There Was a Little Girl.....

...who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead,
And when she was good, she was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.
She stood on her head, on her little trundle bed,
With nobody by for to hinder;
She screamed and she squalled, she yelled and she bawled,
And drummed her little heels against the winder. Her mother heard the noise, and thought it was the boys
Playing in the empty attic,
She rushed upstairs, and caught her unawares,
And spanked her, most emphatic.

I am certain these words were written for my Annabella.  It is her so exactly!!

I have to be honest and say that with the birth of little Beatrice I have been mourning in a sense.  Mourning the loss of my "little" Anna, as I often referred to her.

This tiny little pixie who was so sick and we had no idea, who has truly suffered the last year and a half, who has shown amazing bravery and resiliency, who we cried for and worried about, who grayed our hair and made us laugh, who brought us down paths we never thought we would travel.  She was our baby who required such intense attention, care, and energy.

And with absolute suddenness I have realized she is no longer that tiny, frail, little baby.  She is downright BIG!!  She is nearly as tall as her 4yr old brother, and her hands and feet seem enormous, she talks to me, she no longer fits easily into my arms.......she is no longer my baby.