Last Night

There are some memories, moments with my family I never want to forget.  Last night was one of those, so I'm writing it down here. 

Lia was doing some tummy time while Dustin watched the NBA Finals game and I read a book.  She was not really enjoying herself much, but played with her toys a little.  Suddenly she straightened out her elbows and popped herself up in the air, lifting her chest off the ground clear to her belly button, something she has never done before.  I got all excited and told Dustin to watch.  The most entertaining 15 or 20 minutes followed as Lia worked as hard as she could to move around the blanket. 

She would push up with her arms, then collapse back on the blanket with her arms out in Superman position, then lift her bum up into the air, then holler and grunt and strain, trying to get the toys I was keeping just out of her reach.  She was trying so hard to figure out how to get her body to move in the way she wanted it to, but she couldn't quite do it.  I probably wasn't helping, alternately telling her to stop it because she was growing up too fast, and then encouraging her to come get the toy just out of her reach.  At one point she shoved hard with both her arms and managed to scoot herself backward several inches.  This made her both proud and frustrated and she would laugh at me, then growl angrily.

Finally she had had enough work for one day, so I sat her up to play with some colorful linked rings.  She kept her balance so well, never tipping once as she sat and played.  Again, it was like I could see the wheels turning in that amazing brain of hers.  She would shake the rings hard so they made noise, then lift one and examine it, put it down, pick up another, taste it, set it down, pick one up with the other hand, stare and the colors, shake, examine, stare, taste, put down, pick up, over and over, concentrating so hard, completely zoned out to Dustin and I.  I was just as fascinated as Lia.  Our little girl is so curious!  It's like she knows how many things in this world there are to experience, and she is just itching to learn it all.  She never sits still, she's always turning around to see what is around her.

I had to stop her play time to feed her and put her to bed.  Normally Lia lays right down and goes to sleep, but last night she started crying when I laid her down.  Maybe it was because her room was not nearly dark enough, since the sun sets so late now.  Whatever the reason, she was still screaming 15 mins later, so I went up to comfort her.  She was inconsolable.  So I did something I never do, and got her back out of bed.  I wrapped her blanket around her and held her close in the rocking chair until she stopped crying and settled down.  We snuggled like that until she fell fast asleep in my arms.  My baby never snuggles, so this was really a special moment for me.  I reflected on how much she has grown, how big she is now compared to the newborn of a few months ago.  Time has gone by so fast, and I hope I can have many more special moments like last night with my precious little girl.