My child is WAY cooler & smarter than your child

For the past few days, as I've stalked read through the blogs that I normally read, I have found myself thinking, "No, your child is not a genius. He's just acting age-appropriate." "Actually, my pediatrician said that if that starts to happen, you should correct it immediately." "It's about time your child who watches too much TV has learned how to hold a crayon." I will be the first person to admit/stand in line/create a facebook group about how much a mother can love their child and how a mother thinks that it will be their child who cures cancer. First person in line. I always knew that when I had children it would be the best feeling in the world. But the feelings I thought I would feel were nothing compared to the amazing feelings and emotions I felt the first time the nurse put Little Miss Magic in my arms. NOTHING.

So as I read through blog after blog, "my child does this, my child does that," I decided that you know what, I'm going to brag about LMM, too. Because after all, she is WAY cooler and smarter than your child.

Let's first start about how she is not yet two and is more than 80% potty trained. Yes, you read that right. Of course, we're still having problems getting #2 in the toilet (I won't go into detail about what transpired in my living room earlier this evening), but she is very much aware and successful when it comes to #1 and getting to the potty on time. Who cares if I bring the (best $20 I've ever spent) Baby Bjorn potty into every room that we wonder into? Who cares if I do just a tad more laundry each week? It is nothing compared to a) not changing a diaper, b) not spending money on diapers, and c) hearing LMM shriek with delight saying "Da-deee I pee-peeeeeed." She's a genius. Genius.

And her vocabulary. I could go on for days about her vocabulary. Frank and I were talking tonight over dinner; we think she probably knows and can say about 100 words. And it literally happened overnight. From the time she was about 18 months old she was comprehending everything we said, but was not able to communicate back. Since Christmas vacation, just 3 short weeks ago, LMM has started using 2 and 3 word sentences; she is able to tell me how she feels, what she wants to play with, and what she would prefer for dinner, "No rice. Yes pasta. No app saws. Yes cheese." Her S's and M's and P sounds are quite clear for someone her age. (Or so I'm told).

Little Miss Magic is also able to sing songs. Youuuuuu betcha! She chimes in with Laurie and Raffi like they as close of friends as me and Delaney. My heart is so happy as we drive around town, watching her in the mirror clap her hands and stomp her feet to the beat. I'm pretty sure she's winning a Grammy one day. If I were you I'd put some money on her name in Vegas now, while she's still the "unpopular but soon to be popular" thing.

The thing that melted my heart most recently was as Frank and I put her to bed tonight. You see, it's been quite chilly in the Sunshine State the last few days. Last night Frank and I were up with LMM for about 1.5 hours because she had gotten cold and couldn't warm up. We tried as best we could and eventually got her settled (socks, pants, long-sleeved shirt, one Minnie Mouse sweatshirt and a Christmas blanket later). So tonight we decided that since she loves cuddling under the covers with us on Saturday and Sunday mornings, we would "make" her crib a bed. As Frank helped LMM brush her teeth, I was busy making the aforementioned Christmas blanket into 'sheets' in her crib (which, sidebar, tear, will soon become a toddler bed due to potty training success. Tear. Tear. Tear.). As we began we to recite our nightly bedtime story, LMM just hopped into her crib and snuggled under her blanket like she's been doing it for all 21.5 months of her life. It brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't believe that she is old enough to sleep with covers and not be a risk for suffocation or other tragic, tragic things that can happen when children are too young and sleep with excess things.

I could write for hours about how incredibly smart, talented and wonderful LMM is. However, I will not. This is one of those rare posts that I will do so. Partly because I like my life to be my life privately, and partly because I think that people don't want to hear (read) about it. The biggest thing that Frank and I have discussed for hours at length, even before LMM breathed her first breath, is that she is ours. And she is wonderful. No matter what she does or doesn't do.

I recently was watching a marathon of Big Love, courtesy of Netflix. It's one of my favorites. Barb and Sarah, mother and daughter respectively, were having a major argument. They kept going back and forth. Sarah began to walk out of the room frustrated with what was happening;  Barb grabbed hold of her and sternly said to her while looking straight into her eyes, "I am your mother. No one loves you more than I do." That's the truth. There is no love like the love shared between a mother and daughter. It's perfectly perfect and indescribable.