11 months

Today is E's 11-month'er. Here's the update...

A few of Evie's latest tricks include:

• Walking (with the right incentive, we've be able to get 10-11 steps out of her!)
• "Sooooo big"
• Signing "eat", "more", "all done", and "water"

A few of Evie's latest favorite things include:

• Fake laughing at herself when playing solo
• Tearing anything paper-like she can get her mitts on
• Kissing all of her animal pictures just before bedtime

Editor's note: Chose this pic partially because, if you look closely, you'll see that TLO is showing off her first three teeth!

Sad day for Southwest

On Friday (2/19) a small grease fire at Heidi's restaurant on 50th and Bryant (just 2 blocks south of our home) quickly grew to a massive fire which engulfed and destroyed five of SW Minneapolis' signature small businesses... Heidi's, Blackbird Cafe, Patina, Shoppe Local and Stacey Johnson Jewelry Design.

The Backer clan were regulars on that stretch... and are praying for a speedy recovery. Griff and Maya loved the dog-friendly Patina (hoping up on the counter for a treat every time we stopped in), Evie loved browsing around Shoppe Local (always enjoying a sheet of tissue paper, business card, or some other freebie the staff volunteered to keep her entertained), Linds loved date nights at Heidi's and I've got the Blackbird's Banh Mi near the top of my list for the Twin Cities' best sandwiches.

Hurry back now!

Anything you can do...

Ev's deep into the "mirror me" phase as of late.

Linds and I quickly learned that if we'd like to complete a task and maintain happiness in The Little One, we'd best have spare "accessories" nearby.

As you can see... the morning routine is no exception.

Lean, mean, climbin’ machine

Little did we know that Evie had mastered the art of climbing steps (in fact, we hadn’t even seen any acknowledgement of the stairs to date).

A few days ago Linds yelled, “Ry, Is Evie out there with you?”. After a quickly combing the floor (hearts racing), we heard her yelling at us from… upstairs! And not only upstairs, but upstairs playing with a fists full of toys she had lugged along with her. So, EJB successfully navigated our wooden stairs… on her first attempt… in the blink of an eye…1-handed… in total silence.

And so it begins.

Off to Target to pick-up a few baby gates!

Somebody's been sleepin' in my bed...

... and the b@stards are still there!*

Editor's note: Anyone remember this quote from Grumpier Old Men?