Thursday, January 8, 2009

She Is

She is strong-willed. When the nurses tried to hold her in, she forced her way out. She was ready, even if they weren't.

She is opinionated. Give her a toy she doesn't want and she dashes it to the floor, using her newly free hand to grab what she really wants.

She is tenacious. She learned to climb before she learned to walk. She did it so she could reach toys that had been placed out of reach.

She is full of wonder. Take her outside and she hushes, taking in the sunlight, the twittering birds, the buzz of the neighbor's lawnmower. She is wide-eyed and looking in every direction. "Show me more!" she seems to say.

She won't be ignored. If her sister is getting lap time, she muscles her way in. If that's not enough she climbs higher on my shoulder. If that doesn't do the trick, she gets into nursing position. The kid knows how to work the system.

She is tough. She rolls off beds, jumps out of arms, falls while learning to walk and barely misses a beat. She's given of a dozen heart attacks, but just keeps going.

She is funny. She'll roll up my shirt-sleeve to get bare skin upon which to blow a proper raspberry. If I'm laying down, she'll lift my shirt to blow on my belly. She chuckles at her own trick and does it again and again just to hear me laugh.

She laughs and cries lustily and with great purpose. There is something wrong. There is something funny. She can't talk, but she can communicate and she does it with unmatched fervor.

She is my Dos. My do-si-do. My monkey. My cookie. My bunny.

She is one year old today. I can barely believe it. The textbooks say she's not a baby any more. She'll always be my baby. My special baby girl.





3 comments:

Grumpy but sweet said...

this is beautiful.
happy birthday Dos.
you are a lucky girl.
your mommy is lovely.

Eli said...

That is very touching. Thanks so much for sharing.

But whatever you do, don't keep track of your child's age in months.

(Yesterday was my 302nd birthday!)

Heather said...

ingrid: thank you!

eli: I start losing track of months after 14 or so. Then they're 1 and a half no matter what the months say. :)