When Steve walked past and saw these pictures he grabbed his chest like his heart was in pain.  It hits you and you are back in the days when they were so small.

I want to reach through the picture and kiss her cheeks and hug her.   I miss the way she, like all babies would wrap her arms and legs around me whenever I went to pick her up.   I miss how her eyes would follow me all around the room, she would stretch her body around just to see me, and when I would smile at her, her whole body would explode with happiness.  I miss her coos.

It grips me too..what time takes away

But I am also so very grateful for what I have now...

When people give me clothes for my kids I choose them over the other outfits they own.  I am so sentimental like that.  Meg gave me the baby outfit in the second photo, her daughter Kenna wore it first.   Coco wore it over and over again until it was ridiculously small on her. Shanda has sent me wonderful clothes that her daughter Grace has worn.  My sister just gave me some clothes for Chloe that she is wearing in most of these pictures and they are priceless to me.  Priceless.

Give me something that has meaning behind it and it will be worth so much more than something new.

Steve and I saw this cake at a bakery and asked Juls (My sister) to make it.  Julie was having such a busy week but was still able to make this better-than-any-bakery cake and have the joint Coco/Ally party at her house.

*We went riding bikes with Martha (My sister-in-law) and my brother Justin. Very cool time.  Here is Coco all ready to ride on the back of my bike.

I took her out on a date, just her and I to the same restaurant I took Eti to.  She walked in, looked down at her hand counted out four little fingers stretched them out proudly to the three employees who were standing there and then jumping up and down squealed out "I am four years old and can you please sing to me?!!!"

Every waitress or complete stranger who would pass she would hold out her fingers and say "I'm four years old!" and every time I would think of Bill Cosby.

During our dinner I looked down at the bench where our purses were and was struck again with how much fun it is to have a girl, to have a girly-girl, who paints nails with me every Saturday night, who plays with her make up while I put on mine, who stomps around the house in my high heels, and all the other small details that make me a very very rich woman.

*Fairy costume from Aunty Shelley and Uncle James for her birthday.   She comes to the dinner table like this.