Goodbye Two

First thing in the morning, I can hear her feet hit the floor and then pitter patter across her room. She's talking before she opens the door; narrating her plans for the day or a talking about a dream or telling her stuffed animal something. I swear she talks nonstop for 12 hours a day. If I'm still in bed, she'll appear next to me, smile and climb in to cuddle for a minute (still talking the whole time). If I'm awake and downstairs already, she calls to me from the top of the stairs, "Hello! I'm coming down!" She likes oatmeal with raisins for breakfast. She likes rooibos tea. She does not like to be rushed.

We have a clipboard with her morning chores now. Go on the potty. Put pj's down laundry chute. Wash face. She's allowed to watch tv if she finishes quickly. I braid her hair while she watches Dinosaur Train or Superwhy. Life seems to be intense for her. Heartbreaking disappointment over changed plans leaves her crumpled on the floor in tears, wailing. If we tell her she can't do something, she waves her fists at us. "That is not what I am saying!" she cries.

She cannot pronounce "r" correctly. She is extremely excited to go to the dentist this week. She can spend hours peeling stickers out of a book and applying them to paper. She can find Maryland, Florida and Pennsylvania on a map. She asks incredibly thoughtful questions when we are reading a book. Her favorite dinosaur is triceratops. She has an insatiable sweet tooth.

She's a little leaner and a lot taller than she was a year ago. Longer hair that is starting to darken. Physically, she didn't change all that much in a year, having long ago lost her baby-ness. The change came in the way she relates to the world, especially since we drove so far on vacation this year. I can see how she anchors herself here, in between these rivers, and is starting to make sense of the vastness of our country. I like the way she explores maps, and draws her own, and goes on imaginary car trips on the living room sofa.

Goodbye, two. Hello, three.