Deep

As happy-go-lucky as Jada can, there's also a sense that she goes real deep. She's a deep feeler, which can lead to the most spectacular of tantrums or the most pensive of looks. It's as if her hard-scrabble early days have imprinted on her a toughness that all the cuteness in the world can't quite polish over.

Some days, Amy and I worry about her future, as far as her having big struggles with the kinds of things parents agonize about. And other days, we're hopeful she'll become well-adjusted and her depth will be an asset, something she can draw on to do meaningful things and to care for people in profound ways.

For now, she's our Jada: her high-pitched giggles and mischievous looks anchor her to age 2, but she's got some old soul in her too. I used to tell people that my daughter is "2 going on 2," but some days she's "2 going on much older than 2."