Update

I was having lunch with a friend and Lilli yesterday when a woman came up with her toddler and said that her daughter wanted to say hi to mine. This little girl definitely looked like a little girl. She was walking perfectly and had long blonde hair that had been CUT and was very focussed on Lilli and just looked like a toddler. She wasn't chubby for goodness sake! And later she sat in a booster chair and politely ate her quiche with a fork! "Well, hello!" I said to the little girl. How old are you? Her mother answered for her that she was four months past a year. So, sixteen months? I asked. Uh, four months after a year, the mother stated. (Which just goes to show you either that even mothers of toddlers are sleep deprived, or that smart children do not necessarily come from smart parents.)

But then I thought, sixteen months?!? That is only two months older than Lilli, and yet she seemed so much older. She seemed like a little person that you could communicate with and have a conversation with. I mean, Lilli and I communicate really well, but it's not this nice and clean verbal transaction. It's more like a prolonged grunting negotiation with an occasional gesture and word thrown in, and then a lot of trial and error. Anyway, there I was, having a little inferiority complex panic attack, thinking what a bad mother I was for not training my child to eat with a fork in a booster chair yet and for not making her grow her hair and thin out, when I realized that I'm glad Lilli is still a baby to me. I'm in no hurry for her to grow up. I LOVE her chubby cheeks and wispy hair. I, just, like most other mothers, get caught up in the comparison game. What's your baby doing? What's your baby weigh? What's your baby saying? Which isn't bad in and unto itself, but is bad if you start drawing any conclusions from said comparisons. I actually didn't come to this epiphany by myself. My friend, who is childless but who has two little nieces, asked me "do you ever get tired of that?"
"What?" I asked.
"People coming over with their babies to compare."
I had never thought of it that way I guess, because I was always happy to have them come over so I could compare too!

Anyway, for the reading and comparing pleasure of those of you with children, I present Lilli's newest exploits :):
walking across a room (over fifteen feet)
hugging people and her beloved toys (it's so nice to get a warm and cuddly baby hug)
brushing my hair with a tender look in her eye
putting things back in their proper places
. . . .I have to elaborate on this one because it is so cute. She realizes now that things have a place they are supposed to go. Like that the sink stopper goes in the drain. Therefore, she likes to put the sink stopper in the drain. This is difficult when I am trying to drain her bath. But convenient when she puts the tupperware back in the drawer where it came from before shutting it.
And finally, playing the piano. We like to play at my parent's house, where I was the only one previously who ever played it. The other night we were there and she was sitting on my lap while I was playing. She decided to get in on it, and really started banging away with musical and artistic abandon. Much like I imagine a young Beethoveen or Mozart would play :) ha ha! just kidding! But it is cute. She likes for me to turn the sheet music pages for her (she directs my hands to do so) and she gets mad if I try to play while she is playing. She will shove my hands away and shoot me a testy look. Bossy, bossy, bossy.

Well, I have had some complaints about the length of my entries (Mary! :)) so I will relieve you for now. Look forward to more opportunities for comparison. . .:)