I have been trying to get Liz to sit still for reading a book before bed. Easier said than done because the kid has a non-stop-motor in her ass. Slowly but surely, though, she has taken interest in a page or two of one book with Elmo in it and she'll sit for the entire classic Goodnight Moon. (Good taste in literature at a young age.) So after she finished her milk the other night, I let her get down off my lap and told her to pick a book from her shelf. She started looking around, saying, "Mmmmm! Mmmmm!" This is usually her, "Ooooh, that looks good!" sound when she sees any and all food, so I found it misplaced as she was looking for a book. I showed her a couple of books, each of which she'd look at and shake her head vehemently "no" and keep searching around saying, "Mmmmm!" I looked in her crib to see if there were books in there (because the other two insist on going in and throwing as much crap in there as will fit) and found Goodnight Moon. She became very excited, still saying, "Mmmmm!" and began to flip through the pages until she stopped at "...and a comb, and a brush, and a bowl full of mush..." She smiled, pointed at the bowl full of mush and said, "Mmmmm!" She was so pleased with herself...and with me that I finally was able to help her find the book she wanted.

I almost melted into the chair, then I hugged her and smooched her smart little noggin. It was a moment I'll never forget. I find that I am still taken aback by the fact that she is not only developing normally, but is exceeding normal benchmark standards, standards which I realize mean nothing in the scheme of things. But to watch her recognize books and remember particular toys she loves, see her figure out how to open the laundry room door, then sit down on the floor, and scoot her little tush to the end so she can step down safely, and in the next moment run across a room with her arms open to give a hug and lips puckered to lay a smacker on her sisters who are almost always crying about something, just because she knows it makes them feel better...well, every little accomplishment amazes me.

So this is a bragging post...about my Busy Lizzy, the motor in her ass, the brain in her noggin, and the smoochiness of her spirit. She is an amazing little bean.

*This pic is of the mohawk (or, as Erin and Meg would say, "mohan") she gave herself after bathing in the dog water bowl. Has to make you laugh.