Yesterday we went out to dinner for the first time in a LONG time. Daddy got to join us and be home for dinner (which also hasn’t happened in awhile). We were thrilled! It was fascinating to see Caroline in a new environment, and I loved that Daddy was getting to see her new eating skills, because she has come a long way in the last 2 weeks.
The last Daddy saw, Caroline was just barely learning to pick up food on her own. She only succeeded about 1 out of every 10 tries or so. Now, she is a little eating machine. She effortlessly picks up the smallest of things and puts it in her mouth like she’s been doing it for ages. She also eats SO MUCH. She shoveled the food into her mouth faster than we could cut it up and give it to her. We have never felt the need to order her a kids’ meal or cook extra food at home. I noticed the other day, however, that she was eating so much, there wasn’t quite enough food for Mama and Daddy to eat! The same thing was close to happening when we went out to eat. She ate a good portion of my food! She’s right on the cusp of needing that kids’ menu…
The main thing that stood out to both of us at dinner was how stinkin’ sweet she was. She sat right next to me at the table and was constantly checking in with me. She touched my arm, fed me some of her food and gave kisses. She talked to me and to Daddy the whole time. She asked and pointed when she needed something at the table, and she was very well behaved the entire time (even after skipping her second nap of the day). She is so perfect in all of her little ways. She does things like this at home as well, of course, but it was much more pronounced while we were out to eat. With Daddy still at work, dinner can end up to be more of a task than an enjoyable moment from Mama’s perspective. I am so busy cutting up food for Caroline, trying to figure out what she needs (since she can’t express herself very well yet), asking her not to throw food, attempting to clean up the
disaster zone that has appeared, and trying to sneak a bite of my own food in, that I don’t often get to sit back and notice all of the cute things she is doing- nor does she have time to do them.
She also loves to show off. When she is learning something new, she looks at us to make sure we see her. She even does this with her grandparents on Skype! She is proud of her new accomplishments and wants to make sure that we are paying full attention to her! So cute to see!
One of my favorite things to watch is how she interacts with her daddy. We often wait outside for him when he is on his way home. As he walks up the sidewalk, he calls her name. She looks up and gets the biggest grin on her face. She jumps with excitement to see him. Of course, I also look at Daddy’s face, and he is equally as excited to see her- sporting the biggest smile you’ll ever see! They have a new tradition at night. Daddy tells her goodnight and gives kisses and hugs.
He leaves the room. She looks at the door with excitement, eagerly awaiting him to poke his head back in and play peek-a-boo! She knows he’s going to do it, so she’s learned to anticipate it. She caught on after only a couple of nights! He opens the door and sticks his head in. Caroline just lights up with excitement. She has a huge smile on her face, and her whole body jumps to say, “More, Daddy! More!”. He continues a few times, and then it’s my turn to give kisses and say goodnight. I put her to bed.
She is so happy, so sweet, so intelligent, and simply so amazing. We are so lucky to have a daughter that takes the time to show us so much love. While her ways of showing us change as the weeks and months go by, she always finds her ways of giving us affection. She brings out so much joy and happiness in our family.