I won't have pictures to add to this or be able to post it til I get home, but tomorrow is her due date, Charlotte day, August 1st, bo time! as we were ready to call it back in 2011. Now I am sitting on a quiet porch at Montreat, watching a waterfall (well, a dam), glad for a free afternoon of sabbath rest from an insanely busy week, really glad to be here -- full of heart feelings and the holy spirit and a peaceful view to boot...
...but I miss my sweet Charlotte like there is a hole in my chest.
I miss both girls, of course, and Marky, and Bowden, but today the thought of Charlotte's toothy grin and a mouth-open slobber kiss just makes me ache.
So I am going to blather on about her for a hot minute, yes I am.
In the past year Charlotte has gone from our sweet slow tiny delicate flower to a running jumping dancing grinning laughing silly little girl. She is still sweet. She is still tiny. She is still kind of a delicate flower. But thriving in her delicacy.
She is still timid around strangers, but no longer panicky. She greets people with a wave and kiss blowing and a grin. Full of teeth. That girl has a grin for days. FOR DAYS. She will copy anything Nathan and Anneliese do, and eats up their praise. She is picky about what she wears and her biggest tantrums so far involve us putting something on her that she doesn't approve of. (Her approval is exactly as predictable as you would think it is. She's almost two. That's to say, not predictable.)
She isn't a big eater but she loves yogurt and bananas and nutri-grain bars, unless she doesn't. (Again, almost two.) She sleeps every night with a menagerie of toys and animals and books, but is most loyal to Sheep and Sunny Puppy. She loves blocks and buildings and will habitually stack up any group of toys she encounters. She calls her siblings Lee-Lee and Nay-Nay and I hope she never outgrows it. They are her very favorite people.
She is quirky: Scampering to the window to wave at the car of someone who is physically standing right by her. Running a crazy run that involves one (just one) of her arms swinging by her side. Sporting the most incredible bed head where her wispy hair sticks out in front of her face like a visor, because apparently she sleeps on her face. (?) Oh and she's still wearing that winter hat in any and all weather.
She is obsessed with shoes. Never in the history of children or shoes has any child ever asked for shoes to be taken on or off more times in one day, every day, than Charlotte. Ever. If they're off, she wants them on. If they're on, she wants them off. And if she's satisfied with their current status, she's still talking about them. Syoo? Syoo? I hear it my dreams.
She calls milk how. Yeah I don't even know.
She still insists her name is Night-Night.
And in three short (long) days she will be hugging me and saying Mommy and my arms will be full of her wispy hair and sweet smell.
Happy almost two, little Booler.
1 comment:
Aww, this was sweet to read because I don't really feel like I know Charlotte, since we moved and all. And I adore that life jacket picture of her in the post above! WIN!
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