Curie April 2013. When did Curie get so big? The other day Curie was walking down the stairs and we noticed that she was holding the banister. Albert thought that he was just getting old or tired carrying her these days, but she is definitely bigger, not big, mind you, but bigger.
When Albert’s parents came to visit, she could call them “Ah-gong” and “Ah-ma” without prompting. In fact, she can talk in sentences with “Ah-ma sleep, Ah-gong nap.” She can say “Pop-pop” for Erin’s father, but “Grandmom” is still too hard. The funny thing is that she can also say “Steve,” Erin’s sister’s boyfriend, but she can’t say “Julie,” who is not only her aunt, but also a teacher at her daycare.
We went on a nature hike while Albert’s parents were here, and where we used to worry about her walking and falling down, now she is so excited to run. “Wun wun wun,” and off she goes. She doesn’t run with t-rex arms like Miranda did when she was little, but kind of runs all wobbly as if she doesn’t care that it is not a straight line. She runs in a squiggle with arms flopping back and forth. Positively beaming.
The other thing is that she has started to is pretend. She listens on the stethoscope, coughs when you put it on her back. Gives you a shot, diapers her rabbit, all rabbits are named “hop.” She has always put phones (and remotes) to her ear, but now when you ask who is there, she says she is talking to “Da-da,” even if it is Da-da asking. She doesn’t cry as much when she wakes up in the night and instead lets you know she needs you.
And in addition to all of these things, she has begun to sing. “Hi hi hi, hee, hee, hee” from “Sing what I sing” with Madeline Kahn and Grover (not the Elmo and Ernie version). “Row, row, down, merry, merry dream.” “Itsy bitsy spider,” and “the Bumblebee song.” “Ouch, he stung me!” And of course “EYIOH,” where she will “moo” on command.
This month, the wedding, Albert’s parents, walks at Huntley Meadows, and on Theodore Roosevelt Island. Eating soup, driving her car, and picking up acorns from the back yard. What she doesn’t realize is that while she is exploring and learning, we are buoyed by her excitement, and lifted by her joy. When work is stressful or life is frustrating, having Curie lets us let go the shackles of daily life and enjoy the moment, and when you think about it, the moment is all there really is.