Right now. Your daddy calls you the girl with the golden hair. It's finally begun to curl right up around your ears. It sends pangs of loss right to my heart to see my baby turn into a child before my eyes.
Strangers always marvel at your eyes.
"Those eyes. Those EYES," an older Black lady said today as she passed you.
You love to wave at people and sometimes get so excited that both hands have to get in on the action.
Sometimes you open books and begin to speak gibberish like you're actually reading.
If I look away from you for even a second you look at me and cock your head in my direction as if to say, "Um hello, don't forget about me."
You squeal with delight at the kitties. You squeal in delight at a lot of things. Sometimes it quite resembles shrieking in terror. You're ambiguous like that.
The heart-shaped birthmark on your thigh is growing into something very unheart-like. I'm pretty sad to see it go.
You're pulling yourself up to standing and getting up on all fours but you remain disinterested in crawling. You continue to remind me that patience is a virtue...and so is having a baby that can't crawl before your house is babyproofed.
Your favorite toy is my wallet. You can get every single credit card, dollar bill and receipt out of it in seconds flat.
You are a ravenous eater, devouring everything from artichoke torta to shrimp and grits to plain yogurt. If I want to eat something in front of you I better well be prepared to share unless I want to witness a complete meltdown.
You nurse more or less constantly through the night. We need to fix this because my sleep deprivation is bordering on dangerous these days.
I have to keep careful track of what I give you to eat. You have been known to keep your fist clenched for hours around a tiny nugget of cheese without anyone (not even you) remembering it's there.
You love music, especially "Bom Bom" by Sam and the Womp. As soon as I put on the music video you start bumping up and down excitedly.
You give hugs and big open-mouth kisses but only to me and Daddy. We feel very special.
Right now,
You are perfect.