Countdown

It's May! May! I was still writing "4-" all over the place today at school because somehow April went too fast, it disappeared and now amazingly soon, it's May.

My baby girl will be one year old in just 6 days.

We had our West Shore Chorale Spring concert last night. Faure Requiem, Brahams Schicksalied, Poulenc Gloria. Lovely orchestration and some sublime chords to sing, and oh the melodic lines of Brahams! bestill my heart. Standing on stage preparing to sing, looking out into the audience and missing my glimpses of Nat and Jack (who, along with Ivy, sat out this right-at-bedtime concert, this year), I remembered one year ago on that same stage, wondering if Elijah wasn't just the thing to send me into labor. Last spring concert, I was a mom of one. Now I am a mom of two. And not just one -and-a-baby. Two kids. Two real little people. Cause that's what girlie is these days, a real little person.

Today she stood on her own for about 10 seconds, too busy ripping toilet paper off the roll she was holding, to realize she wasn't holding on to anything.

She is getting downright fiesty, too, opinionated and full of such drive to get what she wants. She doesn't reach for things, she propels, ever muscle in her body just going for it. Which is fun when one is trying to cook with her in one arm and she decides she really needs to go-for those dirty dishes in the sink... makes for a good core workout, trying to contain her.

Somehow, wild woman that she is, she's also quite the love, too. She loves to snuggle in for hugs and holds right on when we pick her up. She plays chase and tag with Jack and feeds the dog her scraps and loves patty cake. She says "hi" now, a longlonglong high pitched "haaaaaaaaa" as she holds out one hand in a stationary wave and smiles like the dickens at her target. She's very hard to resist.

Preparations are under way for a "flower party" on Saturday, complete with flower-pot goodie "bags", petal-shaped baking cups for the cupcakes, and hanging lanterns that I will hang.... somewhere. Fingers crossed for a pretty day so the 5-7 preschoolers can run OUTside and so that I won't have to clean the house quite so well...