May May

"I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume, you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."  -Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

She has been gaining personality since she was born the way a steam locomotive gathers speed.  But my daughter has entered a new world of personality ever since she started saying a version of her name, and patting herself on the chest. 

Meet May May, an almost fourteen-month-old girl who likes playing dress up, reading alphabet books, watching Sesame Street and Here Come the ABCs, swimming, taking naps, and dancing.  She will eat olives, salami, dried cranberries, and bread, but doesn't like purees, Kix, raisins, or peas.  Her favorite snack is a popsicle or chocolate soy pudding, but will take a chocolate cookie if you have one. 

Selfhood is an interesting concept, and I love watching it blossom in my daughter and run as rampant as dandelions in summer.  She has habits these days instead of instincts, and preferences may not be a strong enough word for her opinions on many subjects.  She prefers one song to another, one character on Sesame Street to another, even picks chocolate cookies over vanilla. 

May May was never a blank slate, to me it seems like she has been becoming herself since they put her in my arms, but I am loving this explosion of independence and assertion.  We may fight sometimes about what's for dinner or how long an acceptable ride in the car can be, but I like that there's a her, and there's a me.  I like how she's becoming May May, I love to see her anew every morning.

My May May