Dear Cordelia,
I wish that when you grow to be my age that you could look back
and remember now- this age, this time in your life, this trip. This trip was a series of moments I wish to hold forever in my mind,
moments I wish that you could hold forever. As much as I wish that you will
never feel the need to hold moments close to you heart to fight against the
sadness and stress of the every day world, I know that one day, you will
understand this need. I hope that this will help paint the picture of our
beautiful family weekend with your great grandfather.
As we drove over the bay bridge we told you to look out the window
and see the water- this is the first long road trip that you stayed awake the
entire ride- which means that this is the first time you could see the water as
we crossed the bridge. You kept saying "Feet WaWa" "Feet
WaWa" begging us to let you put your fee in the water. We promised you
that when we got to granddad's you could put your feet in the water. We kept
repeating that promise to you for the rest of the hour and a half drive and the
hour long dinner.
You waded right into the water. It shocked me because you have never wanted to go anywhere near
it before. I always packed your swim suit, and swim diaper, and towel just in
case but you would always cry whenever we strayed near the water. In fact I was totally unprepared, I didn't have any of your swim stuff. You loved the
beach, and trying to get you to leave was torture- but you would never go
near the water. Now I can't wait to go back.
You started by just putting your feet in. Then you started
splashing- and letting more of your body get wet. After what seemed like only
moments you sunk down into the water letting your feet fan out behind you. You
kept giggling and smiling and saying "swim, swim"
"swim, swim".
After we left the beach we went back to Granddad's. You ran around
like crazy, opening all of the jars of goodies on the coffee table, and taking
books off the shelf to "read". Finally, when you wore yourself out
you climbed into Granddad's lap (with lovey) and watched Animal
Planet with him. You should have seen his eyes, you can tell just how taken he
is with you- with being able to sit there and watch t.v with his great granddaughter.
That night, when we went to bed, we were nervous about how you
would sleep. We haven't had much luck with you sleeping anywhere but
your crib. It started out ok, you got in your port-a-crib (and stayed in it)
but then you woke up in the middle of the night panicked because you didn't
know where you were. We let you sleep in the middle of our bed, something we
never do for fear it would become a trend. When I woke up the next morning I rethought every idea I had about
co-sleeping. It was such a peaceful moment to wake up next to you- to be able
to cuddle you close to you and hold you as you woke up. The sun was shinning through the blinds, and the birds were tweeting away and when you woke up you
gave this big yawn and looked right in my eyes and smiled. You melted my heart
right then. This moment will never leave me, no matter what happens in life, this moment was perfect.
After breakfast we drove over to Eastern Neck
Island- Granddad wanted to show you the butterfly garden on the
island. He was soo disappointed because there were only a
handful of butterfly's- and the bushes weren't as large as he had
remembered. He wanted to show you something that he remembered as being magical. I kept trying to tell him how much you loved looking at bugs and
you were very content to look at the bumble bees, but he just didn't understand. It was sad to see him disappointed, but you were so happy and as we were walking the garden you reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him a long and his face lit up.
You were very fascinated by the
bumble bees, I think you would have watched them for hours if we had let it. It's funny how sometimes you haven't the patience for anything and sometimes we have to pull you away because you are transfixed.
Eastern Neck is covered in little viewing
areas- so you can watch the wildlife. It's very beautiful out
there- everything was fresh and green, and the air was that perfect salty
crisp you smell when you are right on the water.
On the drive out we even saw some wild turkeys! And baby wild
turkeys!
When we went back to the house Daddy and I cooked lunch while you
ran like a holy terror throughout the house. You
pulled everything out of your diaper bag until you found a pair of
socks. You kept bringing the socks to Granddad to make him put them on your
feet. You would climb up into his lap and fuss till he would put them on you, then you
would run out to the kitchen and make us look at your feet. As soon as we would look you would sit down,
take the socks off, and return to make Granddad put them on you again. It made Granddad chuckle.
I love you Miss C, I really enjoyed this weekend with
you,
Love,
Your mommy
I am so happy you spend time with my dad. He enjoys it soooo much.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful picture of her on the bridge. Precious.
ReplyDelete