By the time I recognize this moment, this moment will be gone.

Tonight, just few hours ago, Meg squealed from the kitchen. My heart dropped an inch or two until I saw that whatever it was, it was making her happy. She was hopping and giggling. "Traci!" (She calls me Traci, not "mommy" now. I asked her why and she replied that Traci is my name, so she will call me Traci. Whatever. . .it's still "mommy" when she calls in the night or when she has a boo-boo). So, there she is prancing around the kitchen, "Traci! I can open the fridge by myself!" My Meg is three and a half and while you may be thinking--huh. my kid could do that at 2--let me explain that my Meg is a little bitty. As if that's not enough, our old place in NY was 100 years old so things like doorknobs didn't really function properly. We also had a funky fridge that was hard for even me to open sometimes. In the last 3 weeks since we've been in our new little CA house, she has been spending much time opening and closing doors, including the front and back doors which were also impossible for her before (so we've had to establish some rules about those!). Her delight at her newfound skill (opening fridge) made me smile and have another one of these freaky feelings I've been having lately. It's starts with me feeling proud or gushy about something new or cute she has said or done. Then I realize my baby is getting bigger so my heart starts to hurt, and I try to freeze the moment in my memory. Finally I get this terrifying feeling that I've missed something these past few months. As you know, we've moved which is stressful, but so much more has happened to us in the midst of moving that I feel lately like I am just surviving. While I adore and love my child, I have had so much to do and think/stress about that I am afraid I may have grazed over some important milestones in my fragile three year old's life. This blog has been a priceless record for us of her life but have you noticed that it's been a month since my last entry and before that all I really had to say pertained to moving. The fridge thing tonight made me think about how big she is becoming and how I want to keep these moments forever. So here are a few fun facts and funny stories that I don't want to forget. They mean alot to me:

Meg's list of current favorites:

The color blue or purple. Or pink. "I like all the colors!" (when we were painting her room in the new house, she decided she wanted purple, not blue. Since the whole room is based on blue walls and the paint had already been purchased, I talked her into blue walls and new purple pillow for her bed. She hasn't let me forget!)

Princesses, of course. Her favorite princess? Snow White, usually. But then again, "I love all of the princesses!"

TV Show: Max and Ruby

Movies: Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music

Music: Same as above, with the addition of Oklahoma music and anything John Mayer (that's my doing)

Food: Ice Cream still tops the chart. Other favorites, not of the sugar variety: peaches and apricots, blueberries. Cheese and crackers, pizza, "macaroni and bunny cheese," tomatoes.

Books: Madeline, the big fat Disney books that have 50-page princess stories, Once Upon a Potty, Max and Ruby books, those beginning reader books, mostly of the Princess variety. The Little Kitten and The LIttle Bunny. Old MacDonald in the City. More, but that's a good start.

Activity: Dress-up, puzzles, games, reading books, coloring/painting/cutting, playing house/baby/Fraulein Maria, playing doctor (mom, can I doctor you? so cute)

Place to go: This used to be the zoo, preferably the Central Park Zoo, but we took her to Disneyland last weekend so you can see where I'm going with this. She also has preferred shopping centers. For example, she likes the Time Warner Center in NY because that's where the statues of the "no panties" people are. She also loves Stew Leonards, our fave store in NY (grocery). She also still requests "the city" on occasion :(

A Few Funy Stories:

Meg is at that point in toddlerhood when she is too little to do big kid things, but too big to do little baby things. Case in point. In the same day last week, she begged me to take a nap in my bed because she was too little to sleep alone in her own bed: "look mommy, my feet don't go all the way to the bottom, I can't sleep alone!" and later, when daddy came home, she measured herself in comparison to his belly button to see if she is big enough yet to ride on some big kid ride. This is a daily occurrence, the measuring up to daddy part.

A few weekends ago we (Meg and I) attended Rachel's baby shower. Beforehand I had explained to her what a baby shower was for--to celebrate the new baby that will be coming. She was a doll at the shower, but when I told her it was time for us to pack our things up to go home, she was baffled and said, "no, mommy, it's not time. Baby Elyanna is not here yet." I tried to explain that the baby wouldn't be coming for a little while longer . . . Meg thought about what I said while studying Rachel's back-side. "But there is going to be a loud noise when she comes out," said Meg. I asked her why. She pointed at the tile floor that Rachel was standing on. "Because she is going to get hurt on that hard part and then she is going to cry."

Everyone knows that you go to Disneyland to visit the "real" princesses. But where do you go to visit Fraulein Maria if your favorite movie is The Sound of Music? Apparently, you might be able to find her in the mountains, if you listen carefully for her singing, which is exactly what Meg did on a recent trip to Lake Gregory with Grandma and Grandpa S. Alas, we did not find her that day, for which Meg shed a few tears on the way home. From Meg's new room, in our new house, there is a gorgeous view of Mt. Baldy and the surrounding mountains. Meg actually gazes out to the mountains looking for Maria, while singing "Raindrops on Roses." Happily, you CAN visit Mary Poppins at Disneyland! Which we did. And it helps that Meg believes that Mary Poppins is simply Fraulein Maria in new clothes and with new children.

Ok, this one isn't funny but it sure is profoundly important. I'm unpacking things and put out some pictures that we haven't had room to display in a while. She brought me a picture of my grandmother, Rosemary, that she found on a table. "Who is this lady?" I told her and she then asked if Grandma lives in New York or California. I dropped everything I was doing and sat on the floor with her to explain that Grandma Rosemary had passed away and that she went to live in heaven with Jesus. Meg had many many questions about this and I was really amazed at how insightful her questions were, I could tell that she knew she had struck on something very important. We talked for several minutes but she has brought up the subject several times in the last few days, including with my mom (she knows Rosemary was mom's mom). I hope I said everything right! Later that day though, I was pruning roses and Meg asked why I was cutting those roses off. I said (without thinking) that they were dead. Meg stopped in her tracks to stare at them laying on the ground, and I could see her little brain working. I quickly corrected myself using some better words! She was ok after that, and continued singing her Maria songs. That was close.

I love you My Meg.