Edie Turns 2!: CSA Summer ’14 ” Week #13
Edie at work!
Two years ago today, I went into labor with little Edie (aka Edes, Edie Peedie, Eaders). It was the Sunday evening of labor day weekend. Mike was at the Pioneer fields tilling. I called him around 5 pm to say things were starting. And like a bat out of hell I started cleaning our house, knowing it was the final chance for a true cleaning for weeks to come.
As the evening went on, women began to arrive. First my best friend, then my sister, the midwives, and finally my mother from Ohio. Magically, Zea went to sleep on schedule. I’ll never forget… I was reading her a goodnight book and suddenly the contractions intensified. With no alarm, just curiosity, she asked, “Why are you breathing so funny, Mom?”
I spent a lot of the early labor hours out on our porch, listening to the pulsing of late summer crickets and to the coyotes calling back and forth to one another. Inside, the midwives prepared. This baby was to be born right where Zea had been… in the side room in a birthing pool.
Zea slept through all the chaos of a woman in labor, yet somehow she seemed to sense a change in sounds. Not 30 seconds after the midwives told Mike it was time to wake up Zea if we wanted her to witness the birth, there she was, calling down from the top of the stairs.
3:45 am on Labor Day, 2012, Edie arrived. After carrying her during one of the worst droughts and hottest summers Wisconsin had seen in a couple decades, it was a fantastic thrill to have her finally join us on the outside.
Edie was a remarkably similar baby to her elder sister, Zea. Her temperament and physical development were almost lock step. It really wasn’t until she turned about year old, that I could begin to understand who she was going to be as an individual. And of course that unfolding of her personality is still on-going and so much fun to witness.
Edie is a serious, yet silly little girl. Her default expression is somewhat of a pout, which is easily dissolved into a huge smile given the right impetus. As all of you parents out there know, it’s hard to put your child into words. So instead, here’s some of my favorite things about Miss Edie:
Edie loves to help, whether it’s sitting on the counter with me while I cook dinner or helping get the eggs from the “chichins.”
When I finish work for the day, Edie demands: “Boots off, Mama.”
Edie delights in balls, and loves to run after them, always with her head and chin tipped way back. It’s a miracle she doesn’t fall more.
Edie is what we like to call a pistol. She will do what she’s told not to do with an adorable, devilish smile. Sometimes Mike and I struggle to supress our grins during these moments.
Edie loves to imitate Zea, both in language and action. The imitations are imperfect and endearing. My favorite is when she imitates Zea trying to spell something. She just shouts, “E! I! E! A!”
Let’s just say Edie is still grappling with the difference between big and little, mama and baby. Everything little is a baby, and everything bigger is a mama. She’ll show you a ‘baby’ tomato on her plate and then show you the larger ‘mama.’ If she sees a small insect, it’s a baby, cause it’s little.
It’s hard to believe she’s already two. Her latest catch phrase is a slur of words with definite meaning, “NoWanTo.” On the one hand I’m bracing for the independence and defiance that will surely accompany 2. But on the other hand, it’s bittersweet knowing how fast it will all go until she’s 3. The days are long, the years are short.
Cheers to chubby toddler legs and mispronunciations. Happy birthday, Edie!
Thanks and enjoy your veggies.
Sincerely,
the Noltnerwyss family
In the Box:
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Garlic
- Muskmelon
- Pepper, Anaheim
- Pepper, Carmen Sweet
- Pepper, Red Bell
- Sweet Corn
- Sweet Onion, Yellow
- Tomatoes, Heirlooms
- Tomatoes, Slicers
REGs only:
- Broccoli
Weekly Recipes:
Summer Week #13: Wednesday, September 3rd” Group A EOs
