Chickadee's Ten

When the kids arrived late one night, I went outside to help get them from the car. In the back, in a bucket car seat, was the teeniest baby I'd ever had in my driveway. The brief conversation with the person bringing the kids went something like this:
"um, I was told I was getting a one-year-old."
"She IS one."
"But she looks like she's about three months old."
"I know."

Teeny teeny thing with big big personality.

Chickadee:
10. Licked the church pew weekly. I am convinced her immune system will thank me one day for allowing that to go on each week.
9. Got her first tooth at 15 months. It was a top fang. Cutest little snaggletooth in town.
8. Often fell asleep in the exact position I put her in her crib. Arm wrapped around blanket, leg bent just so...and she would stay that way at least until after I went to sleep.
7. Had the most beautiful gray eyes ever. But sometimes they looked green. And sometimes a shade of light brown. She was asleep when she arrived and the worker said: "Wait till you see her eyes." She wasn't kidding.
6. First words included: banana, baby, mamma, no and all done. She also knew "cheese" when holding a cell phone and "clean up" when we sang our clean up song. I was working on teaching her to bawk like a chicken this week, but she didn't perfect it before leaving.
5. Was highly entertained by a sour face I would make at dinner. The older kids would tell me to do it over and over again, just so we could hear her laughing.
4. Had a ginormous belly, despite the rest of her teeniness. Speed's teacher was pregnant (till last week) so he often talked about babies in people's tummies (his included). He was sure Chickadee had one in hers.
3. Showered us all in kisses. If she wanted to kiss you, she'd say: Mmmmmmmmuh! and then kiss away. She was the last to go to bed each night so helped tuck the other two in and kiss them good night, regardless of the perpetual snot running down her nose. She was equally good at blowing kisses.
2. Had lengthy conversations on cell phones, complete with hand gestures, head nods, and laughs.
1. Was the absolute best part of my day when I picked her up at daycare. She would squeal and scream and run and hug around my neck so tight that I could (literally) let go of her and she wouldn't fall.

I wish I knew why I spent 3 years of foster care vetoing babies because, oh my goodness, this one stole my heart. Love, love, love you, Chickadee!