Aunt Invasion

The only reason why I'm able to update this blog right now is because my unbelievably awesome sister has arranged to have the day off work and is spending it at my house. At this very moment, she is changing my child's diaper. I have somehow managed to convince her that this is a privilege for which she should be grateful. Yeah...I don't know either. All I know is, she's going to be a great mom.

Lately it's been great to see Sadie moving into a new, more independent phase of her life. She's a happy girl these days, curious about new situations rather than terrified. Her days of bursting into tears when someone new enters the room are over -- mostly. She still tends to wig out if she's sitting by herself and a stranger approaches, as she did last week when our cleaning lady walked in (as she does every single week, SADIE) and went right over to her in the Jumparoo to say hi. And I've learned some serious lessons about how easy it is to wreck her happy mood by the simple act of walking into the room -- as if she's suddenly remembering that I exist and now she is PISSED that I'm trying to sneak away again.

For the most part, though, she is beginning to recognize faces of people she's met before and greets them with beaming smiles and excited panting. (Did she learn this from the dogs or what? Is it something babies do? It's a mystery.) She loves both sets of grandparents, her sitter, and today even had smiles for her great-grandparents, with whom we spent a nice hour. She went from Aunt Heather's lap to Great Grandpa Mirk's without so much as a protest, smiling and playing the whole time. This is a far cry -- pun intended -- from the baby who used to panic when someone other than me or Scott approached.

She plays with many objects -- the noisier the better -- but is especially drawn to things that are pointy, made of glass, or plug into sockets. Her new obsession is paper. I don't understand this. The crinkle sound drives her mad with joy, but its sharp, pointy edges present a constant risk. Much safer are the cardboard coasters at my parents' house, which don't crinkle as satisfyingly but which are dual-sided. Her eyes grow as wide as saucers as she flips the coaster from one side to the other, trading it back and forth between hands, trying to decipher the illustration on the front.

Another favorite activity? Playing the piano. I'm kicking myself for not having thought of this sooner, because we HAVE a piano, and I know how to play it, yet I never do because it's pretty old and out of tune and I'm just used to ignoring it most of the time, or using it to prop up picture frames. But a few nights ago while we were visiting with my mother, she suggested we sit Sadie down in front of the lovely black baby grand in their office. As soon as she spotted those black and white keys, it was love at first sight. She pounded away on them until our ears couldn't take anymore. The love affair continued today at the great-grandparents', who have an electronic keyboard. So that settles it -- I'm going to have to get a tuner out to fix up our ancient upright so I can start playing it without cringing.

Let's see...what else is new? Object permanence is a big thing. She understands now that when she's lying down and something is out of her line of vision, it might be behind her -- then she bends her body backward like a giant comma to see if that's where it is. She has yet to start the "dadada" babbling that everyone told us was coming, but you can see her practicing language in her own unique way: contorting her mouth into different shapes and smacking her lips with great satisfaction. My parents have informed me that I was saying "bottle" before I was 8 months old, and I don't know if that's true, but if it is than first words might be coming sooner than I'm prepared for. As if you can ever be prepared.