With the recent birth of my niece, Evelynn, I have come to realize how much Lily has changed in the past six months. I know that I have noticed the little things as we moved along through her first months, but seeing how tiny Evelynn is and remembering how I could hold Lily easily with one arm really puts things in perspective.
Lily is sitting up quite well on her own now. She is so intent upon sitting under her own power that she graduated from the bouncy seat to an exersaucer. When I put her in it she gets this goofy grin on her face as she examines the toys over and over again. She rediscovers every time that hitting the duck picture makes it quack-and she is amazed every time it makes a noise. It is so entertaining and enthralling to see her discover (and rediscover) these things. The goofy grin is not limited to the exersaucer, though. She plasters that toothless smile on when I sit her on her blanket or when she rolls over on her tummy or anytime she sees her daddy or when she sees me first thing in the morning. I can't help but laugh, which spurs her smile on even more. When I take her to my parents' house, she grins at everyone in the room and everyone just grins back. She is the star of her own little show and we are happy to oblige!
She is getting to be quite the talker, too. She can babble with the best of them! I like having a duet partner in the car-I'll sing along to the radio and she will shriek and gab in the back seat right along with me. We have long involved conversations about everything from her books to her food to what our crazy dog is thinking when he treats the living room like a race track. Sometimes I can't wait for the formation of "real" words-but I really love this exploration of language that we get to experience together. Babble conversations really are the best because we can say anything we want and it is just pure delight.
