Don't forget!

(Please indulge me with this post. . . this post it more for me and my poor memory!)

There are so many things that Lucy does that I think to myself, "Don't forget this! Don't forget this!" She is growing and changing all the time. It seems every time I blink, she gets more independent and more grown up. I say this all the time, but I don't know where my baby went! So here are just a few of those memories that I want to preserve so that when my memory fails me, they will still be here:

* After I brush my teeth in the morning, I wipe the corners of my mouth to make sure I don't have any remaining toothpaste. I usually wipe it on my towel which I hang over the shower rod to dry. I handed Lucy her toothbrush this morning so that she could "brush" while I did. (I think it was more chewing on her toothbrush than anything, but it was the idea that counts!) I looked over at Lucy as I was getting ready to do my makeup; she took the toothbrush out of her mouth, reached over and wiped her mouth on the shower curtain, and then looked up at me and handed me her toothbrush to put away. She just grinned at me like, "Look! I did it myself!" I couldn't help but laugh and marvel at how observant she is. This tiny little movement of mine is something I hardly even notice, yet it's something I always do. Never have I wiped Lucy's mouth after brushing her teeth, but because Mommy does it, she does it too. A cute memory, but also a good reminder to me that those little eyes are always watching what I do. If she picks up on tiny details like that, how much more important is my behavior on the big things that matter, like my attitude, my temper, how I handle stress??

* We have been teaching Lucy signs to help her communicate. Her vocabulary is growing every day and I am amazed at how much she seems to truly understand. However, any frustrations we have usually are related to a failure to understand her when she tries to communicate with us. So she knows the signs for book, play, more, eat, milk, juice, music, and all done. (There might be more - those are the only ones I can think of right now.) We're also working on teaching Lucy to say more phrases. She is good at one word replies (more like Commands!), but saying this like "Up Mama" or "Night Night Dada" are fewer. So I thought along with the phrases we'd learn to add the word "Please." We have worked on "Thank You" but please is a little harder. This week while I was at home with her, whenever she would ask for something, I would squat down next to her and say, " Say, ' _______, please' ". I didn't push her to say please, but we would try to reinforce this behavior any chance we had. I took her to her babysitter's house on Thursday where Lucy immediately asked to watch her Elmo video. I looked at her and said, "Lucy, say please." And what does she do?? Squats down to the ground. Yup - she didn't learn the word, but she learned the motion that I did every time I had asked. Again - she is so observant! And every time since then, whenever you say the word "please," that's what she does! So now I'm working on the signs for please and thank you. . . without squatting down next to her! :)

* While Lucy was playing the other day, I had brought my computer into the living room and I was listening to Top Chef play as I sorted through my cooking magazines. (One of my projects during break was to go through the HUGE stack of cooking magazines I have and cut out the recipes I wanted and throw the rest of the magazine away. . . after 5 years here, I have amassed quite a pile!) So as the theme song was playing, I look over and watch Lucy swaying to the music while she plays. No big surprise there since she is always moving! But then there is a section in the music where someone sings some little "Oh, yeah, yeah" and what do I hear? Lucy is singing along! Maybe her Daddy and I watch too much Top Chef. . . :)

*This next one is my favorite. :) Many times when I give Lucy a big hug, I squeeze her to me and say, "Mmm, mmm, mmm." Today, as we were getting her changed into play clothes after church, she reached over, wrapped her arms around my neck, laid her head on my shoulder, and said, "Mmm, mmm, mmm." Well, my child could have asked me for anything in the world right then, and it would have been hers. Moments like these are the ones that remind me that no matter what changes lie ahead for our family, I am truly beyond blessed.

Well, if you've made it this far, I am impressed! But someday, I know that I will want to look back and remember these sweet, simple moments and the only way I will remember is if I write them down! In just a few short months, she will be two years old and every day, she becomes more of an independent little girl and less of my sweet, little baby. (She's still sweet of course, but baby she is not!) I can't believe that she's almost ready for potty-training! ( I will not be one of those moms who gives every play-by-play of her child's bathroom experiences, but I think it's worth sharing that she already uses her potty every night before bed time! ) While I am so excited about all the fun things that are ahead of us, part of me is so sad that this baby phase is quickly coming to an end. . . .