No matter how many nieces and nephews you have or how many babies you’ve met, there’s nothing quite like watching your own baby do things for the first time. Our daughter isn’t crawling yet but she has started rolling over. Also among her firsts, she’s smiling, giggling, recognizing mommy and daddy as well as babbling and drooling like crazy. She likes to grab anything within reach; hands, feet, her teething rosary, a crinkly baby book, and stuff it into her mouth. At this point it’s nearly impossible to distinguish intelligible words from her but on one occasion she very intentionally looked up at my husband and uttered two syllables that had us both giddy with excitement. “Dadaaah.”  

Next time I turn around she’ll be on the move, exploring our home on all fours. Just the other day I was finally able to set her down for a solo nap for two full hours. This is all part of normal, healthy development which all children go through and yet I can’t help marveling at each and every tiny first as its own miracle.