The Stitch

Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. She's such an amazing kiddo - perhaps I'm biased - but Brian and I sit here and marvel at her intelligence, beauty and charm almost every minute of every day.

She's walking and running - and coming up with all sorts of words and phrases. She's leaping, climbing, scampering and splashing. It's hard to keep up with her, but it's a fun ride. She wears a little fountain ponytail on top of her head and likes to throw her blankets out of her bed and scream until we rescue them. She's a smart cookie - smarter than us, more often than not.

She adores fruit juice popsicles and eating in restaurants. She loves people - ALL people, and waves at EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. Tonight we walked into a bookstore and she waved at all the books. It was heartbreaking and adorable.

She rubs her head against the cat, the way the cat rubs her head against Elizabeth. She loves to bellyflop off forbidden places, like couches and chairs, so she's not allowed to be anywhere near a chair or a couch unsupervised. Ever. Brian thinks she's practicing her skydiving moves. She's got a long wait ahead of her. She's not allowed to skydive until I'm dead and fed to the sharks as chum.

She knows when she's being adorable, and works it to her advantage. Tonight at Perkins she scored a free cookie and a free balloon for charming the waitress with a shy smile, a wave and a giggle.

I want her to stay this age forever. Has anyone figured out how to do that?