11 months!

She's growing up fast.
Usually I'm a bit anxious for my kids to get a bit older. Not this time.
I guess it's because she's the last one, but it's going by way too quickly.

Our little Kendall is 11 months old today. She is such a delight and brings joy to my soul. Don't get me wrong, my other girls do too, but there's just something about the smile of a baby. Her delight bursts out of her through her little legs that kick with excitement as I pick her up. And even though she's not talking yet, she babbles with glee as if there's so much to say that she just can't contain it. Lately, she has discovered the joy of ice cream. She will sit there and squack at me until I hold up the spoon for her. Then, rather than opening her mouth right away, she'll get so excited and "talk" and bounce up and down for about 20 seconds because she's so thrilled that she gets some. It is the cutest thing, and I am overwhelmed with love.

And now she's playing peek-a-boo with the towel, and my heart melts all over again. I'm pretty sure she's saying Ma-ma, and she's starting to gain her balance. (Not quite standing alone yet, but I think we're getting close.) This is a wonderful age, and I am so excited to see her little personality emerge more and more.
We love you, Kendall!

Playing With Kendall

Out of the blue, Kendall started playing peek-a-boo with a napkin at Olive Garden today. It was so cute, so we just had to recreate it at home, complete with two other wild girls. Enjoy. :)

Spotlight on Ashlyn

Here's my sweet Ashlyn. Cheetoh face and all...

She is really a delight these days. I have seen her maturity level increase along with her abilities, and she's really quite amazing to me at times. So, I just wanted to take some time to highlight where she's at currently.

She's now 4 1/2 and has not slowed down since age 2. She still goes very fast, but at least now she's a bit more coordinated, so we don't have the major spills as often as we used to. However, we still call her 'Crash', and she still lives up to that name! I'm actually pretty surprised that she's never landed in the emergency room!

So, since it's sometimes easier to take pictures of her "in action" rather than posing pretty, here are some shots of what she currently enjoys doing:

the beloved roller racer

(they get going pretty fast down the driveway, and it actually makes me really nervous!)

the hoola hoop

(She did it the other day for probably 20 seconds...way better than her mother!)

and the ottomon

(which in our house, should be called the vault)

I am really enjoying having her in my Pre-K class this year. I had no idea how it was going to work out, but she is doing really well.

We made a class book, and each student drew a picture of him/herself. I thought Ashlyn's was pretty cute and fancy. :) (You probably can't tell, but she drew smiley faces within the letters of her name.)