Was it really two years ago? It seems like no time at all. And yet it also is impossible to imagine what life was before you were in it. Haven’t I always known you? Haven’t I always known that voice, that laugh? Those little arms that reach out to grab me.
You seemed so big last year, toddling around, a bit unsteadily, eating mac and cheese for tyhe first time. But now you’re such a little girl.
Happy Birthday, my pretty princess.
Oh my goodness. What a beautiful post. You are giving Isabella such a wonderful and firm foundation in her faith. She is obviously a sensitive child, keenly attuned to those around her. I just loved this. Thank you for sharing it.
tears, tears
How beautiful is the faith of a child!
Before I was a mother, I thought young toddlers like Isabella or mine would be too young to know or understand anything about the faith. Was I wrong! Your dad’s post beautifully shows how children have “something” in them since the beginning, and I feel that we, as parents, are often more like just gardening this “something” rather than planting it, if you can follow my metaphor
The point is, how did he know?? With all the books he sees around the house, how did he know the picture on this particular book really was about Jesus? We have some crucifixes and reproductions of paintings with Mary, but nothing looks like the illumination on the Catechism, so how does he know? Well, it seems somehow he does know, and isn’t it beautiful and amazing? I only half-jokingly told my husband that, if an atheist had been with us, he would have converted on the spot, because what better proof is there that we truly are children of God than a young child recognizing Our Lord? 
It’s true that children grow up imitating what they see around them, and building on this imitation to add their own personal touch. If we weren’t teaching them prayers, they wouldn’t know them. But there are times when it’s clear to me they already “know” something that we didn’t put there – God did. For instance, the other night I was reading the Catechism – a white book with a small reproduction of an illumination showing the Washing of the Feet. My son (2 1/2) stopped to see what I was doing and said “Book!”, then he paused to look at the cover picture, and finally, pointing to the man in the middle, said “Jesus!”. Ok, it was Peter, but never mind