(This is a screencap, not a video.)

At naptime today, Elliora nursed and then declined to actually go to sleep. So we got up and played with Photo Booth instead.

(0:58)

In this one, you can hear her saying “yeah,” one of her favorite words; and you can see her bottom teeth pretty clearly a couple of times. Every time she leans forward, she’s touching the monitor where she could see her face, and occasionally banging on the keyboard.

(1:07)

When I say “ow” in this one at the :49 mark, it was because she flung herself backwards so suddenly that her head connected with my cheekbone rather painfully. I don’t know if, when she says what sounds like “back,” if she was actually saying that word. But I figured it wouldn’t hurt to repeat it and move her back to the laptop. At the end when I tell her to say bye-bye, she actually says, “ha,” which means “hi.” Contrary little twerp.

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If you only watch one of these videos, watch this one. It’s the shortest, and there’s lots of laughing (plus me pulling faces) in it.

October 2: Annalie’s been doing a lot of drawing on her easel chalkboard lately. I thought this one, of a pear on a branch, was particularly good.

October 3: Class in in session. (Homeschooling can be kind of awesome. In our dress code, pajamas and bedhead are perfectly acceptable attire.)

I looked out the window of Elliora’s room and saw four deer across the street in our neighbor’s yard. (One of the deer is just to the left of frame, behind a bush, so I didn’t bother trying to get it in the shot.)

October 4: I couldn’t get Elliora to lie on the couch for our monthly photo session; she kept rolling away. I tried to sneak some photos in one day when Katy happened to be in her bedroom while we were in there playing, but I couldn’t get Elliora to look at me for a single photo. Oh well. This is very representative of 10 months.

We got a new chair from our neighbors who were getting rid of it after it didn’t sell at their garage sale. Elliora loves it and has already figured out how to push it up against the couch and use it to climb up.

October 5: Troy had to come home on a lunch break. I grabbed the opportunity to take a photo of him and the girls. (He normally wears civilian clothes on his commute and changes into his uniform at work, so we don’t see him in uniform very often.)

Elliora, just reading in her chair.

October 6: My friend Carrie, who is married to a Swede and used to live in Sweden, mentioned that October 4th is National Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden, which inspired me to try making some tasty Swedish cinnamon buns, also called Kanelbullar. I knew that Swedish pearl sugar I bought just because it was pretty would come in handy someday.

I went painting pottery with both girls, and all things considered, I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. I managed to keep Elliora entertained and paint at the same time but it was exhausting.

I painted this sign (“NO WHINING. Kthx.“) for my friend Katie as an unbirthday gift for her to hang in her high-school English classroom.

October 7: Elliora decided that her toy basket looked like a comfortable place to sit.

October 8: We were invited over to our neighbors’ for pizza and the last swim of the summer in their pool. I was sitting in their living room when I glanced out the window and saw they had “Live long and prosper” painted along the inside of the fascia on their front porch, so you’d see it as you walk out the door. I’ve been over there a half-dozen times and never noticed it before.

Elliora on the left at 10 months; Annalie on the right at 17 months, in 2005.

October 10: Elliora has discovered a love of being underneath tables. We’ve discovered how many gross things and choking hazards normally live underneath our tables.

October 11: Elliora has also discovered the basket by our fireplace where we keep firewood and old newspapers. She takes her job of spreading every last sheet of newspaper around the room at least once a day very seriously.

Speaking of Trekkies, Elliora looks adorable in her ThinkGeek Starfleet Academy Cadet onesie, don’t you agree?

October 12: It’s really hard to make mashed-potato casserole look pretty.

October 13: I love it when geeky friends come bearing geeky gifts. Well, technically Laura painted the bowl on the left for me because I painted a dottery bowl for her with a BBT quote (which I never got a photo of, I just realized). And Sonja mailed the bowl (with quotes from the song Friends Forever in the Scrubs episode “My Musical”) to me, she didn’t give it to me in person. But the point stands.

October 14: These apple-pie cookies (via smitten kitchen) were extremely delicious. I kind of want to go make another complicated, time-consuming batch right this very second.

October 15: Elliora getting a taste of fall. (Har har.)

October 17: Rainbow sparkly fingernails! The polish (Rainbow Connection, natch) is from the OPI Muppet collection. It made me happy every time I glanced at my hands. Too bad it chipped and peeled so easily. But I’ve been told I should try a base coat next time and that might help.

October 18: Elliora is a climbing fool.

October 19: We went on a leaf walk for science, collecting red and gold leaves and talking about why trees change color in the fall. Annalie copied a list of words for handwriting practice and just to help her learn the words. I threw a couple of pictures in there and told her to write the words for the pictures. The picture for #6 was a tree, and I had to laugh when I saw how Annalie had spelled it. When I pointed her mistake out to her, Annalie thought it was pretty funny too. She said, “I don’t know what I was thinking. I know how to spell ‘tree!’”

Here’s the thing: it’s really hard to make a quesadilla look pretty in a photo. I suppose I could have gussied this one up with a garnish of sour cream and cilantro, or even just remembered to take a picture before I devoured half of it. But I’ve decided that my friend Madge is right to be suspicious of pretty food, and that often the uglier food is the better it tastes. Yeah, gonna go with that.

It helps that my quesadillas usually are quite delicious. I suppose it’s hard to mess up a tortilla filled with melted cheese, but still. I think we’ve all had blah quesadillas before. This is not blah. It is, if I dare toss modesty out the window for a second, sublime.

Avocado and Caramelized Onion Quesadilla
Makes 2 quesadillas

• 2 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 flour tortillas
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 2-4 Tbsp. salsa

First, caramelize the onion: Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet (large enough for one of your tortillas to fit in the bottom) over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Reduce heat to low and let onions cook, stirring occasionally, till very soft and golden brown, about a half-hour. (If you’re in a hurry, you can cook them for less time, but the longer they cook, the sweeter they’ll get.) When the onions are done, remove them from the pan. You’re going to use the same pan to cook the quesadillas but don’t bother wiping it out or anything.

To assemble: fold a tortilla in half to crease, then open. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the cheese over half, up to the crease. Top with half the onions and half the sliced avocado, and spoon 1-2 Tbps. salsa evenly over that. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of cheese on top of all, and fold the tortilla at the crease, pressing down gently. Repeat with the second tortilla and the remaining ingredients.

Heat 1 Tbsp. butter in skillet over medium heat. Arrange quesadillas in skillet. Cook about a minute per side or till browned and slightly crisp, flipping carefully with a wide spatula.

Slice into triangles and serve hot—garnished with sour cream and cilantro, if you like.