All Things: Happy Birthday, Mogwai

Goodness me! Veteran parents have warned me countless times that it all goes by in a flash. But we were spoiled with itty bitty Aurelia whose baby days lingered. Marguerite is such a different story. It's like I blink and she's grown an inch. This baby is becoming a kid far too quickly. Even though her birthday was a week ago, I still shake my head in disbelief that my little redhead is 1 year old.

And man, I love this kid.

She is our child who rolled over at six weeks, pulled to stand at 6 months, and walked at 9. And each milestone she hit, she'd give me her little impish grin like she was waiting for the perfect time to show off her new skill.

She is such a little riot (in fact, one of her many nicknames is Margariot). She is a little whirlwind of energy and enthusiasm. We call her our passionate child. She is fiercely happy or fiercely angry. But she is fiercely loving too, especially when it comes to Mama.

It is incredible to watch her grow. When Aurelia was a baby, I would tell her to grow at "just the right pace." And for her, that pace was slow and steady. For Marguerite, the pace is an all out sprint. Each day she picks up words and skills. Today her sister taught her to play "Ring-Around-The-Rosey." Yesterday she learned that a duck says "Quack" and a light turning on says "Click." I know she will be my little one that graduates high school to my laments of how fast the years went.

In the meantime, I'll cherish her laugh, the kisses she blows, the hugs she gives, the way she grabs a book and crawls into my lap signing "more," the way she wants to be just like Aurelia, and all the wiggles and chaos that make up our little Mogwai.