Flower Child

Anne was in a wedding last month -- one of her superamazing godfathers got married to an equally superamazing woman and they asked our A. to be part of the flower girl contingent. We were already extremely happy and excited for Uncle P. and his bride to get married. For A. to be a part of the day was just icing on the cake, and we were all very excited (and a little nervous) about it. Anouk is two after all, not quite two-and-a-half. And in case you haven't noticed from this blog, my child happens to be an extremely spirited child.

But on the day of the wedding, she was surprisingly obedient and docile. She held hands with the other flower girls and made it all. the. way. down the aisle without a blip. She colored quietly in her coloring book during the rest of the service. She let the photographer pose her for a few pictures, something that always prompts a scornful "NO, mommy" when I try to do it. She even took a nap between the ceremony and the reception, like, will wonders never cease?

Of course she looked adorable in her tiny white sparkly dress -- her princess dress, she calls it -- and seeing her in it reinforced to me how quickly kids grow at this age. When we got the dress back in the spring, I had thought I might need to do some alterations to it, take up the straps, which were too loose, and the hem, which was too long. But by the time we tried on the dress again the week before the wedding, it fit perfectly. She'd grown an inch in three months. Zoom -- just like that.

But more than that, this whole wedding experience made me realize suddenly how much Anouk's world is growing. Once -- not too long ago -- her entire universe was limited to pretty much me and James. Now she has a whole host of faces around her, familiar and unfamiliar, and the circle just keeps widening every day. It is unexpectedly one of my favorite parts of parenting so far, seeing Anouk starting to build these relationships for herself, without our help. And gratifying, too, to see that the seeds of independence and friendliness and respect that we've tried to carefully tend are starting to grow and blossom in our child.

I'm not saying that she's perfect or even that she behaved perfectly throughout the whole entire wedding process -- she is, after all, a two-year-old. (And speaking of icing on the cake, there was one heart-stopping moment when I saw her, across the dance floor reach up to touch the wedding cake and I ran like the wind across the room shouting "I'll spaaaaaaaaaaank you!", getting there just in the nick of time to prevent it from actually happening.) But I have no problem with saying that I am proud of my daughter and the person she's becoming. And that I am excited to see her keep growing and changing, reaching toward the light.