Too many blessings to count

Thanksgiving is the traditional time to take stock of all that's right in the world. Like any good Oprah groupie, I try to take a few minutes every day to focus on how amazing my life is. I'm actually too lazy to write it down in a gratitude journal as Herself suggests, but I figure the reflection is good for at least a few karmic points.

There are the staples I try not to take for granted -- nice home, great husband, best baby on the planet, etc. But to keep myself on my appreciative toes, I try to find less obvious and more random blessings. I never really did this until I realized how much wonder the world holds for somebody who's brand new. Riley has really helped me tune in to small miracles that used to go unnoticed. Like...

Sweet feet and terrific toes. I used to hate feet. I've always considered them to be the ugliest part of a body not covered by a swimsuit. My own feet creep me out; other people's are even worse. I take great pains to make my own hooves as tolerable as possible, to the point that my toes stay neatly polished all winter long. But from the first day I met Riley, I have completely loved her little feet. I can't explain this, and I have other friends who've gone through the same transformation. There's something so beautiful about the way those five little pink kernels rest up against the smooth curve of her soles. I can't explain it, but every day I count those 10 little blessings.

One perfect little curl. For the longest time, Riley had no hair to speak of. She was never completely bald, but she went through a very thin period. Kind of like Matt Lauer these days. But now her reddish-blonde locks are thicker and longer, and at the base of her neck they swirl into a single loop. When it's wet, her lone curl trails down her back like a rat tail from bad 1980s pop star hair. But it's still really cute.

A single dimple. My mom found Riley's dimple the first time she held her in the hospital. It's just on the left side, a single divot of happiness that pops up next to her grin. It's like an exclamation point to her smile.

I could fill cyberspace with the millions of miracles that make up my little girl. Each day brings a new discovery, a new lightbulb moment or belly laugh, all compliments of Riley. I really don't think I can count high enough to quantify the number of such moments I've had over the past 17 months, but I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the neighborhood of Oprah's net worth.

Daddy's girl

Riley is all about Daddy these days. She asks for him randomly during the day. She asks for him when I go to comfort her in the middle of the night. I snapped this photo yesterday after she discovered Daddy's hat in the closet and had to put in on gangsta style. That was just before she started crying when she realized I'd hung up the phone with Daddy and she didn't get to talk to him.

I'm happily surprised to find myself thrilled rather than jealous. I've enjoyed Most Favored Nation status for the past 15 months. I know I'm in good with my girl. So now I can enjoy the sight of my husband twisting around Riley's tiny little finger.

And I love watching her face light up when first sees him in the morning and when he gets home from work. She now reminds me of all those TV shows I've seen that document pets' apparently psychic ability to predict their owners' return from work. Some days, she pops up and starts calling for "DA-DA!" just minutes before he pulls into the driveway. I'm now hopeful that she'll eventually fetch the paper and become housebroken.

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Momchu

Yet another sign that I'm a full-blown mommy: chocolate is now a secondary issue at Halloween. My number one priority is showcasing my girl's cuteness in innovative and original ways.

Here's a "before" shot. This is my sweet girl in her diaper and the hat from her costume. Once she realized I really, really wanted her to wear that hat, she refused to put it back on. Which is too bad, because it was my favorite part of her costume. I dressed her as my favorite Peter Sellers character, Dr. Fu Manchu. If you're unfamiliar with this cultural icon, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fiendish_Plot_of_Dr._Fu_Manchu

Actually, the hat was my second-favorite part. What I was looking forward to most was the gray theatrical hair I was going to apply to her sweet face and strawberry blonde head. But Riley refused to cooperate with my efforts to paint latex glue all over her mouth. Who knew?

What's that, you say? Anyone with an IQ high enough to be legally executed in the great state of Texas -- i.e., anyone -- would know better than to try to glue foot-long strands of fake hair on 16-month-old? Point taken.

So I ended up breaking out the black eyeliner and trying to draw an artful 'stache on a squirming toddler. It was only slightly more successful than my glue project. The outfit she's sporting is one my mother and sister brought back from their trip to Thailand a couple of years ago.

And it's in keeping with a new McGinley Halloween tradition: every year she hits the holiday as a somewhat obscure and highly original character. Last year, Riley went to a baby party dressed as Frida Kahlo. http://www.elmuseo.org/gelmanpr.html I brushed on a heavy black unibrow and a lady mustache. I dressed her in an adorable Mexican dress and wrapped her in a monkey blanket. It was a huge hit with everyone but my husband, who thought it was really, really creepy. I think it was the unibrow that got him.

He thought she should go as something cuter and baby-er, like a pumpkin. I agree that babies in pumpkin outfits are adorable, but they're as common as jack-o-lanterns on front porches. I wanted my girl to stand out, which is hard to do in a field of 30 cuties.

I also know that once she starts asserting herself on costume selection, I'll give way. This is probably the last year I can get away with dressing her up any way I want. Which is too bad, because I think she'd make a great Truman Capote or Tom Wolfe.