but i've still named my hypothetical third daughter all the time anyway.)

miss audrey at eleven months:

• is crawling like crazy.
• puts everything in her mouth. if she sees that you've spotted her with something she shouldn't have (usually a sticker) she jams that thing in her mouth SO FAST it's actually pretty impressive.
• eats like a champ (see above). loves absolutely all food - eats almost entirely table food with the addition of her happy bellies cereal in the morning. 
• weighs about 22 pounds - only four less than her big sister and they essentially wear the same size diaper.
• wants to walk, but hasn't figured out how to move her feet. 
• trying very hard to pull to a stand. i'm sure i'll find her standing in her crib within a week or so.
• claps.
• mimics olivia. they have nightly screeching matches after dinner. 
• WORSHIPS her big sister. 
• also madly in love with her daddy. she gets crazy excited whenever she even hears his voice. 
• hasn't gotten the hang of sleeping through the night yet. sigh. 
• is a total and absolute LOVE.

i can't believe it's almost her first birthday.

aw

i have to say it. I HAVE TO. these kids? SO. FREAKING. CUTE.

but, can i also add? how tired do tom and i look? because whoa. we are so. very. tired. i guess audrey looks a little tired (or pissed) in this picture, too. she is, yet again, fighting a losing battle against her sinuses. the sheer VOLUME of snot that comes out of this child's face has got to be some sort of record. it's like there was a water main break in her nose.

topic? EASTER DRESSES, YAY!!!

olivia: audrey, i know this photo-taking business is bullshit, but i have a stash of mini eggs in my shoe. just smile so they'll free us.

oh. my. GAH. look at those delicious legs. I LOVE HER.

happy easter, self. (and swistle and sage.) ;)