Adventures with friends

At age two and a half, Audrey is an absolute joy to parent. She is becoming more reasonable, independent, affectionate, talkative. She is learning so much so quick, she is fun to hang out with. She says I love you, Mama and Dada is my best friend and I love cuddling YOU.

One of the things I most love to see is when she plays with her friends. Seriously you guys, it breaks me into a million tiny pieces. She shares like a champion - it isn't ever easy for her, but she wants to do the right thing and she tries so hard. I'm very proud of all the things she is trying to do lately, so proud that it feels like an impossible emotion to contain.

Her and her friends hold hands, give hugs, cheer each other up when they're sad, have empathy for each other, work to solve problems, play games, imagine the most amazing things. I learn so much from parenting her, especially through things like this. We talk about using our words, we put names to emotions and try our best to clearly describe what problems we're having that are leading to those emotions. People, this is something that adults struggle with so hard - or, at least, I know I do. And these kids are ROCKING IT. They say "Audrey did x and it made me feel y." I'm looking at these little people and saying to myself YES. This is how I should be communicating.

So yeah, I'm loving friends and outings and fun. I'm loving being her mama, as (almost) always. I'm loving books from the library and home made decorations for the Christmas tree that little lady is so proud of. I'm loving holding her hand and seeing how confident she is, how she makes friends and plays with children of all ages. The hugs and squeezes, the "Mama let's hold hands and run", the dancing, the singing, the reading, the teddy bears, the fairy lights. Sitting next to her on the bus, opposite her in a cafe. Tramping through mud and old leaves, stomping in icy puddles, looking out the window every day for snow.

Life, right now, is immensely hard work, and deeply satisfying.