Growing

 

 

 

So today Anneke and I were hanging out on the bed, where there were various toys and clutter strewn about. There was a little wad of kleenex on the bed (gross) about two feet away from her. It took her about five minutes, but she managed to work her way over to it all by herself. Luckily she didn't seem to mind me swapping the kleenex for a book. She tried to work her way over to all the stuff on the bed--the remote controls, the phone, and it occurred to me that she is engaging with objects in a whole new way. Not too long ago things around her were not nearly as interesting. It was a little bittersweet to see her turning toward the world--her world--in that way. It was the first time I've sensed her becoming her own little person. At the same time I've found myself dreaming of who she will become, of how we will nurture who she is.
Here we are on the front porch. Her FAVORITE THINGS are the grape vines. She is enthralled with them. When we go out to the porch to nurse she always has to pause for a minute to take in the big, green leaves bobbing in the breeze. She looks at them and smiles like she's seeing an old friend. Then she tries to eat them.