Sunday, April 14, 2013

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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15 comments:

  1. Oh, it's lovely to hear you enjoying your girl so much!

    And your early morning park day sounds like a marvelous way to start the day, albeit a too-early way. I'll bet Moxie put Miss Magpie up to it...

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  2. I just love this post oozing with love for your little girl.

    Isn't it amazing that she's here, that all our miracles are?

    Connor's teacher is the girl half of the first set of IVF twins in Jhb. I keep thinking what if we'd lived in those times...

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  3. Ahhh. Such a great post to read! I also love that she is here and growing before your eyes. :-)

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  4. And she will always be the baby girl who made you mother and Will a father and there is something deeply special about that.

    So glad to hear that all is well. Eating babies up should be a favorite pass time :)

    And, she is old enough to sit in a swing! How did THAT happen?!

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  5. Mo...this is a beautiful post and one that makes me want to fight harder to beat infertility. So happy you're so in love with magpie. Hugs!

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  6. Beautiful! Way to embrace the moments and celebrate such a delightful little life!! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Loved reading this, Mo. Loved it! So glad you are really enjoying her and cherishing every moment! xo

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  8. I love reading posts like this. It gives me so much hope. You can feel the joy that you guys have. Magpie is one very precious little girl x

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  9. Oh, the 5:30 thing. I wish I could tell you that it gets better with age, but in our case it has not. Our girl started the 5:30 business early, probably around 5 months. She is now 2 1/2 and is still up at 5:30 like clockwork. After a stretch of her trying to push it even earlier (try 4:30), we settled for 5:30 and got her a good night light for her room with the wake up time set for 5:30. At least that way if she wakes up earlier it still shows as "sleepy time." It's bad when compromise is 5:30! Maybe you will have better luck- ha!

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  10. *LOVE* this post.
    I sometimes see the teenager in Della, can imagine her saying Oh MOM and rolling her eyes...
    oh yes.

    there is such deliciousness in love like this.
    xoxo
    Kate

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  11. "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"

    Can I just tell you that my Lexi just turned 4 years old on April 10th...and this very thing STILL happens to me almost every single day.

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  12. Lovely! Yes, you will have to be vigilant once she's crawling, and well into her toddlerhood. But that's normal, regardless of how much of a mover she is. And then it eases up. It's odd when you realize you're no longer moving things away from table edges because she's not so grabby anymore.

    As for the wonderful, lovey affection, IT GETS BETTER! When she returns that affection with kisses of her own instead of just enjoying your kisses ... well ... bliss.

    Love the pic! She's such a delight! xo

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  13. BTW, I love when parents admit they're not morning people. It's one of the hardest things about parenting for me.

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