Every kid loves leaves. And Nans.

So I've been suffering through a bit of writer's block the last few weeks. Not that there hasn't been anything to write about--believe me, epic sagas, operatic melodramas, and slapstick farces have occured since I wrote last (the slapstick was mainly me, and mainly accidental). I've just had a hard time taking those events and putting them down in anything vaguely resembling a coherent thought.

Or maybe I've just been really, really lazy. You decide. Mom, don't answer that one.

Anyway, a couple of days after Thanksgiving Sarah, Janet, and I were raking our front lawn for the first time this autumn when it hit us: why not stick our 9 month old child, who is barely mobile and has a very hard time distinguishing between pureed apricots and toxic sludge, in this 3 foot tall pile of leaves and dirt and goodness knows what else and take lots of pictures? Sure, she could eat a passing cockroach as the pile slowly engulfs her, but it would be so cute!

These are the things that cause kids to hate their parents later in life.



Fortunately Eden survived and we were able to post the results. No cockroaches, no asphyxiation from an overlarge oak-leaf pile, just one cute kid and a happy Nan. She did manage to chomp down at least part of a leaf at some point (Eden, not her Nan). We know because we saw it again when it came back up, along with a conglomerate of breastmilk and mixed veggies. But hey, who hasn't eaten a leaf at some point in their lives?

Oh (and here's the writer's block kicking in again--two weeks of child development summed up in a couple short sentences), Eden has also started to crawl, eat cheerios, and throw temper tantrums. That last one is my personal favorite. Still no teeth, first words, or skinny legs, although by Christmas I expect to have taught her to recite A Christmas Carol while playing Greensleeves on her children's piano. And if she won't perform it for you when you ask, well, I guess it means she just doesn't like you. That, or once again her father got lazy and skipped her training, counting on her spectacular tantrums to make new friends.