Love You, So Much

I realized the other day that I talk mostly about Joy on here.

This is not because Gracie is a negligible personality. Far from it. It's just that the difference between an almost-four year old and almost-two and a half year old means there are more stories to tell about Joy.

Grace is hysterical, but most of the humor comes from the moment, the facial expressions, the context. Trying to explain the jokes to someone else just falls flat.

She is, as I lovingly call her, my curly-haired imp.

She is quick to love, quick to laugh, quick to anger and sadness, with a scream so piercing the nurses at the birthing center had never heard anything like it from a newborn. And it's only gotten stronger as she's gotten older.

She is the extrovert in a family of introverts.

Another six months to a year, and I am sure the stories about her will pour out, that the roles will be reversed and Joy will get relatively little screen time compared to her vibrant younger sister. Right now Grace still follows big sister's steps in everything, but I've been seeing hints that indicate that state of affairs won't last much longer. As a little sister myself, who went from adoring my big sister to protecting her, I find myself reminding Gracie daily that "you don't have to do that just because Joy is!"

Her other nickname around the house is "Bundle" (anyone else here read Agatha Christie? Remember Bundle Brent?), as in: a bundle of mischief; a bundle of sweetness; a bundle of silliness; a bundle of energy; a bundle of love; a cuddle-bundle (that one gets tricky to say sometimes).

She's fallen down the stairs more times in the last two years than I care to count, and is the child most likely to give her mother a heart attack before she reaches age five. Fearless and adventurous, where her sister is cautious and thoughtful, she provides me with new challenges every day.

This kid? She is fun.

And I can't wait for the day when I can share more of her stories with you.

For now, I need to go double-check to make sure the door to the cellar is locked. She's already fallen down those steps once this month.

Ooh! I do have a funny story I can share. I just took a break from this to put Gracie down for her nap. As usual, I said: "Love you!" as I tucked her in, and she looked back up at me with twinkling eyes and added: "So much!"