True mobility

The baby is now proficiently crawling!  This is excellent (and earlier than Maya), but it also means that my baby-proofing hell is now a reality.  Baby-proofing with a pre-schooler around, especially in the North Country autumn with its never-ending supply of fallen leaves, is exhausting.  There is always, ALWAYS, shit on the floor that the baby can get.  I'm trying to think back to what these months were like with Maya, and I have no recollection of it being this stressful.  To the best of my recollection, we didn't even have a gate on the stairwell going upstairs until after she could climb the stairs (Annika's not there yet, by the way).  Did I not worry about my office/the plants/cupboards/trash/toilets/cat toys in the same way?  I mean, yes, now I have all of Maya's tiny-pieced toys to worry about as well, but damn, the rest of the stuff is all stressful too.

In any case, Annika no longer remains where you leave her (EVER), which will be interesting over the next month while husband is in Peru again. Luckily, my parents will be here for a week over Thanksgiving, which should help a TON, but I'm trying desperately to figure out how to manage the evenings while solo parenting.  One piece of good news: Annika is now sleeping in her crib for the first part of the night, giving me a teeny bit of extra time one-on-one with Maya and/or husband. Granted, she's never made it in her crib past 10:30pm, but hopefully with time, she will stay asleep longer and longer before screaming to be rescued!

OK, I'm off to give comments on a manuscript, but I just wanted to check in and say hi :)  I can't believe how big/old Annika is getting - while nursing her down for morning nap today, I just sat and marveled about how I'm now essentially nursing a cusping toddler.  She's in 18 month clothing ("big kid" clothes that make them look like real people), and she's starting to get toddler proportions.  Her hair is coming in sooo thick and pretty, and with curls that look identical to her sister's.  Now all we need are some words!!!

Husband went out of town and we snuggled

I gave a super fancy talk (this isn't me, but it is one of
the other speakers at the same event so you can envision)

Mama and Maya time

Fall came in a hurry

Sisters

Maya and I made autumnal-themed shortbreads :)

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