Is It Me?

Or has my baby grown this summer? Here's are photos from June and from within the week. I keep looking at her and unexpectedly seeing a toddler. She just carries herself stronger, is so expressive, and acts like, well, not-a-baby anymore. I can't even imagine what she'll be like next summer as a 2+ year-old. My season as a stay-at-home mom is ending as I return to work tomorrow. I have been so blessed to share each day with Beatrice, and I already look forward to our time together each morning before school and from 4:00 through bedtime each day, as well as of course weekends and vacation time. Here are some of my favorite Beatrice moments/memories/things of summer '09:

-introducing her to the beach and the ocean

-introducing her to whipped cream, then ice cream, then vanilla peanut butter hot fudge sundaes (a girl has to work up to such things)

-holding her hand and having her walk by my side

-her first amusement park ride

-her anklet and bracelet

-her size 2 lime green Crocs

-Five new glistening teeth

-holding her passed-out in my lap as our rented van crawled across the George Washington Bridge at midnight

-learning to climb up and down stairs and get off of things safely

-watching her share food with Jonathan at Thai Place

-singing "Turn, Turn, Turn" to her along with Pete Seeger

-sharing her with family, especially her seven cousins, and some of my cousins we rarely see

-how affectionate she has become, and she can't kiss one of us without then immediately going to kiss the other (even if said person is asleep!)

-enjoying her swingset

-eating fruit, fruit, and more fruit

-her signing wildly and voicing "MOH!" after tasting corn on the cob

-watching her discover and enjoy pretend play, which started with plastic stove in Ocean City

-weekly trips to the Farmer's Market

-swimming at the lake

-hearing her sweet voice as she greets people with a long drawn-out "Hiiiiiii"

-seeing how much she thinks before she acts, a quality we certainly hope remains

-her first steps across the floor on our last full weekday together

Anthony and I are as ready as can be for our new roles starting tomorrow. He said he's really looking forward to his time alone with her, and I'm getting a touch of the usual enthusiasm I get each fall when I return to school. I am grateful that we are able to have her remain at home full-time. She is so content at this point soaking in the love of two adults who absolutely adore her, I can see it in her face, and she loves nothing more than when the three of us do a family kiss. We are her entire world right now. In four short months and counting, a family was formed. We missed the first 2/3 of her life, and don't want to miss anything else for as long as we can make that happen. So have fun, Daddy and Bizou, and remember Mama is just a phone call or a ten-minute drive away!