My daughter Neonna recently had her 2nd birthday. She has been smiling since she was a newborn, & she brings a smile to the face of everyone she meets. I started taking pics of us every month to follow our happy journey, and this video documents her first year of smiles.
Neonna is a bright, shiny soul who is full of light. We thought that after my son Paulie, who is a ball of energy, that maybe she would be the mellow one... yeah, that was some wishful thinking! Although she is definitely not as much of a maniac as my son, she is still a wild child in her own way.
Her first word was "Da-Da" 💖 & now she is starting to talk, pretending to have conversations in babble language on her play phone. She's a strong little girl, running around trying to keep up with her big brother, and also beating the crap out of him when he inevitably crosses the line and pisses her off. She's very active- she's dribbling soccer balls, has an impressive throwing arm, climbs on everything & loves swinging like a monkey on rings or the trapeze!
She's also super-strong-minded, and is already a sassy force to be reckoned with. When she points her finger and says to me "No, Daddy!" I feel like I'm dealing with a teenager already. We gave her the nickname "Gromulus the Gremlin" for whenever she gets into goblin mode, which can be very crazy. She calls herself "Ya-Ya", which I guess is her trying to pronounce "Neonna". Everybody thinks it's hilarious & we all call her Ya-Ya now.
Maybe Neonna will have a creative nature like me; she already points out & says colors and loves to draw (scribble). The thing that really blows my mind is how she already has a sense of humor, before she can really talk. How do kids know what is funny & how to be funny?? It's a weird thing, but amazing to observe.
My wife and I feel so blessed to have this beautiful little girl in our life. We just look at her in awe, and ask each other how we created such a perfect being. I have continued this fun project into year 2, so I will post that video soon.
Here is a link to the photo album, where I hope to continue to add pics of me & my sweet little pumpkin:
Neonna Loretta Micarelli - Monthly Smiles with Daddy
by Paul Micarelli
