Nine months. Three quarters of a year. Lots and lots of minutes. It’s been a month of sickness here at Loafkeeper Farm. Andy is battling bronchitis, Anya trounced an ear infection, and I’m dueling with a cough that just won’t toss in the towel. Don’t worry; you can’t catch our germs through the blog, so you can keep reading.

This month Anya…

+ Got the knack of the clap. She loves to clap. She claps, and then she claps to applaud her clapping. I clap, and she claps to tell me I did a good job. Andy burps; Anya claps. Larry eats a pea; Anya claps. She’s very encouraging and will make a great manager some day.

+ Discovered the joy of The Raspberry. When she first learned how to Pblblblblbbllb, she did it ALL the time. Even when she had a cheerio in her mouth. Or a pea. Even when she was falling asleep. Plllllbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….zzzzzz….zzzzz. I’m not sure which is better: Smooshy Face or Raspberry Face. I’d let you vote, but I don’t think we’ve captured a Raspberry Face yet.

+ Read Cat in the Hat (with some help from me). She thinks Things 1 and 2 are very naughty and should have to sit in time out.

+ Said the following (and then Andy said): Bonzai! (Look, it’s a cat!); It’s a chicken! (No, that’s your foot).

+ Ate lots and lots of cheerios. Lots. And peas. And popcorn butts (you know, the soft part).

+ Decided that crawling is for babies. She will skip that and walk. No, she can’t walk, but every night she and her Daddy practice standing (Andy’s pretty good at it). She’s still practicing crawling, too, because her bff, Emma, can crawl and has told Anya all about how yummy DCP’s silk curtains are.