"I'm growing up . . ."

Having a child is one of the most fascinating things in life. Every day, I am amazed at something new that Cece has learned to do. About two weeks ago, she took a drink from a glass. I was drinking, and she reached for the glass, so I put it up to her mouth, sure enough she drank the water. She is using a sippy-cup to drink water now--with a little help now and then. She is almost sitting up by herself; sometimes Zory gives her a little help. She loves water and loves the pool. (Here we are with one of my students, Abby, who will have a very special place in Cece's life, I'm sure.) I remind myself that every baby develops and learns new things, but man, I just never knew how excited I would be about mine. Don't get me wrong, most of what she does is super cute, but she has also developed a little attitude. It's almost shocking. She fake coughs; I'm not kidding. She has learned that coughing gets attention, so she has started to fake cough. Sometimes I just look at her, and think, "how do you know, already, how to get what you want." She also knows when she is in public. She does, and she tries to work it! It's unbelievable, but yet, so believable:)! And then, the smiles, oh my goodness. She'll look up and just give the biggest gummy smile you've ever seen. It's in so incredible to watch humanity in a little six month old. So, all this to say, we are just having the time of our lives. Brian said it so well last night, "parenting is so much more than giving birth."