Down the Yellow Brick Road

I still remember the first time I watched The Wizard of Oz and when Dorothy, arm in arm with the Tin Man, The Lion, and The Scarecrow, started to follow the Yellow Brick Road I knew it was the beginning of an amazing journey. That's exactly how I feel now every time I interact with Alyssa. Her baby days were wonderful and sweet, but as a toddler it's a whole different world!

She is learning new things everyday and as she does so she gives me and her Daddy a whole new perspective. As she learns new words we're reminded to watch what we say. And as she uses the words she's learned I'm amazed at how her little mind works; I'm struck at how she puts concepts together and identifies what she sees, and remembers what she discovered yesterday. She picks up something new everyday - colors, shapes, even identifying numbers and letters in the alphabet. How does she know that a bear in a book, the stuffed animal on her bed, and a bear in the zoo are all the same thing... a bear?!

But what's truly amazing is that her awe at all things around her is absolutely contagious. When we took her recently to the aquarium the look in her eyes was indescribable. It was sheer wonder and joy... and I felt the same way. Alyssa's greatest gift to her Mommy and Daddy right now is bringing us into her world. As an adult you sometimes forget to marvel at the world around you. Things become mundane. As an adult with a toddler, you can't help but see the world through her eyes! Thank you, my little girl for opening my eyes to the wonder of flowers, and bears, and the "lolors" pink, "lellow", and "puh-ple". Thank you for showing me "pish" and "burs" and "la-la-las" (piggys in Sandra Boynton's book, Moo Ba La La La). And above all else, thank you for taking me and your Daddy, arm in arm with you down your Yellow Brick Road.