Smart but Crafty

I am always amazed by the fact that Natalia is making progress developmentally. Go nature! 'Cuz it certainly ain't us. With Ree, Jeff and I dutifully read baby books and websites to make sure we were doing everything possible to enhance our young daughter's development. We read to her, played games with her, and narrated our lives. We made sure to keep her away from televisions (they are bad!) and we planned stimulating activities. With Natalia, it is more like, "Hey, you! Has someone changed your diapie this week?"

So, of course, I am amazed every time I catch her doing something new. (And I have to admit, after four kids, it's nice to still be in awe of my baby.) She really wants to walk and spent most of the weekend standing, although I took that in stride. It's the signs of personality that blow me away. Like when I found her playing with a Tonka garbage truck this afternoon. She was rolling it back and forth across the floor making garbage truck noises. You know, playing like a kid. Or tonight it the bathtub when I asked her if she wanted a wash cloth, and when I tossed it to her, she started rubbing it across her belly. It's like she gets it. Whoa.

And it is all self taught. The girl is freakishly observant. A couple of months ago I was alone with the kids, and I wanted to take everyone outside to play in the backyard. While I was getting everyone else ready, I left Natalia in the middle of the living room floor where I knew she would be safe from excited, jumping kids and dogs. I let everyone else out, checked that Natalia was still in the living room, and ran to get her socks or a jacket. When I got back to the living room, she was gone. WHAT? How could I lose a baby so quickly? I am absent minded, but that was a new record. I finally found her a couple of minutes later. She had left the living room, gone down the step into our sunroom, crawled across the sunroom, and went down the step to the patio. She was laying on her belly (she was still little enough she couldn't get back to sitting from crawling) playing on that patio. I'm sure she just assumed I had forgotten to take her out with everyone else.

Food is very important to her. She has a figure to maintain after all. During the day, when she is hungry, she crawls over to Jeff, tugs on his pants, and tells him, "Num, num!" while pretending to chew. She also puts every possible thing in her mouth, presumably hoping it is food. I think her brothers were just as bad, however, there weren't nearly as many choking hazards around the house when they were crawling. (Hot wheels, anyone?) On more than one occasion, she has gotten food stuck in her throat and we've had to finger sweep it out. A week or two before Christmas, she started choking. Again. Unlike her brother Michael who PANICS in most situations, she knew exactly what to do. While I was still walking over to her, she stuck her finger in her mouth, got out the offensive particle, and went back to eating. No big deal. And she sure didn't need a grown up to help.

Sometimes, though, as fun as it is to see her little mind at work, it's disturbing. She woke me up at 3am today. For the past two months, she has been a full-time co-sleeper, and she was laying next to me in bed. She didn't wake me up by crying, or wailing, or kicking the wall. (All favorite tricks.) I woke up as she tried to pry my eyelids open with her grubby little fingers. Apparently she was awake, and she was checking to see if I was awake too.

As her doctor said at her six-month checkup, "You'd better be careful. This one is smart...but crafty."