7QT

1. Easter was lovely. My mother-in-law came out to visit, and my family joined us for dinner. There was lamb and Italian Easter pie and yes, chocolate. ;) (Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds myself thinking things like "Oh my gosh, I have to hurry up and eat all this so it will stop tempting me" ...?? Because that makes lots of sense, right?) I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures, but Michael had his first Easter basket (complete with a St. Michael softie!) and Keith "hid" his eggs around the living room--he actually found a few himself!

2. There is something that's just different about these feasts as as mother. It felt a bit odd in some ways because I was preparing for Easter during Holy Week. But it's a good kind of different; I think having children helps you enter into the spirit of the liturgical season. Even if it makes it harder to pay attention at Mass. :-P

3. I solicited opinions on Facebook but I will also solicit them here ... I am trying to decide whether to knit myself an Ink or a French Braid cardigan. I love them both. I think I like the look of Ink a bit more, but I like that French Braid is knitted in a heavier weight yarn. Any opinions?

4. Still no mobility, still no teeth ... I really do think Michael's decided he wants to remain a baby indefinitely. ;) Honestly, I'm not worried; but I do wish people would stop saying some version of "When he DOES start moving, you'll be sorry ...!" Believe me, I know that keeping up with a mobile little guy will be a lot of work, but seeing as he's practically a year old, I think I'm ready to deal with it!

5. Oh my gosh. Michael is going to be one year old. In ten days! I have so much I want to do before then--I want to write his birth story (which you all will probably be subjected to ;) ), get his baby photo album together, make him a birthday crown ... we'll see how realistic those goals are.

6. One area he has been REALLY growing in lately is his verbal skills. I keep finding new words that he understands. Mama, Papa, and milk, of course; but also ball, puffs, microwave (haha), kick, Jesus (well, he knows that the crucifix and Sacred Heart are both Jesus), "can I have ____," monkey (and relatedly, "oo-oo-oo") and more I'm sure I've forgotten. He can say Mama and Papa when he wants to, although he can only say Papa correctly if he whispers; most of the time he calls Keith "Bap." Which is really cute. :) And sometimes when we ask him to say Mama or Papa, he says the opposite, with enough frequency that we're pretty sure it's something he does on purpose. Is this a glimpse of his personality? Hehe.

7. In any case, he is definitely going to be a kid you need to be VERY careful what you say around. He imitates words all the time. He tries to say good and hello, and once he even tried to say Jesus, which was too cute. (It came out sort of as "shoosh," haha.) He also loves to imitate the dog downstairs when it barks; he growls at his stuffed bears; he loves to have coughing "conversations" with us and imitates our sneezes. Some of the inanimate noises he's imitated are the turn signal in the car, an aerosol can, and Keith clipping his toenails.

I guess a lot of babies do these kind of things, but obviously my baby does them most adorably. ;)

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