Caroline is a really independent baby. She would rather figure something out on her own than come to me for help. She’s amazingly smart. She doesn’t need me to carry her much (because of ALL THE WALKING), she doesn’t need me to feed her snacks, she doesn’t need me to climb the stairs (which is good because I died dead of a heart attack last night when I found she had climbed a full flight to my bedroom even though she’s never even LOOKED at them before), and she doesn’t need me to rock her to sleep. She likes me well enough, but if you have an empty lap and arms, she will happily come sit in it and hug you.

Just ask the very surprised woman at the play place yesterday who was wrestled into cuddling by one very insistent baby. LOVING BABY GIVES YOU LOVES WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT THEM. I’m not entirely sure the woman was OK with the situation (although that’s ridiculous because who wouldn’t want the most adorable baby ever to cuddle with them?) so I rescued her by letting Caroline chew on my phone (sidebar: Has anyone seen my volume button?)

I love that Caroline is so brave. I love that she’s fearless. I love that she’s a red-headed spitfire and nothing can stop her. But it is equal parts terrifying. If she’s this headstrong at 10 months old, what’s she going to be like at 3? Or 8? Or (God help me) 16? It also hurts my heart a little bit because OMG MAH BAYBEEE. It’s happening too fast. I need time to slow down, to give me more moments with my little munchkin before she becomes a kid.

How many more cheese-face, belly roll, butt crack days do I have left? Today I am thankful for ever single moment.

BONUS PEEK-A-BOO VIDEO!!

So apparently the accent vlog meme started amongst a bunch of bloggers going to The Blathering (which sounds awesome BTW – it’s just friends hanging out and getting coffee and drinking cocktails, minus the sponsors and the drama of a conference). I found other people’s vlogs super interesting and enjoyed hearing them speak words from their faces, so here’s my contribution.

Please to enjoy my awkwardness for the next eleven minutes*:

bebehblog’s accent vlog from Suzanne Davis on Vimeo.

To play along:

Say the following words:
Aunt, route, wash, oil, theatre, iron, salmon, caramel, fire, water, sure, data, ruin, crayon, toilet, New Orleans, pecan, both, again, probably, spitting image, Alabama, lawyer, coupon, mayonnaise, syrup, pajamas, caught

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that curls into a ball when you touch it?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

*I know, that is RIDICULOUSLY long but I didn’t realized it until I was done and I didn’t feel like doing it for a FIFTH time. I will not be at ALL insulted if you skip this altogether.

Hurricane Irene blew through Connecticut on Sunday:

Back patio at 8 am. For the record, we piled all the outdoor furniture over in that corner - the hurricane did not manage to stack our chairs quite so neatly.

This is a game called "Ew, you're stinky!" in which I get a whiff of the toddler's diaper and shout "Ew, you're stinky!" while poking him and making him laugh hysterically. We played for 45 MINUTES.

Rednecks. I'll forgive them since it was REALLY hot in the house with all the windows closed.

Fascinated by the storm

Biggest branch that came down. Luckily it came down on a bush and not through my window.

Skeptical baby thinks we are all fools for going outside.

We didn’t end up with much more than some broken branches and broken patio lights (we forgot to take them down) but being cooped up inside all day might have made us a little stir-crazy. As you can clearly see in the most embarrassing video of myself I will ever post on the internet.

The fact that Little Evan “played” dinosaur with me might be my best parenting moment to date so far.

If you watch this video you will see/hear:

– My super messy kitchen
– My husband’s less than superior iPhone video skills
– My dog eating Goldfish crackers off the floor
– My naked, dirty, just-before-bathtime baby
– My toddler screeching and narrating in the background
– My 8 month old standing
– My dress hiked up rather inappropriately as I sit on the floor
– My goofy, high pitched, talking to a baby voice

AND

– Caroline taking one tiny independent step

This is what my house is like on a daily basis. I think 3,ooo women screaming in excitement and pounding music all in one ballroom will be a nice rest for my ears.