Oh How Quickly They Grow

You know that annoying saying that everyone tells you when you first have a baby, "I feel like I just brought my own home from the hospital now they're 5, 10, a teenager, in college, etc"

I think I heard that several times a day for two months. Now I find myself thinking all too often, I feel like I just brought her home from the hospital.

Lillian is in the incredible age of learning right now she is picking things up so quickly. Sometimes I put her in a chair and buckle her in while I shower and when I'm done I put lotion on my face. A couple of days in a row after I was done lotioning myself I put some on her legs which tend to be dry. After just two days of this, on the third day she was there during my shower (which wasn't even consecutive to the other two) as soon as I put the lotion on my face she held up her leg.

It is also incredible for me to see how much she understands, even though she can communicate so little. Like any parent, I like to test what she knows so I'll ask her to do something and see if she will do it. I think the most recent thing is helping to put her toys away. We asked her to put her legos in their place and she picked them up and started to put them away. She also used to play with the dishes in the dishwasher while I was loading and unloading, but now she pulls them out and hands them to me to put away. She even takes the tupperware to it's spot, which is her free reign cabinet in the kitchen.

It's hard to believe that a baby that couldn't even look me in the eyes two seconds ago can now understand, follow instructions and learn things so quickly. Even some of the signs we haven't talked about in months (because I slacked off) she is starting to use.

Even though I know you aren't supposed to compare your child to others I was beginning to think she might be a little behind with how many words she knows. It is hard to tell though, because most of her friends are a few months older. We had a play date with a mother of eighteen month old twins who do not communicate at all, no signs no words. It was nice to have that perspective that all children develop at their own pace (and btw mine is a genius)

There are some things I really wish she would pick up faster. Most notably come here, we don't hit, we don't throw our food and please stop fussing. Oh and I will pay you one million dollars if you'll do the dishes