Understanding

I can no longer pretend that Mikayla is just a wee little baby, needing me for everything and not really knowing anything. I know that's she over a year now (just barely) and that she's growing bigger physically with each passing day. But when the intellectual growth starts to really show itself, there is no going back or pretending.

Mikayla's comprehension of things is growing in leaps and bounds. She is a genius, I think, for her age. Of course every parent thinks that, and I'm really kidding, but still. When you ask her a question, she will often nod or shake her head. That's just a thoughtless reaction, right? Nope. When we tell her yes or no, she will nod or shake her head to the correct response. The other night, I asked her if she was sleepy and ready to go night-night. She nodded her head yes and proceeded to lay her head on my shoulder and stick that blasted thumb into her mouth. She understood what I asked and answered accordingly. When I told her to take that silly thumb out of her mouth, she shook her head no and smiled around said thumb, still firmly in place.

Last night's interaction is what has me thinking about all of this the most. She was sitting in her high-chair, finishing up her dinner while I loaded the dishwasher. I looked over and saw her watching me, so I told her to finish drinking her milk. She nodded at me, grabbed the sippy cup and started to drink. Hmmm, I thought. She knows milk and cup. As I continued to load the dishwasher, Mikayla started babbling about something or another. I looked at her again and said, "Mikayla, honey, drink your milk." She shook her head no and smiled at me. Then, honest to goodness, she held the cup out to me. Of course, I thought the little stinker was playing games with me. So I went to grab her cup and it was empty. No, she couldn't drink her milk because it was all gone.

Now I know that all the experts tell us that at this age, children understand and know a lot more than we give them credit for, simply because they cannot express to us that they know such things. But when they start to show their knowledge and be able to communicate what they know, there is no going back. No longer can I pretend that she's my little baby. She's growing up and learning and understanding things faster than I even know. I am sad that she's at this stage, but excited, too. Now I can go about teaching her about the many things that make up our day-to-day lives. But with two older children, I also know that this is just another step that will whisk the time away in a blink of an eye.