Snapshot

"Anything we say is only a snapshot of a passing moment."

--Frank Schaeffer

I am often stopped in public by older folks. They gaze adoringly at me and my little girls. They ooze with nostalgia and say things like "enjoy them...they grow up so fast."

Encounters like this tend to annoy me. I had to restrain my tongue when I heard remarks like this last summer while Chris was gone, when hours felt like weeks and days felt like years. I would beg for time to pass faster. I would long for days 20 years from now when we would be empty nesters.

But now that Chris is home and I'm not so frazzled and sleep deprived, I'm seeing things a bit more clearly, and I can begin to accept that maybe the older folks have more perspective than I do. Maybe they know what they are talking about because they have lived it, and maybe I should listen to them regardless of how annoying I think their uninvited advice may be.

There have been moments lately that I have looked at Tess and suddenly realized that she isn't a baby anymore. I am stunned to find that there is a growing girl before me. I catch her face at certain moments during the day and get a glimpse of what she might look like years down the road. The reality that she is one day going to be a woman leaves me dumbfounded and terrified. It is still hard for me to imagine that these girls of mine won't be babies forever.

Time is fleeting. I know that despite the tantrums, incessant question asking, diaper changing, bed wetting, etc, I might long for these early days with the girls. I will look back and think about how things once where and wonder what the girls were like at this time. And so, today I wanted to capture a snapshot of this passing season of our lives. I want to create a freeze frame memory of who my girls are now.

Tess is soon approaching 4 years old. She is busy and energetic and full of life. She is flexible and easy going. Her teacher at preschool says she is "easy-breezy." She is creative and imaginative. She is feminine and whimsical.

Her favorite thing is dressing up like a princess and playing different characters. She drapes dresses over her head and pretends that it's her long, long hair. She ties hair clips around her long, long hair and pretends to be Jasmine (because Jasmine has a long ponytail.) She pretends that TT (our dog) is Raja, her pet tiger. She steals high heels out of my closet and click-clacks around the house, the louder the better. She loves all things girly--dresses, makeup, shoes, hair bands, jewelry, etc. Her bedroom looks like a massive princess bomb exploded.

Barbie Mermaid with long long hair.

Her favorite foods are yogurt, Babybel cheese, oatmeal with sugar, cinnamon, and raisins, corn on the cob, steak, chocolate, and fruit snacks. Food is a great motivator. If fruit snacks are the prize, she will do just about anything!

I love doing girly things with my girly girl. I love blowdrying her hair, painting her nails, watching Cinderella, and teaching her how to bake. I love making us English tea and sitting down at the kitchen table while we drink our tea and eat something sweet. This summer when Chris was gone I would lay down with Tess in her bed for nap time. After her story, I would stay in bed with her and we would nap together. I will savor those sweet moments forever.

Tess, looking so grown up

Tess looks a lot like me, but for the most part, she is her daddy through-and-through. She is sharp as a tack and very determined. She is cautious. She likes things a certain way. She is social. She has the stamina of an Energizer bunny. She loves being the center of attention..."hey, watch this!" are three of the most common words out of her mouth. She is affectionate, funny, sensitive, and an extrovert. She LOVES to dance!

Lucy is almost 11 months old. I can't believe my baby is just about 1 year old. Little Lu likes to march to the beat of her own drum. She is a bit of a rebel--she doesn't adhere to schedules or plans. She loves her sleep, but has never fallen into a regular or predictable nap schedule.

There is a lot of sweetness surrounding Lu. Born on Christmas Eve and in the wake of two miscarriages, she was something of a miracle. She was a smiley baby. As a newborn, she wanted to be held and cuddled more at night.

Lu's favorite things are the iPhone, the remote control, Havarti cheese, and her angel bear. She won't go to sleep without her angel bear. She grasps it with her four fingers while she sucks her thumb and tucks it up in her neck. Her angel bear smells amazing. Its fur absorbs all of Lucy's baby breath sweetness. I like to pick it up out of her crib during the day and take big whiffs of it. Chris assures me that this is a primal maternal thing. He thinks it smells like spit up.

Lulu and Angel Bear

Lu is a turbo crawler. She roams the house at record speeds. Her favorite room is Tess's room. The explosion of dolls, dresses, and trinkets keeps her engaged for hours. Lu is an independent player. She is happy to explore the world on her own. Her favorite word is "YEAH!" She says it ALL THE TIME! Her favorite new discovery is the toilet.

The opposite of Tess, Lucy is a physical carbon copy of her daddy, though she is her momma through-and-through. She is stubborn and particular (she never did take formula and turns her nose up at many types of baby food). She loves books. She is endlessly entertained by watching people. You take her out in public and she stares, unashamed. She is usually very quiet, but has been known to shriek at record decibel levels when something isn't up to par. (As far as I know, she doesn't get this particular shrieking quality from me). Lucy is sometimes hard to read. She can be moody. You won't know what she wants unless you truly know her and spend a lot of time with her. She likes to take her time. When she gets excited she kicks her legs.

Lu's favorite foods are cheese, cheese, graham crackers, sweet potatoes, and did I say cheese?

My little literary scholar

What both of these girls have in common is their deep adoration of their daddy. (It was hard for me to not feel like chopped-liver when Chris got back from Afghanistan!) They LOVE to dance with Chris to the High School Musical 3 soundtrack. They love to be thrown up high in the air. Their faces light up when Chris enters the room.

Daddy is HOME!

I love these girls more than I can say! They are the apple of my eye, they are my heartbeat. Though there are moments that are damn hard, I could never imagine life without them. Raising them is making me a better woman.