She is napping so I, naturally, am thinking about what all I need to do this week.  I have to scan and file photos that I have been putting off for a year.  (That's right, a  year, don't judge me.)  I have to write one of two papers that will be term papers, although the first one is required in draft form only.  The other will be a bit more involved.  I will have to annotate that one.  I hate annotating about as much as plaigerism so what am I to do?  

Next week is Easter Sunday.  In one month to the day is Xyla's birthday.  She will be two.  

Yet all I can think about is home.  I have two more pay periods before I have enough leave saved to take a break.  My mom might come down for a couple of days, maybe with my grandmother.  I really wish my family got to be a bigger part of my daughter's life.  I know they do too.

Right now I am grateful that I get to roll and play with my baby as I watch her grow, and grow and grow.  I measured her yesterday and she is 34 inches.  I measured her two weeks ago at 33.  She snuck it in there.  She is sleeping in her own bed most of the time.  She is about half potty trained.  She draws what looks like words rather than pictures of things or shapes.  She has pretty much all of her baby teeth.  I love to see her smile and she smiles a lot.  She can recognize and verbalize a variety of colors and objects.  She can and does clearly tell me "yesh" she wants some thing or "noooo" she doesn't.  She is really good at taking medicine when she needs to.  I wish she didn't need to.  She takes books to bed with her.  I found her in her room reading a book of nursery rhymes yesterday.  She has recently discovered a love for Winnie the Pooh, whom she calls "poop".  'Tigger' and 'sticker sound an aweful lot alike but I can usually tell which she means.  

I think it is safe to say we are improving communication almost daily.  I am excited that I will soon be reporting the precoucious things she will come up with.  She has quite the imagination.  She still hasn't really "connected" with any specific thing.  One day she will be best friend with 'poop', then she'll take up with her pen and notebook, the following day she'll want to take her plastic chair everywhere she goes.

I really can't wait to find out what God has in store for the two of us.