December 1

This morning I finished a canister of coffee. In all my psychic and motherly ways, I thought it might be a good idea to keep the plastic coffee canister on the floor by the fridge, rather than placing it in the recycling bin. It could make a great plaything. And I was right. Place Mardi Gras beads in the canister, dump them out, and repeat four hundred-thousand times. Throw in some stacking cups and a few remotes, and this was how Lily spent her afternoon.

As she played I flipped threw books and drew sketches of what our Christmas should look like. We listened to music that played from the computer and Lily didn't touch the computer. That itself is a Christmas miracle. I looked at a photo of a friend's baby and Lily said, "Bay-bee", which made my heart melt a little bit. So I pulled her onto my lap and pulled up photos and videos of her on Flickr. And I clicked on this one, which was taken one year ago today.

We've come a long way in a year. I mean, just look at that hair! So after I peeled Lily's clothes off and she ran around the house, peed next to my bed, and then slipped and fell onto her back, I threw her in the bathtub and took these videos. Because a year ago we had to make her dance and this year she's talking and dancing and dumping Mardi Gras beads into canisters and it's all the most amazing thing to see.

Caveat: We rent our house, and we have scrubbed the living heck out of that caulk but it won't come clean. So please don't think we're dirty or neglectful. It's not our shower and we've done all we can.