In A Nutshell...

So much time has passed since I've last written… I will attempt to bridge the enormous gap from last October until today without leaving anything out… Things change so ridiculously fast that sometimes it’s hard to take it all in… Let alone put it all in words… I have made a promise to myself to not wait so long to write again…

With each fleeting moment, overflowing with memories that sometimes bring me to tears, comes a brand new way of living… Of thinking… A brand new dream of plans for the future… Or of what our future holds… And with it, a new sense of our family and all that it means to us… A little girl growing so rapidly and changing direction like the wind in our faces… Still so warm and gentle and yet also thunderous and powerful… For such a tiny little person you carry an intense presence with you… Sometimes sharp and mysterious but always loving and strong… I want to hold tight to every last one of these memories and never let them go… For they have become the most solid part of my heart and soul…

In the past I have always listed all the current words you’ve learned… There is no longer a need to do that because you pretty much know every single word there is… If you don’t know it yet, we need only say it once and you’ve got it… You understand everything we say, even when you’re not supposed to… I guess that’s a small price to pay for the blessing of having a smart child…

We had our annual pumpkin picking trip on your Birthday last October and it was a blast! You tried with all your might to pick up every pumpkin in the patch… Only to realize how much they weigh and exclaiming over and over again, “It’s too big… It’s too heavy!” I could have told you that my girl, but I know you need to figure all this stuff out on your own… So we let you try time and again until you found one that was the perfect size for your tiny hands… I’m glad Dad and I let you do it yourself… Neither of us had the heart to take the wind from your sail and tell you that most of your first attempts were pumpkins that only a crane could move…  The whole experience made me think to myself, wow, this kid sure is a big dreamer who already seems to have grasped the concept if you don’t succeed at first, keep trying… At age 2 and a half, you get it…  As long as you don’t give up, eventually, you will find your pumpkin…

Shortly after your birthday came Hurricane Sandy… She was a wicked, unforgiving storm that devastated most of Long Island… In the aftermath, our neighborhood and much of the rest of the island felt like a third world country… Lines for blocks and blocks for gas, no traffic lights, very few stores open, no ice, no milk, no heat, no shower, not much of anything… At times it felt like a war zone… Seeing the National Guard Hummers gathered at every corner was a very surreal experience… One that will not be easily forgotten… While devastating to see that many people had lost absolutely everything… It was equally inspiring to see people from all walks of life come together for the greater good and become a united front in the face of adversity… Thankfully we only lost power for a little under a week… I swear between Hurricane Irene in 2012 and Sandy in 2013, you are going to think we turn off the lights and live out of a cooler once a year for fun… I can only hope this year we get a pass from Mother Nature…

For Halloween you were Minnie Mouse and we marched down Bedford Avenue in the Halloween Parade, then trick or treated at all the stores… You were so hilarious marching down the street… You lifted your little legs higher and stomped them down more fiercely than every other kid… Occasionally announcing, “I MARCHIN”… Just the thought of that day brings a smile to my face that I can’t wipe away… Needless to say, you were the most adorable Minnie Mouse of all the 437 Minnie Mouse’s…

After much discussion with your Father, I decided to completely ignore his wishes and get two orange kittens, Myles and McGee (Smy-woos and Duckie)… As Nana likes to put it, it was time for a little fur in our house… After welcoming you into the family then losing Maci two years ago, it was time… It only took Dad a couple of days before he gave in and both cats were sleeping on his chest… He always was a sucker for a sweet furry creature… And I always knew this… Hence my complete disregard for his opinion on the subject… He just didn’t know he was ready for more pets until I eased him into the decision with a little nudge (sarcasm)… They were 5 months old when we got them and are just over a year old now… I had forgotten how much fun it is to have a cat… It had been years since I had had one… They love you to pieces… And you love them too! I am grateful to give you the gift of loving an animal… Sometimes I feel like what helped teach me to love and to care for someone else with no expectations in return, was having pets at a young age… It’s something that cannot be duplicated and that stays with you for the rest of your life… It made me realize that sometimes it’s not only important to make sure your children have everything you didn’t have… But also, and possibly more important, to make sure your children have everything you DID have… This is one of those times…

