Playmates

Every new stage that Evelyn hits is my "favorite." People say that "it goes too fast," and they're I get what they're saying--it does go really fast. But I tend to think it goes at just the right pace. Things change just before I get bored and just after I start looking for the next thing.

This current phase is, of course, the best. She's been crawling for a solid two months now, standing (with assistance) for about one month, and has been taking tentative steps (with assistance) for almost as long as she's been standing. Actually, she can stand without holding onto anything as long as she doesn't realize she's standing without holding onto anything. If she's got a toy in her hands, she's fine, but drop that toy and down she tumbles as well!

Perhaps because of her mobility, Evelyn also just loves to see friends. A small group meets in our home every Wednesday night and our social little butterfly just flits from person to person and baby to baby all night with one big grin on her face. Along with this mobile friendliness has come increased attempts at communication. She and her old pal Liam were gabbering it up just last week as we walked along the beach. As my friend Rachel said, they sounded like an "animal call and response" session!

Well, all of this has finally reached its pinnacle. Last night, Evelyn combined her increased mobility and language skills to locate our dog, Penny, crawl towards Penny, and SAY "Penny? Penny? Penny?"

Whoop whoop! That's right, ladies and gentlemen--her first definite, beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt word! Sure, she's done the "mama mama" thing. And she's done the "dada dada" thing. We even think she may have once said "nana nana" to a banana (not to her actual Nana, sorry!). But this blows all that out of the water. This morning, when Evelyn saw Penny in bed with us, she did the whole thing all over again. Penny is loving all the attention--so much so that she doesn't even mind the pokes, pushes, and pinches Evelyn heaps on her. Every time I think Penny's had enough, she comes right back to Evelyn for more.