Autumn Right Around the Corner

I've been telling Nora that when the leaves fall off the trees and it turns cold and frosty that you'll be here with us, and every day now, a few more dry leaves drift down in the driveway. Conveniently, as of July 31, you'd been growing for 170 days, so that means that as of today, you've only got roughly 73 days to go! 73 days doesn't sound so bad, but 10 weeks sounds pretty scary and I'm trying very hard to get lots of things done so that when you get here, we won't have to worry about anything. Looking forward to snuggling up with you in snowy December and not needing to worry about much besides feeding you, feeding us, and getting all of us to get some sleep. According to your dad, you've reached butternut squash status in there. (He loves his weekly emails that let him know what you're up to and he keeps me updated on your various fruit/vegetable stages, minus all the stuff that would make me antsy about things I haven't done yet....) This must mean you have plenty of room to wiggle still, because most nights between 10:00 and 11:30 or so, you rassle around, punching and shoving with your elbows and your little feet, working as hard to get comfortable as I am. But generally, you're pretty peaceful. Hiccups don't seem to disturb your rest, although occasionally I dump some cold water or hot tea on top of you, which doesn't seem to be appreciated. Sorry about that. I'm pretty tired pretty often now, so most afternoons, you and I settle down for at least a half an hour together, just to think quiet thoughts and talk to each other a bit. I like thinking about what you're up to in there and what you'll be like and how much better you'll be than anything I can think of, but I realized that after having your sister - we put so much faith in our imaginations, but in reality, they are so painfully, disappointingly limited. You'll be so much more and so much better and so much more everything than I could even hope to be able to conjure up, so I just mostly content myself with thinking cozy thoughts of you resting and snuggling and waiting. And at night, you listen to Charlotte's Web sometimes as we're drifting off to sleep. I listened to E.B. White read so much when I was little that his voice is pretty much permanently associated with peacefully dozing off in my mind. In my spare time, I've been working on piecing a little quilt for you, with some plans to work on a little hat and a crocheted blanket too. Mostly, everything is here, just waiting for you, and so am I! Love, Mama

Nora - Turning Two

On this day two years ago, I spent all day waiting, waiting, waiting, not knowing what was going to happen or who was going to join our little family or how I'd come to feel about this person. And now, here you are, and every single day, I'm astounded and amused and amazed by who you are, Nora Bean. You are light and sunshine, you are endless smiles and endless chatter, and while your father and I had a life we enjoyed when it was just the two of us, we both cannot imagine how we could have lived our whole lives in a world without knowing you. At two, you know your alphabet, all your colors, can count to 30 (mostly - some of those teens are tricky numbers), sing little songs and chatter to yourself nonstop about all sorts of things. Last night at dinner, you told us a wonderful story about going to the grocery store to ride in the blue carpet (you mean cart, but say carpet), where we'd visit loud fish with lots of loud golden water going by and you were going to stand right there on the edge! (Very emphatic about that part.) You like red, you love snuggling with your kitty cats, you are interested in bugs and snakes and spiders and any bird or animal you see ("talk more about crickets!" or "talk more about frogs!" is something I hear a lot.) You enjoy books and pictures of babies, you currently love all things Frances and Little Grey Rabbit and although you've only seen a few minutes of him on television, you dearly love Elmo. And the garbageman, who, you are sure, wants to come and play blocks and hang out with you and Donald Duck and Chip and Dale. You've had a great morning today! We decided that getting you wound up at the end of the day wasn't a good idea, so you got your presents this morning. Poppy and Granny sent you a red tricycle that you've been pushing around the living room (I'm pretty sure figuring out the bell is only a matter of time...) and some money for your savings account, and Uncle Kelly and Aunt Mary sent you an Elmo book, a stuffed Elmo, an Elmo toothbrush, two very sweet long-sleeved shirts, and an Elmo card. Mama and Daddy continued our tradition of getting you a charm (last year, you got the Tiffany charm bracelet and a little bean) and this year's charm is a little "I love to read" book, because you certainly do. We got you some animal toys and a few new books, including Little Grey Rabbit's Birthday, and tonight, there will be, per your request, "chocolate birthday cake with lots of candles." I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much we love you, how delightful it's been to watch you change and grow, and what a privilege it is to have you with us. Happy birthday, sweet girl - Mama hopes the light that's in you today will be with you always....