Eleven Months

Evie -loo-who turned 11 months on May 16th. She has changed so much this month; it is all-at-once completely magical and unbelievable. She has gone, in four short weeks, from being a baby to being a little girl.

First, there was the walking (I KNOW, right? People, please keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times... we are moving at warp speed), then there were the teeth, and now? Now we are running. As in: "I-want-to-go-from-here-to-there-a-little-faster-so-I'll-just-pick-up-the-pace" running. My child is a GENIUS. No big deal.

This was the first of her month'days (ya' know, month-birthdays...) that we have spent in Atlanta. It feels so good to be here, surrounded by friends and family and Chick-fil-a's... it's even better than I imagined, if that's possible.

Evie,

This was one of the most wonderfully difficult months to watch you grow. Not because it was hard, but because I am not ready for you to be a big girl. I am not ready for you to need me less... because I will never need you less. You have filled a hole in my heart that I didn't even know existed.

I cannot put into words how beautiful you are... how amazing you are. Your brilliance leaves me speechless on a daily basis. You know how to go up the stairs and then turn around and go down them backwards. You started saying "bye-bye" today... just like that. You heard Lolly say it to you when she got out of the car, and you said it back. Like it was NOTHING. And I am so proud of you... but I wish you would slow down a little bit. Oh, and now? When you don't get your way? You scream at us, like full on vocal-demons-of-the-underworld-coming-out-of-my-throat screaming. That I could do without. But, as much as you are able to do, you are also very cautious... which means that you don't get hurt a lot (mommy's nerves thank you).

To live in your world means to see everything as if it is for the first time: to smile at every stranger we pass... to get excited when you see balloons at the grocery store. I will never be able to adequately thank you for everything that you have taught me.

I love you more with every breath.

- Mommy