The Little-Big Things

The past week or two, I've been noticing little things about Mads that I've never seen before. I feel like all the attention is paid to the big milestones, crawling, walking, talking, but I wish the tiny milestones got the appreciation that they deserve. So here is my short list of big things, things that aren't so big, but just big enough to be exciting.

The Mirror People. Babe has always loved the mirror. Put a grumpy babe in front of a mirror, and she'll be grump-no-more. Mirror people fascinate her. But they're not mirror people anymore. She knows that the Mommy in the mirror is the same Mommy that's holding her. When mirror Mommy sticks her tongue out, so does real Mommy. She looks back and forth, from the mirror to me, and she finally gets it. We're the same person.

The Sitter. Sitting came easy to Madelynn. She was an early sitter, and she mastered the skill very quickly. But she never actually put herself in the sitting position. If Mads was sitting, it was because I set her down that way. About two weeks ago, Babe was laying on her back in the middle of the floor. She rolled over to her tummy, got up on all fours, and plopped her butt down. She was sitting! She does it all day long now. She loves this new-found power.

You still exist! This one has two parts. Not too long ago, if Babe was playing with something that she shouldn't, I could simply take it from her, put it behind my back or out of sight, and she'd be over it. Lately though, if I put something behind my back, she knows it's there. Whether it's a toy under a blanket, or the pliers on the coffee table that I'm trying to hide from her, she knows exactly where it is and how to get it. I'm not so sure this is a good thing.

At the hospital when we were visiting Summer and her baby, we were waiting in the hallway while the nurse's did something with Summer. I was holding Mads against me, so that she was facing me. Two men were walking down the hallway, and Babe was staring them down. As they were walking behind her, she turned her head the other way to watch them walk away. She knew they were going to come out the other side!

Miss Multi-tasker. This chick loves to stand. She can pull up on anything, laundry baskets, coffee table, toy basket, you name it. At first, she needed both hands to keep her balance, but now, she can hold onto something with one hand, and actually reach down with the other to get a toy. Standing and playing at the same time? That should definitely count as a milestone.

Chewy. During my break from work today, I had Mads on my hip. I was eating some crackers, and she grabbed one from my hand. I didn't stop her. She put the corner of the cracker in her mouth, bit a piece off, and then chewed it up with her teeth. It looks like it's time to stop pureeing the baby food, huh?

I'll follow you anywhere. Sometimes I would leave babe in the living room while I did something quick in a different room. As long as she had some toys, she'd usually be happy for at least five minutes. Yesterday I was doing laundry. I went to switch the clothes, and while I was in the laundry room, I was trying to sing really loud so Mads could hear me from the living room. When I walked out with my basket, that kid was half way down the hallway coming to find me. Well, either that or it was a really cool coincidence.

Up and out. Sitting on the floor? Want picked up? Arms up! Being held by Mommy? Want your Daddy? Arms out! Communication! I feel like these arm motions are her first words.

Make some noise. What's a rattle good for? A newborn doesn't understand that if you shake the rattle, it makes a noise. So what's the point? At seven months, Mads knows that if she shakes a rattle, it will rattle. If she pounds her hands on the coffee table, she can hear it and knows that she's doing it. And of course, if you hit anything with a wooden spoon, it will make a satisfying thump. (Unless you hit your Daddy, then it's more like "OW!!" all girly like.)

Good Lord, when I read over this, it's almost surreal. Two years ago, if you had told me that this list would hold all the most important things in the world, I would have said you were fucking crazy. When did I become such a Mom??