Sundays of grace (on any day)

I haven't written a "Sundays of Grace" post in a long time, but it seems as good a time as any to resurrect these posts. I love how Susan at sprogblogger.com uses this format to capture the many small (but momentous in their own way) moments with her son, Henry. We have so many moments here, and I am often thinking to post about them, but then I don't have time at that minute... and then... I'm off to the next task or adventure.

So here goes...

1. Walk in Central Park in the early morning: Magpie seems to wake like clockwork at 5:30AM, no matter what time we put her down the night before. And Will and I are not really early morning people (especially me). So this morning, we got up and out around 6:45 AM and took Moxie and Magpie to Central Park, stopping at a Starbucks along the way. We let Moxie off-leash (allowed at that early hour) and played fetch with her with various sticks. And Magpie watched from her stroller. I was pleased that we were able to take something we struggle with and are not so fond of (these weekend early morning wakenings) and instead celebrate it and make a memory.

2. Magpie is becoming such a little person these days. She swivels her head around to look right and left, to take in everything. Her eyes brighten when she catches yours, or her image of herself in the mirror. She's even started to notice Moxie and to reach for her paw (almost like she wants to hold hands) or her ear when she is nearby. She makes a "spppptttt" noise with her lips and she loves when I do it to and she and I can "converse" (in spit, I guess!). She loves reaching for things, for everything.

3. My girl is a girl on the go. Always. She loves to make a jumping motion with her legs if she is held in a standing position (which is one of her favorite positions), and if she is in your arms or on her stomach or back, she is kicking, kicking, kicking. Multiple people have said that we will be in for it once Magpie starts crawling. I think we will need to be vigilant but that Magpie will be so so happy to be able to move on her own. She is one determined girl, and it is pretty frustrating to her to not be able to get to whatever she has her mind set on. I think with crawling will come great relief for her.

4. Warm days outside. It is such a pleasure to have warmer weather again and to be able to take Magpie outside to the park or playground or just out on the sidewalks of Manhattan. Especially because she's at an age that she's taking in everything around her. She loves to watch the children on the playground and to watch dogs and passerby in the street. She loves the colors and shapes at our local market Fairway or at our neighborhood pharmacy Duane Reade. Nice now that the weather is cooperating to get outside with her and take a leisurely stroll. Only when she's in a strolling mood of course : )

Magpie trying out a swing for the first time at the playground.

5. Magpie's personality: My mom was here visiting and described Magpie's personality as "mellow but driven," and I think that's a pretty good description of her. She's generally a pretty happy girl, but she definitely knows what she wants, and she is not afraid to let you know. As a bit of a people-pleaser myself, I kind of admire this trait in her : )

6. I am in a phase where I am in love with Magpie. Just besotted. I think that I could cover her entire body with kisses. That I could gobble her up with my affection. I think at the moment she might like that, too. It won't always be so, but for now, we can enjoy moments where we just bask in each other.

7.  Sometimes I look at Magpie and I think I catch a glimpse of the little girl she is on the way to becoming, rather than the itty bitty baby she has been. I look at her and think I see her older self for a moment, just for a split second. And my eyes fill up. I still can't believe she is alive, that she is here. Even more impossible to think that she is growing up, a little bit every day, right before my eyes.

Mo

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