God Bless America

"I have to say thank you to my mom. Everything that I've ever accomplished in this life has been due to the strength and the intelligence and the will that you gave me, Mommy. Thank you. I love you."
America Ferrara, accepting the Golden Globe for "Ugly Betty"

I want to be this kind of parent to Annie. Whether she ever accepts a big award or speaks my praise to an audience of thousands or whether it is a quiet meditation from deep within, I want to be her champion. She deserves all I could ever hope to give her. And if having a mother as described above creates a greater likelihood that I could be such a mother, I am off to a great start.

How smart our girl is! Today as we read Numeroff's "Give a Mouse a Cookie" book, Annie pointed to each crayon in succession as I asked, "Where is the blue crayon? The green one? The orange one? The purple one?" Annie turns two next month and already sings much of her alphabet. She repeats everything we say and is beginning to speak in sentences. Excited to finally see some snow in the air, Annie announced, "I want Frosty. I wanna make Frosty the Snowman." Due to our lack of snow, Annie has resorted to building Play-doh snowmen and stacking her blueberries atop one another, calling them "Frosty."

Christmas was a whirlwind of candy canes, Frosty sightings, and visits from family and friends. Annie discovered chocolate (which she pronounces as a three-syllable word, like a hybrid of the English and French cognates). She is all set for her birthday, having spent much of December singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" every time we lit a candle. Annie takes gift-opening very seriously, sporting an intense facial expression and grunting as she tears away the decorative wrap.

Charles went to Chicago to take his Oracle masters exam early in January. With Daddy away, Mommy had to take the early bird shift with Annie. Thankfully I rarely have to carry out this responsibility. As a sleepy mommy trudged downstairs with a waking Annie, she had one question for me: "Christmas?" Is must be Christmas, because when else does mommy come get me from bed when I awake at 5am? Only the logic of our quick-thinking children can bring a smile to our faces after such a lack of sleep.

A very social person, Annie often asks for more than one drink at dinner. She sets the two sippy cups as close together as possible and says, "It's friends!" Whenever she has a special treat like a candy cane or a cookie, Annie order me to "Sit right there," pointing to the chair beside hers. "Mommy candy cane." The sweetest things in life are sweeter still when shared.

We continue to enjoy playgroups, library trips, tiny tots gym nights, and visits to the Fitness Center where we always bring a post-workout snack to share in the lobby cafe. Now that the indoor aquatic center has reopened, we will don our swimsuits every couple of weeks, test the waters, and dream of summer. These are quite possibly the happiest days of my life. And this is only the beginning for our sweet girl.