Maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic, because my baby is almost TWO, but today's one of those days I have taken many mental snapshots and hope to remember until I'm old and gray. I ran to the park with Zooey and watched her climb the steps and go down the slide. I watched as she held hands with a little five-ish year old girl and gave her and several other kiddos a hug with a giant smile. She's such a loving girl. On the way home, I pointed out the leaves turning yellow and the fresh fall air, and she kept pointing at the "ree's" on our walk. She kept looking up at me through the mesh on the stroller, smiling and yawning, and I realized how beautiful she is for about the millionth time. At home, I watched and listened as she ate her lunch with intense concentration, "Mmmmm"-ing with each bite, especially her raspberries, because my girl loves her fruit. As we did a small craft after lunch, I smiled at her uncontrollable joy over using the glue stick and sticking feathers and tissue paper on a paper plate. She bounced up and down and squealed when she got to pick out new feathers. She walked around in her little art smock that no longer goes down past her knees, and I saw how much she's growing up. We snuggled on the couch, and I got to hear her say starfish as we read one of her favorite books, "Have You Ever Tickled a Tiger?," which was a gift from my mom. And, when the timer went off, she gleefully squealed again, looked at the timer and went to her room for some more pre-nap snuggles. My Zooey is such a joy to me; I pray I cherish days like today and get a whole lot more of them. The joy in her little smile over something like a glue stick is so contagious...I'm incredibly thankful she's my daughter. She inspires me to find more joy in the little things. It's been such a wonderful day - what a sweet blessing!