Happy Holly-day

Today is Holly's second birthday. Beautiful, clever, happy Holly. She had her little friends and cousins round to celebrate on Sunday. Sue's cake was all eaten by the end of it, which, I agree with Austen on this, has to be something for the record books, birthday cake that gets eaten. No, I'm sure it's not just me, I know that I'm not a cake fan, but birthday cake, like Christmas cake, generally remains after the party, long, long after the party.

It seems impossible that she is two already, this new person. And yet how much of a person she is already at two. She has her own way of doing things, her likes and dislikes, favourite shoes, toys, dresses, things to do. How she relates to people is already there. She loves Alex, if Alex is there everyone else but her mum and dad are eclipsed. She will grow taller and cleverer. Her future will be coloured by memories she is creating now. The trees in the garden, her times with her mum and all the things they do together during the day, and being hugged into her dad's big arms when he comes home from work in the evening.
Her experience of having a new brother and helping her mum look after him. All the uncles and aunts and her grandad. The nan that comes and goes from time to time.
Different scents and sounds that will come back to her later as half memories.

She already knows what she likes to eat and some of that will change and some will remain with her forever.
Her mum and dad take her to Church on a Sunday and those memories of incense and words and peace will remain with her whether she rejects or embraces them.

But most of all, all of Holly's life will have a blanket of the incredible love that surrounds her and that itself will enable her to love.

ADDENDUM : Congratulations to my friend Di too, who I just found out has a granddaughter born today! Congrats Adam and Cheryl :)) (And especially to Di because she had to put all the hard work in beforehand;)