21 Months

"Outside, mommy?" She asks in her precious little voice, a smile lights her face, her eyes alight with hope and anticipation.  "Of course!" I reply, knowing that she will all but ignore me as she explores every corner of the yard, content and happy simply to be in the fresh air.  I watch her run around, looking for the perfect "walking" stick, jump for joy when she stumbles across the perfect leaf, watch a spider skitter out of sight through the fence, and dig in the dirt, and wish her life could be this carefree, this joyful, this contented, forever.  I know, we all grow up, become jaded, endure heartbreak and loss but, why cant there also be this much joy in the simple pleasures the God has given?  How can I help her maintain as much of her peace, joy, innocence, hope and wonder as possible?  I want to help her never lose that beautiful light that shines so brightly from within.  I vow in this moment to live with hope, joy, peace, innocence and wonder that I wish for her to maintain.

If I have learned anything in the 21 months I have been a mom, it's that children have this amazing wellspring of happiness and boundless energy that rarely seems to diminish.  Some say they siphon it from their parents, I say they replenish our dwindling stores.  I know that's true for me, for when I am at my most exhausted and emotionally drained, all she has to do is smile and request we go outside.  Instantly I am happy and my energy is restored.  I'm not sure how or why, but it works every time.

Now, about our "the sky's awake, so I'm awake" saga, yes, she still rises early, yes, I dream of more sleep, no I am not going to try to change her internal body clock.  The reason I won't do that is simple, I am not going to work to make her sleep schedule meet my desire to sleep in now, and then work to "fix" it again to match the need for her to rise early for school when the time comes.  I see no reason to force her body to change, if waking up between 5a and 6a is what she naturally does on her own, I will embrace it and except the wonderful perfectness of how God made her to be.  I will just strive to go to bed earlier myself.  (I know, getting to bed earlier is so much easier in theory...)

Emma is growing so much faster than I could have imagined, and, while I want her to just stop growing already! I am loving seeing the amazing young child she is becoming.  She tells us when it is nap and bedtime instead of simply crying because she is tired (at least most days,) she loves to tickle our necks, loves to go for walks, and loves being outside.  She also thinks some of the best things to have for snacks are fruits, veggies and cereal.  She could eat that stuff all day long! I consider this to one of our biggest parenting wins so far. I mean, when your 1 year old asks for a banana, homemade sweet potato chips, (they are amazing, I tried one. Ok, more than one, I had two. Alright fine, I had like 5....) kale, and organic pumpkin raisin crunch cereal as a snack, how can you not consider that a parenting win? lol

OH, in just over 2 months, she will be 2! How on earth did that happen??!?!?!