Return of the Blog

Hello!

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything to this blog - sorry about that. The truth is I wasn't really up to posting for awhile - partially because I was just way too busy, and partially because what was keeping me busy (the whole working mom bit) was also keeping me feeling a bit glum overall. And no one wants to read post after post of repeated grumblings, right? Despite the general tilt of my personality toward the melancholy, I didn't really want to write post after post of repeated grumblings either. So I decided to give the ol' blog a break for awhile. And awhile turned in to 4 to 5 months. It happens.

But big changes have been afoot in the Hough House lately, and I'm excited to share them all with you. The fact that I also have a little more time to share them now should give you a hint regarding what at least one of those changes might be... but more about that later. Right now I want to try to catch you up to the present - well, at least through the end of July. It's going to be a whirlwind tour, so hang on to your hats!

Shortly after my last post in the beginning of April, we took a family trip to Yosemite for about 5 days. Eden went on her first hike and pretty much cried the whole way. The only time she would stop crying was when another hiker appeared on the path - mostly because she immediately became curious about the new person. This saved us from the fear that someone would turn us in to the authorities for cruelty but didn't keep that first hike from being pretty miserable for all involved. The next day however, we decided to take a hike on a little path near our cabin, and this time Eden proved that she was more than able to be a happy camper (happy hiker?) when she felt so inclined. She even indulged in a short snooze on the way home. This trip contained 2 other firsts as well - the first time Eden clapped and her first scary fall - head first off the hotel bed while Peter and I were a little too focused on looking over the trail map. (Perhaps someone should have turned us in to the authorities after all...) I'm pretty sure the thunk of Eden hitting the floor was the loudest and worst sound I've ever heard in my life - followed closely by the scream she let out immediately afterward (which, both Peter and I noted later, seemed much more like an "angry" scream than a hurt or frightened one). She recovered pretty quickly though and never got a bump or even a bruise. I'm still a jittery mess about it though.

Two of us:

The Not-So-Happy-Hiker:

Fun times:

Short snooze:

Yosemite:

Other items of note: Eden stood on her own without support for the first time on May 7th. She had her 9-month checkup on May 14th and weighed 16.69 pounds and was 28.3 inches long. Her much anticipated first steps were taken on Sunday, May 24th, in the presence of both mom and dad, as well as our friend, Shanelle!

In June we flew back to the Midwest for a family reunion in the Smoky Mountains. It was the first time everyone (grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins) from my mom's side of the family had gotten all together since before I was married. The reunion was also a surprise 80th birthday party for my wonderful Grandma Green - I am so thankful that all the details were worked out and that everyone was able to make it. Both Peter and Eden were introduced to many relatives and, apart from a terrible cold I developed a few days into the trip, a fun time was had by all. Eden also started waving "bye-bye" on our last day in the Midwest - right before we flew back to California.

Stretching our legs at a rest stop with Cousin Cedric:

Passed out on Grandma at the cabin:

Fuzzy family:

Curly top:

Shortly after we returned from the family reunion, Peter went on a trip to Africa with students and staff from his school. They had an incredible time and were able to visit several organizations that the school might partner with and support in the future. While he was gone, my sister-in-law, Laura, visited for a week with my nephew. We had a wonderful time just relaxing as well as taking fun little adventures each day to places like the Huntington Gardens, Kidspace, and the beaches in Malibu (which my nephew referred to as the "Big Water"). I was very sad to see them go when the week was up.

Flat tire on safari:

Masai man:

Laura, Eden, Cedric:

My beautiful baby:

Kidspace:

On July 16th, Eden dropped a toy from the changing table while I was changing her diaper. I said "uh-oh!" and she looked right at me and repeated the word, drawing out the second syllable: "uh-ohhhh." And she's been saying it ever since! Usually she says it when she drops something, but she will also say it sometimes for no (apparent) reason. She was cracking us up the other day by saying it whenever we told her no or to stop doing something:
"Eden, out of the trash!"
"Uh-oh!"
"Don't put that cat food in your mouth!"
"Uh-oh!"
"Eden - no! Put that down!"
"Uh-oh!"
"Eden, please stop squealing in that incredibly high-pitched way."
"Uh-oh!"
Well, you get the picture. It was even funnier because she was so serious and sincere when saying it. We would have to hide our faces so she wouldn't see us laughing and continue it as a joke.

She has actually become quite a mimic verbally and will often repeat words immediately after we say them although "uh-oh" seems to be the one she understands the most and uses independently. Other words she has said, or at least mimicked, include: mama, dada, kitty, no, wow, more, tada!, and e-i-e-i-oooo (from the Old McDonald Had a Farm song). There is also an interesting and very hard to describe "la-la-la" noise that we think is supposed to mean banana.

It's hard to believe the time has passed so quickly, but Eden turned one year old on August 1st, 2009. I will write another post soon all about her party and the other big events that have happened in the month of August - promise! (Although, please be generous with your interpretation of the word soon.) For now, I hope you feel at least a little bit caught up on our lives over the last few months. In addition to some new posts (and hopefully regularly occurring posts from this point on), I will be working on some other changes to the blog to get it a bit more up-to-date. It's definitely a work in progress at the moment though, so don't be surprised if a few things seem missing or a bit unfinished for a (hopefully brief) time.

Until next time here's a short video of Eden walking/climbing to tide you over.