At the crack of dawn

I made my weekly trek out to San Angelo on Friday this week, leaving at the crack of dawn. Literally, dawn was cracking. Although, I do question why the phrase is "crack of dawn" because dawn doesn't so much crack as emerge. I mean, the sky slowly fills with light - the day emerges, it doesn't come upon us full force as the word cracking would suggest. Anyway, it was the crack of dawn and I stepped out of my back door and heard a cacophony of bird twitters, twatters, chirps, and songs. It was like I was in the rain forest - or at least a version of a rain forest that might be found in the desert of West Texas suburbia at the crack of dawn. It was lovely - noisy, but lovely. The birds know, as I now do, that Spring is upon us! (Ironically, as I write today about Friday, we have a cold and (gasp!) rainy day today - in many parts of the country that would signify Spring but, here, heralds Winter a bit more strongly.) I do, however, have further evidence that Spring is, in fact, here. On my drive to San Angelo I have the distinct pleasure of seeing animals grazing - cattle, sheep, goats, and two llamas (who live about 70 miles apart from each other) - and, in the Spring, there are BABIES! Little goats and little sheeps and little cattles and little horses, but as of now, no little llamas. A true sign of Spring, indeed. So, for all of you snow bunnies out there, just imagine what, in a few shortish months, you have to look forward too!

My mom asked the other day what cool new tricks Clara's doing and I thought I share a few with you guys. She has started sucking on her feet. She licks her lips, except not when there is food on them. She seems to prefer, as of late, sucking her first two fingers rather than her thumb. She can sit up, on her own like a big girl, for 1, maybe 1 1/2 seconds. She just started to eat rice cereal and she just started to sit in her high chair. She tries to read out loud with me when we are reading Winnie the Pooh.