Once our new furry family members settled in to their new home, we had a brand new series of events to overcome… And right before Christmas… As luck would have it Little Miss Brianna started to climb into and out of her crib three weeks before the biggest holiday of the year… Good times… So we got started setting up your new twin bed immediately… At first it wasn’t so bad… I layed with you until you fell asleep and within a few days I was able to kiss you goodnight and leave you to fall asleep by yourself… That lasted until Christmas night, and then it was no more… Bedtime became a battle for the first time in your life… I was so spoiled with such a good infant who slept through the night by three months old… I was not equipped to accept that it wouldn’t always be exactly that way… WAKE UP CALL MOMMY!!! After a few months of it taking over an hour for you to fall asleep and still winding up in our room multiple times a night, we sought advice from your doctor… And up went a child safety gate in your bedroom doorway… The first night was so difficult… Listening to you beg and plead and apologize to us, even though you had done nothing wrong, was almost enough to break us… As it turned out, you were all talk and layed yourself down and drifted to sleep within 15 minutes… I swear you will be an actress someday… I SWEAR!!! This lasted another few months until your rap scallion little self learned to jump over the gate… Again we had tiny feet jabbing our ribcages at night as you slept sideways across our bed… Little by little you have started to stay in your bed longer each night… Sometimes you sleep all night in there and others you join us early in the morning… What have I learned throughout all this?? You won’t want to sleep with us forever… These cuddly nights, full of togetherness, as we all get some well deserved and much needed rest, will become few and far between… Probably much sooner than I even know… Oh how I will miss these days once they are gone for good… So jump in bed with us my baby… Whenever you want or need to… Because when these days are behind us, I will long to have them back… I just know it…

For Christmas Eve we had Nana and Pop over for dinner and presents… I was a little under the weather but we managed to have a really nice day… They came with a truck load of presents for you and we really enjoyed watching you with them… I think it’s very difficult for them to only see you once a year… So in the little time they get with you, they shower you in hugs, kisses and lots and lots of gifts… Christmas Day I was even sicker and we had to skip going to Uncle Bill and Aunt Sue’s house for dinner… Such a bummer! The three of us had a nice, quiet day… Playing with all your new stuff and relaxing… By the end of the week I was all better and we were able to go to the other Dittrich house and spend some time, all of us together, before Nana and Pop went home… Every December I get so excited for their visit… So they can see how much you have grown and changed in the 12 months they missed you… Also so the three of you can have some quality time together…

Easter was especially fun this year… It was the first time we dyed Easter eggs together and Dad and I got to stage our first egg hunt… The found eggs launched with great velocity into the egg basket… Each one crushing the last into tiny eggshell bits mixed in with yolks and egg whites… Jelly beans and peeps everywhere, our feet sticking to the living room rug… I still pull yellow grass out of our couch sometimes… It was messy, disgusting, amazing and so much fun… Can’t wait to do again next year…

In May we went to see Mimi and Papa… It’s so much fun to watch you notice different things every visit… You still love the pool and the golf cart, those are givens… This time we also went spider hunting every day… And you seemed to enjoy the fire pit more… Probably because Dad spent a lot of time around it, tending to the coals and gathering wood… Nature seems to light a flame in your eye… Like a tiny spark, it is amazing to see you come alive in the great outdoors… You remind me so much of Mimi… And myself when I small… You got to spend a lot of time with both Mimi and Papa… They took you to The Little Rainbow Ranch where you got to meet a whole bunch of farm animals… Chickens, pigs, turkeys, cows, horses and the world’s most noisy, screaming donkey I have ever seen in my life… You got to go back to Homosassa and visit the most “tremendous hippo” in Florida. (Papa taught you to say tremendous in one try… You take after your mother… Ahem) We got to hang out with Patti and Ellie too, which is always so much fun!! We had a big BBQ and most of the family was there… Those moments get to me sometimes… It’s hard to witness you having so much fun with the people I so desperately wish we lived closer too… Bitter sweet… Every time… Luckily we already have our next Florida trip planned for this October… I don’t want to only see them once a year… A week is never enough time and there’s way too much time in between visits…

As the last two plus years have flown by, we have had many proud moments as we watch you morph into something so much more beautiful than any butterfly… The baby girl moments fleeting with each passing day… Being replaced with the sights and sounds of this new, little girl who has brightened our world… Every single day we share laughs, triumphs, hard times and live new dreams… Each day more rewarding and cherished than the last… Who knew life could be so grand? And all because of one perfect little person…

Now THAT was a pretty big nutshell!!!