News from my house on a Monday:

I wouldn't have expected any huge changes precipitated by Cj's first birthday, but developments in the week that's followed the anniversary of her birth have been pretty darned monumental.

Her first tooth has popped through. Poor little thing has been suffering swollen gums and a painful mouth for weeks, and finally the razor-sharp, serrated enamel sword shifted enough tissue to make an appearance. The one next door is just about to do the same. She can't get over the new sensation and keeps running her finger over the tooth... more

Grandma says she's old.

My mother-in-law mentions something about being old almost every time Sam visits with her. Sometimes the talk is an effort to get Sam to slow down a bit so Grandma can catch up. Occasionally, being old is an excuse to come out of the sea or up off the beach. Most of the time, however, it's an off-hand statement of what she sees as fact meant to explain how she feels and who she is.

Sam doesn't react much, other than to acknowledge that, yes, Grandma is old. How he interprets and internalizes the concept is a bit of a mystery ... as is... more

Talking yesterday about what kids notice about adults and what completely passes them by, there are some physical traits that make quite an impression on Sam.

He went through a phase of fascination with eye color, and most visitors found themselves in a tiny head grip as Sam got close enough to determine if the person was a brown eye (like Sam, Cj and Granddad), a blue eye (like Gay), or a green eye (like Mom and Dad).

With Seychelles as racially diverse as it is ... our family... more

Today is Cj's first birthday. The momentousness of the occasion is clearly going straight over her darling little head, but is hitting me full in the face like a sack of nickels.

Unless some major and completely unexpected events transpire, Cj is my fourth baby, and my last. Well aware, I have made a point of treasuring every moment of her babyhood; of grabbing every opportunity to cuddle, listen to each gurgle, laugh with every toothless smile, to be amused by drooly lips and poopy pants and highchair tray art created from mashed avocado and half-gummed... more

Sam takes after his dad in many ways, and I won't be at all surprised if he ends up sharing the preference for older women I'm so grateful my husband has. At three, he doesn't yet take into account anything about a how a person looks when he forms opinions ... he's much more concerned with how much fun they can be and whether or not they tend to have cookies around the house ... so wrinkles and stray grays are no factor whatsoever.

My good friend, Gay, who just happens to be fifty-one, is also Sam's friend in ways that have nothing to do with me. They truly enjoy... more