Tick Marks

We recently came back from our annual trip to Seattle to visit with Anna's extended family and it was our first trip there with V. She got a big introduction to about 40 family members, and that was probably only half of the family members on both sides.

It was a touching thing to add her to the tradition of marking heights on the closet door in the cabin. I only made it on that wall in 2007, long after I had finished growing. But now V can add her notches as she grows over the years. A big part of our lives are now behind us, but there is a huge and amazing part coming up. Looking at the door with all the heights of all the cousins, I can only imagine all the things that happened between one mark and the next. V is the first of the new generation on Anna's mom's side, and she's now left her mark on the 100+ years of family history at this place.

V is almost 6 months old, which blows my mind. She's growing more and more into a little person every day. By the time her mark makes it to the middle of the door, she'll have experienced so many things and become a real little person with her own set of quirks and traits. I can't wait to see who she turns out to be, but I also hope it doesn't go by too quickly.