If you've met me or my husband, you know that we have slightly different social styles. More often than not, I bound into a crowd and strike up a conversation while Derek hangs back and observes the crowd rather than burst out in speech. And supposedly he was like this as a child as well - apparently Derek wasn't early to talk, but when he did it became apparent that he'd been paying attention. According to his mother, he went from barely speaking to "Can I have some pancakes?" and other full sentences.
Well, it seems that Addison is taking after her dad rather than after me. Ever since she was born, she's been a watcher. Even in the delivery room, she seemed to be watching us just trying to figure things out before she decided what to say. And as she's grown, she still seems to take a few minutes in any situation before she is willing to socialize. And as for talking? She definitely takes after Derek there.Addison may have been an early walker, but she's been a little slow to pick up speech. Granted she talks up a storm in baby-speak, but when it comes to English she only have a few words. At the moment both Derek and I are still "mommy" as are several other people and most animals. I'm pretty sure Derek will jump for joy the day she says "daddy."
However, despite only saying a few words (mommy, uh-oh, wow, hi, bye-bye), in the last few weeks she's started uttering sentences. One night as I was cooking dinner, she out of the blue pointed at the pan and asked, "what is it?" We were pretty shocked. And then the next day she added, "what is it called?" and "where is it?" to her repertoire.
It's amazing watching her grow up and develop. I'm sure a lot of things miss our attention, but the things that we do notice often blow us away. And she's only just over 18months old! I'm a little nervous to see what she'll surprise us with in the next 18.
As Derek is away on a work trip at the moment, I'm not very inspired to cook. It's always more difficult to cook for 1 (or even 1 and a half) than it is to cook for a crowd. So while he's gone, the only thing I've cooked up so far is pea soup. So, here's the pea soup recipe... I make it in my crock pot, so the kitchen stays relatively cool on these hot August days. Enjoy.
Slow-Cooker Pea Soup
1 bag dried split peas
6 strips bacon, sliced into 1/2" pieces
4 carrots, diced
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use a garlic press)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chicken bullion
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
1. Cook bacon in skillet as you normally would until almost burned. Transfer to crock pot
2. Add everything else to crock pot. Stir once, then cover. Cook for 4-6hrs on high or 8-10hrs on low.
3. Stir to mush up peas and season with salt/pepper to taste. Enjoy!
