Last week, as Beatrix turned 12 weeks, her interest in her hands exploded. For the past month or so, she's used her hands to shove into her mouth, to paddle at her hanging toys, and to hold onto adult fingers and such. But this week, wow! She's very much interested in grabbing onto objects, not just randomly finding them in her hands. Her focus is more determined. Her attempts more calculated.
Just this morning, Byron and I got to watch her get her pacifier in her mouth. She had the handle grasped into her hands. She looked at the nipple. She opened her mouth. The nipple bumped her cheek. She pulled it back and tried again. This time, hitting her other cheek. She managed to find the rim of the pacifier in her mouth, but knew that what she wanted she had not yet achieved. Again, she pulled back and gave the pacifier a stare. One last time, she tried again. This time she got it. The nipple was where it belonged - in her mouth! But only for a moment. She still had her fingers tightly gripping the handle. Once her hand swung down to her side, out flew the pacifier. Oh, well - all in a day's work for the infant.
I am so thankful that I get to spend my days home with her, standing by in sheer joy, observing quietly, as she meets these new milestones. Somedays I take my camera out with attempts to document each moment. It's crazy, I know. Because while I'm trying to document to make sure I don't miss a thing, I inevitably do. So then, I force myself to put the camera away and just take in all of her accomplishments in real time knowing full well that they are fleeting. These moments leave as quickly as they arrive.
