and then she was 11 months

if i run into you you're going to have to listen to me yack about how phoebe is 11 months old already. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? i pretty much talk to everyone about it. ty, the girls, family, friends, the UPS man, strangers in the store. "how old is your baby?" they ask. to which i reply, "11 months old. can you believe it?" and even the UPS man feels badly for me that i don't have a baby anymore. i can't shop in the target section of "Just One Year" anymore either. not that i buy clothes for phoebe in the first place, but really? who thought up that campaign? i'm pretty sure it's sent millions of mother into a depression with just the title.

whenever i have asked this question over the years "can you believe ____ is ____old already?", ty always responds in the same way, "yes." that's it. no empathy. no gasps of bewilderment. i always act like i've been robbed, "when did she get so old?!"  "did you know next MONTH is her BIRTHDAY?"  "what happened to this year?" and i wander around the house feeling sorry for myself because my baby is growing up without my permission at all.

but grow up they do, and will, for forever.  as of late, phoebe is crawling. real, legitimate, tummyofftheground crawling.  she was in an annoying "i can crawl but i'll whine so you pick me up phase" for a few weeks. which i gladly obliged to.  but the other day i was tired and told her, "you can do it, just move!" and left the room.  and much to my surprise, i hear a splashing sound 2 seconds later. she had crawled across the room to get elbow deep into dirty mop water. perfect.

with this newfound independence we are realizing a few things, 1. our house is not babyproofed. 2. we cannot leave construction materials around the ground, 3. i need to sweep and mop 2,000sq feet of tile EVERY DAY.  4. she wants to follow the girls everywhere and yells for them to slow down. it's hilarious.

*bill, are you noticing the right cheek wedgie action? man, that gene is strong.