Thank You, Lulu...

Thank you, Lulu: 

Thank you for letting me cajole and con you into the photo room one sunny morning in April. For giving in to my tricks and pleas and persistence so that for the first time in a while, I got really sweet photos of you. 

Thank you for sitting still long enough that I got in-focus photos. And happy, genuine in-focus photos, to boot. 

Sure, you had to pull a few of your classic "Lulu Faces" when I pushed just a little too hard....

But somehow, and just when I needed it, you sat still, looked lovely, turned your sweet sweet face towards me, and looked right into my lens.

Thank you, Lulu. For being my Lulu. Thank you for singing all day long, for scrunching your face into a thousand expressions. For shadowing Noah so completely and joyfully. 

Thank you for the kisses and the unabashed dancing. 

Thank you for letting me comb your hair every morning, despite it forcing you to hold still and endure some detangling. Thank you for loving shoes and "ditties" (pretties, i.e. pretty clothes). 

I love the way you currently express your insecurities and nervousness-- by chanting your own name in a quavery voice over and over again... the nervous girl in the corner, just existentially checking in to reassure herself. "Lucy.... Lucy.... Lucy....."

I love how HAPPY you are in the mornings, just kicking back and looking at books until one of us comes in to see if you're awake. Or if you're still sleeping, once you DO awaken to one of us in the room, the very first thing you do is SMILE. Sleepy Lucy smiles are amazing. 

You are so utterly perfectly heart-stealing that I cannot imagine you could get better than this. Your little words-- no sentences yet, just sweet little single words--- are each so cute I can barely stand it. You talk in a musical sing-song that lilts and sways and rolls and bumps.  You run in such a way that you're almost running in place while getting somewhere else. You dance with your hips and your head swaying from side to side... 

And though you've started some pretty obnoxious shrieking, both from glee and from annoyance, there is so very little else about you to be frustrated at.

Simply put, I adore you. I am a mushy-hearted mess at Lucy-at-2-Years-Old.  Please stay EXACTLY like this forever. I don't think my heart can take it if you get any better than this. Because right now, you're just about everything I could ever want in a little girl. 

Love, 

Mama