my baby is 11 months!

oh my baby.
as i sit here tonight contemplating the week ahead of me...
it's another doozie of a week.
i'm still trying to organize my dressers, cabinets, life... while at the same time maintaining the order of my full-time home.
sometimes i wonder WHY i am in this predicament again.
why are my closets messy?
why haven't i sorted my garage since i moved in (this summer)?
why don't i get more done during the day?

and, i'll tell you the answer...
I HAVE A BABY!!!
oh, how babies take a big chunk of your life.
i have been blessed with a couple very easy, go with the flow, you don't even know they're there, babies.
eve is a FUN, happy girl.
but she is BUSY as BAMBURGERS (??as my grandmother would say- not sure i got that right)
{add to eve- my very active five year old and you will understand why i'm so tired at the end of the day!}

this week eve got a new Britax carseat (from target).
she was so excited.
she is blurry in almost every picture i have ever taken of her.
this is both because i don't really know what i'm doing with my camera,
and because she is FAST!

i have LOVED her four teeth and her darling smile.
she almost always has messy hair because she pulls out her ponytails FAST.
she thinks she is pretty funny.

she sings when we sing and she bounces up and down whenever the kids practice the piano.
she crawls, she climbs, she can stand for a LONG time-- great balance!
she would have been walking EARLY-- but i reacted VERY strongly whenever anyone encouraged the walking motion...
i'm a fan of crawling.
she walked about 8 steps tonight-- i'm certain she could be an official walker with any encouragement.
she is officially the fastest moving, most active baby i've had.

tonight we played ring around the rosies, which she thought was great until the "all fall down"...
eve is a TURTLE.
she HATES being on her back...
hates it.
hates laying down, hates having her diaper changed, hates playing horsey- where i bounce her on my knee and then lay her backwards, hates getting her hair washed in the bathtub.
she wants to be up and moving.
she bonks herself often and almost always has a bruised face.
she is a smarty...
when she wants to climb on the coffee table she'll drop a book, then climb on it to reach the drawer, then climb onto the table.

eve is not a child that sits and plays.
she is a dumper.
she finds great joy in emptying.
laundry baskets, scrap fabric baskets, toy boxes, Tupperware drawers, ect.

i was laughing when i sat with her one day and tried to teach her to put the rings ON the baby toy where you have different colored rings on a stick.
she only wants to throw them off.
she was grunting in defiance as i tried to take her hand and help her put them back ON the stick.
she is FUN-NY!

and, she LOVES putting her fingers in other people's mouths.
or pinching your neck.
when i'm rocking her to sleep, she has to have her hand in my mouth...
when i try to take it out, she wakes up and screams.
hah!  that baby...

oh, heaven knows that i can handle kids with spunk-- and i have my quiver full of them.
i adore this child.

completely.
people who think seventh children get neglected do not know much about how large families work...
seventh children get more love and attention than first children get.
for sure more than only children.
little eve has 8 people who surround her constantly with love and adoration.
she brings MUCH joy to our home.
and not MUCH time for organizing.

i'd choose her over housework any day!!
well, most days anyway!  {smile.}