Hayley and Kate Minter

I had one of those great “Dad Moments” Tuesday night.

Holly was out mowing the lawn, so I was keeping an eye on Hayley. We played downstairs for a half hour or so, then went up to her room. I was showing her some of the toys in her toy basket, and she was crawling around the room looking at other stuff.

She eventually made it over to a set of shelves, and found a little pink-and-white plastic comb. For the next 20 minutes, she played intently with the comb. She’d pick it up, twirl it around to look at it from different angles, chew on it, put it on the shelf and pick it back up – all sorts of things. I just sat quietly by and watched. It was wonderful to just watch her learn about the world for a while. As a bonus, she’s also learning about proper grooming.

Yesterday marked the first time that Hayley consistently used the “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” sound. She’s been “mmmmmmmm”-ing for a while, but this was new. I’d like to think that she’s recognizing Holly, but as Holly pointed out, if you listen to Hayley, then she, I, the cat, her rattles, and a used diaper are all “ma-ma”.

Yesterday also marked another big moment – Hayley pulled herself up on the fireplace, and “cruised” from one end of it to the other by herself! Ok, I was right there ready to catch her if she fell, but she managed to do all the movement without me helping at all!