Well, it's time again for me to write a little tribute to our Little Miss Brighton (she calls herself "Bibon Mercy"). The smallest of the Murphy Clan, this remarkable child has the ability to bring me to tears with her willfulness and spirit. When I say "bring me to tears" I mean in the bad way as often as the good way, and I mean it with all the love and dedication of a mother who knows what it is like to be so taken with a child's beauty and thoughtfulness one moment, and so frustrated with their stubborn determination the next, that she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Brighton is bright (not only counts to 10, but understands she is actually counting something), spirited, confident, and stubborn as a mule. She loves to dance with her sister in the living room; she is a big fan of "Big Girls Don't Cry" by the Four Seasons - and she knows all of the words to the chorus. When she is dancing she does it with complete and utter abandon - throwing her little fists in the air and bopping her entire body to the music. She thrusts one shoulder in the air and then the other - in perfect time with the music. She mimics her sister constantly, repeating phrases and vocal inflections and following her around the house like a puppy (let's hope Miss Bella sets a good example). But it is Max she wants when she is looking for somebody to sit quietly and snuggle her. She also enjoys hitting golf balls or baseballs off the Tee with her daddy and her brother, and will follow them outside for these activities, often to Max's chagrin.
She lovingly refers to her brother and sister as "My Max" and "My Bella." When she is looking for them, she does not ask "where is Max?" but "where is MY Max?" with all of the possessiveness and love that the phrase implies. She loves to run - usually away from whomever is trying to get her attention - and entice them to follow. She chatters constantly, asking questions about where we are going or what we did yesterday. She walks into the room and asks, "what you DO'IN Momma?" or "where you DOE-IN (going)?" Whenever we are walking down the stairs or out the door ahead of her, she yells, "wait de me" or "I'm bomin (coming)!"
She can turn the tears on and off like no child I have ever seen. I simply have to tell her that she is going to go to time out or up to her room if she doesn't stop crying, and she can stop the tears immediately (not that she always does). She also enjoys guilting her working mother - telling me about how she was "dieing (crying)" at school or that she "miss my momma" so "I die (cry)."
She still climbs in bed with Mommy and Daddy every night, usually early morning. We hear her coming -her little feet hitting the floor as she groggily makes her way to our bed. She then stands to the side of either one of us and whispers "momma, I here" or "daddy, I here." We then grab her little body and put her in-between us - and she will roll from one to the other for the rest of the night. As much as I sometimes long to have more of the bed to myself (she also snuggles up to us so tightly that she literally pushes us off the bed), when she throws her little arm around my neck and pulls me into her when she's sleeping, I get choked up thinking about the day when she will no longer stumble to our room for some nighttime snuggles.
She loves spending time with her family, and is definitely happiest when we are all together and engaged with each other. Watching T.V. simply will not do when there is a tickle game or game of hide-and-seek to be played.
Brighton loves to snuggle, and when you pick her up for a "huggie" she wraps her arms AND her legs around you in a way that melts all the stress of the day and makes you want to hold her like that forever. I know that it is only a blip in time before I can no longer pick her up and get a full-body hug in that way, so I vow to never refuse this little cherub a "huggie," regardless of how dirty my hands are or how busy I am - she is our baby and she won't stay little for long.
Here are the girls and their favorite Build-a-Bear's all decked out in their hula finest. Bella was thrilled that even her bear (actually a dog named Huggie) received a hula costume.
Here she, right before we ran out of the party to get her dressed for dance pictures. What a day.
