I walked into the bathroom to find my little princess perched on the throne, Elsa's glittery chiffon 'Ice Queen' ensemble lying in a heap below her dangling feet. This came as a surprise because earlier last year when I asked if she still liked being a princess she had promptly reminded me that she was now eight and into Monster High. I made a mental note. Point taken.

"Mama, I'm going to wear a dress every day this summer," Senia Mae said.

"Is that so," I said as I leaned over the sink to examine a few straggling hairs poking out of my right eyebrow. "Why do you want to wear a dress every day?"

"Just because I want to," she said. "I like being fancy." And fancy she was. Kim and I have always joked that when Senia Mae was born she came out with a poof of glitter.

"Mama come here," she said. "Do you know what a butterfly kiss is?"

"Of course I do," I said as I bent over her little body and gently rubbed my nose against hers. "Like that, right?"

"No, that's an Eskimo kiss." She then turned her head to the right brought her face closer to mine, and giggled as she fluttered her long arched eyelashes until they tickled the ends of my own eyelashes. "THAT'S a butterfly kiss." At that moment there was a peace in my heart that is unlike anything else I have experienced before parenthood.

I can't say I look forward to days no longer filled with the simplistic wonder of a child's imagination. The mere thought of this going away makes my heart ache just a little. Although I'm sure recitals, graduations, proms, and (gulp) weddings will be major milestones in our lives; the little stuff, the days of childhood innocence, the days of wrinkled chiffon dresses and butterfly kisses, are really the days I want to make sure I never forget.