So... it's been a while. In just a few days, I'll have an 18-month-old. Where does the time go? I remember sitting on the floor with her, waiting for her to roll over by herself, then hoping she would sit up on her own, then musing as she took her first unaided steps (which I happened to have the video camera running for - Go, me!), then listening as she learned more and more words. Now, she's sitting on the floor about three feet from me, pooping, as I type this. The pooping rituals and pooping facial expressions of a toddler are kind of adorable, at least when that toddler is your own. Every now and then, between grunts, my girl looks up at me with a huge smile and says, "Hi!" Then, it's all serious business again. Grunt! Grunt! Grunt! Lift one butt cheek off the ground. Grunt! Grunt! Scrunch the knees up to the chest. Gruuuuuunt! How can you not love that? Really! No? You don't understand? You don't have children.

The husband has been in Winchester, VA since yesterday afternoon, so it's just been us girls here. To be honest, it's been lovely. We've played, we've read numerous books, we had a dinner date with our friends Claire and Sofia yesterday, and we've been all kinds of lovey-dovey. Mama time is pretty precious.