"Baby Yann" has a Birthday today!

It's what Cy used to call her, "Baby Yann".

And Dad would often say, "She's so easy to please. All you have to do is place her favorite toys around her and she's happy there playing by herself". This was true.

But I also recall a phone call with Granner in which he asked about every one of you. When it came to "telling" him about Annie, I responded, laughing, "I don't know about Annie. She's only 2 but she intimidates me." This was in Red Creek, when Annie, dressed in a shirt and a diaper, would come down the stairs during nap time, and setting herself on the first step would announce, "I can't sleep".

So what?, you might be asking. Well, maybe you had to be there. Maybe you had to hear the tone of her voice...polite, so polite, but emphatic as all get out. And the look on her face? Just as sweet as could be but so determined. I'd send her back up to her room. She'd come right back down in no time at all and it would start all over again.

Same posture, same smile, same look in her eyes, same announcement, "I can't sleep.", as though we had never been through the, "Go back to bed, Annie".

Has determination followed Annie through her life? A resounding YES is the right answer, of course.

I loved you then, Annie, and I love you now, more than ever.

Happy Birthday, sweet Baby Yann.