Tonight, as our usual Wednesday night activity, Nick and I sat in the hot tub and enjoyed a glass of wine as we reflected upon this week so far. I was so excited to tell him about all the exciting things Nora has done this week. She has not only taken her first steps, but walked across the room all by herself and then today, she did her first baby sign language all by herself!!!! She was enjoying a snack of goldfish at the zoo this morning when she wanted more and I'll be darned that she didn't put her two tiny little hands together and sign "more" to her mommy.....I beamed with excitement inside and out :)
I have been noticing just in the last couple of weeks that things really seem be "clicking" with her cognitively. The teacher in me can see that my baby is a little sponge right now and is really picking up on "adult like" behaviors. Even as we loaded up in her bright pink car today to do our daily walk to the mailbox, she amazed me as she was holding the keys (as she always insists on doing) and then as soon as we stopped in front of the line of mailboxes, she reached up and handed me those keys! It is usually a fight to get them away from her for even a second.
For those of you that may be reading this and are not a parent, you may think, wow, is this really what she gets joy out of each day?! The answer is, yes it is!! Having my precious little girl has taught me how to enjoy the small things in life. It has taught me to sit down with her and soak up the world in a way a child does. It my friends, is exciting! Another great example, at Gymboree last week we had a new little one join our class. He is an energetic and happy 11 month old who also happens to have down syndrome. It was almost like little Nora knew he needed a little extra help because instead of stealing his toys (which she usually does), she was crawling over (he couldn't crawl) and grabbing toys and bringing them to him to play with. Another proud mommy moment as it occurred to me that she saw that he was no different than anyone else and in fact just needed a little bit more attention. It melted my heart :)
A fellow mommy posted the following link to a blog tonight that touched my heart once again... (which doesn't seem too hard these days). I encourage all mommies to read it and then sit down and ponder if you too are getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life, or if you are truly enjoying your child as much as they are capable of! I know my little princess gets my complete and undivided love and attention each and every day :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/devon-corneal/parenting-lasts_b_1874086.html
