Dear Calliope--

"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." from the book of Luke.

I cannot help but spill the treasure. Today you offered your first "high point" at dinner. You said that your high point was going to Andre's house. You contributed to the dinner ritual voluntarily, unprompted! What do I say to my baby that carries her babies up and downstairs? You ask, "Mama, whattaya doin?" When I ask you, "What does God say when he sees you?" (The answer we teach her is "I love you.") She knows this but varies her response, "Hug!" She offers or playfully, "Dadda!"

You will be 21 months soon and I still have infant clothes I want you to wear. You are tough and coy. You have a steel-trap memory and being in your company lingers with me when I run to the store or even to the laundry room.

Your first story, "My bin-a-oon. Upina sky. Angel. It's okay. Oh my goodness." It seems like I just gave birth to you. How is it that you speak in paragraphs? How do I keep up with you, you are growing before my eyes. You sang to us in the car last night, trumping the radio, ceasing all of our conversations. Your delightful tune, filligreed with beauty and meaning that only you understand.

May you always tell us what's on your mind. May you always find your voice.

Half-of-a-Hundred Day

Half-of-a-Hundred of Manny's Favorite Things
(as told to Maria, his Mom)

1.lasagne
2.meatloaf
3.shepherd's pie
4.rice
5.pretzels
6.broccoli forest
7.The Hobbit
8.Fly Away Home
9.Magic Tricks You Can Do
10.Laundry News
11.Bonjour/Hola T-shirt
12.Geox sneakers
13.color green
14.color orange
15."Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin
16."One Winged Dove" by Stevie Nicks
17.movie "School of Rock"
18.The Thing costume
19.our family room
20.playing in the grass
21.Please Touch Museum
22.Dad's fun
23. dates with Mom
24.Benicio's help doing stuff
25.Clara's cute ideas for her dolls
26.Calliope's names for her dolls
27.dates with Big Dad
28.My Mom eats outside with us
29.Josiah plays with us
30.Olivia is my friend
31.Heidi and Jill's class
32.making skeletons in class
33.riding bike and scooter
34.Cato is my favorite houseguest
35.listening to mixes
36.chocolate, vanilla and strawberry lines for writing
37.chase time after church
38.my friend Job from church
39.our Pow Wow trip
40.drawings from Dad in my lunch
41.my gorilla shirt
42.Joey, in my class
43.Mema and Pepop's house
44.my action figures
45. Rivers, Roads, and Rails game
46.Candyland game
47.season of Winter
48.Helicopter parties
49.circus chocolate chips
50.the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Oh yes, we did.

I was folding laundry in our room when Geoff called to me from the family room. "Mia, he won. Mia, he won!" Standing there, I pressed Geoff's shirt into my face, waiting to wake from a dream. We spent the rest of the evening like that, weaving between disbelief and supreme joy. This was punctuated by neighbors banging pots and pans and setting off fireworks.

That speech, all I could do was sit there, cupping my mouth with my hand as I wept. How wonderful, the dream we dreamed is possible!

After a family-wide de-tox using echinacea and fresh pineapple, things are normalizing around here again after a flurry of Halloween and Phillies celebrating! And then I spent today going between my watch and my cell phone to calculate what time it is now with Daylight Savings and what time it actually FEELS LIKE to the kids.

Here is a photo of us as John and Yoko and Calliope as an angel. She was given the choice between a clown that had adorable felt polka dots and a rotund little suit and an angel and went for the glittery-tulle angel. For my costume, I think I should've chosen a more Gilda Radner wig rather than the Cher-type wig you see here. When Geoff (dressed as John Lennon) and I were apart on Halloween, it just like Geoff had no other clean clothes and that in some odd fairy-tale-esque accident, my hair had grown down to my waist. At our goodbye/Halloween party from Boston, we were Frida and Vincent Van Gogh (bandaged-ear!). Another year, we were Math Man and Wondermama. Last year, it was Frida (again) and Andy Warhol. A friend said that you choose the costume that expresses your inner self. Hmm...