And the mystery of her is still unfolding on this Friday at 9:34 p.m 14 months later.
We hired a sitter for a few hours tonight so we could go to the marriage ministry meeting at our church. We've never hired a sitter for an evening. Occasionally we've had gracious family members in town who've stayed with Caroline and we've gotten out, but, for whatever reason, we haven't indulged in hiring a sitter. One of the women who coordinates the marriage ministry is a student at the Div School and I saw her in the hall today at school and said excitedly "See you tonight! FInally!" We haven't made it to one of these gatherings since Caroline was about 2 months old, maybe younger. She smiled then and said she was excited. And then tonight she said "So do you guys not get out much?" "Together?" we replied, "No, not much." She asked me as we were getting ready to leave tonight if we wanted to know her favorite makeout spot in Nashville. We promised the sitter we'd be back around 9. We left behind a cranky baby! I told her to share her wisdom in about a year!
But the sitter's report? Caroline was PERFECT. Happy for two hours. Only briefly fussy once. We got her calmed down enough so that we could leave by giving her a bit of Kev's fabulous homemade ice cream. And apparently that's all she needed!
Before we left tonight we both heard her echo me saying "diaper" repeatedly. She was saying "di puh", really emphasizing the "p," working hard on it! She's funny. She'll say something clear as a bell, repeatedly, and then not say it again for a long time. I think talking will be like walking. One step, sit down. Two steps, sit down. For weeks. And then after a few months... bam... she's off.
The last few days she's been requesting an Eric Carle book a lot, one that was unfamiliar to me until recently "From Head to Toe." This is a great book that shows animals moving their bodies in different ways. "The gorilla pounds his chest." and then asks "Can you do it?" And the next line always is "I can do it." When we'd read this book with Elliott over Thanksgiving break he'd do the motions and say the "I can do it." Well, over the past few days she's occasionally done a motion or two with a bit of prompting. She'll clap like the seal. Pound her chest (sort of) like the gorilla. Turn her head like... not sure what. When we cam home tonight the sitter picked up that book and said "She knows this book very well, she was doing the motions before I'd even say anything. She pounded her chest like a gorilla and arched her back like a cat." She has NEVER arched her back for either of us. Ah... the wonders of repetition.
This week actually marked a fair bit of extra socialization for Caroline. After a snowy weekend during which we never left the house... needed a break... early Monday morning my friend Sam dropped off her kids Ethan and Fiona and drove me to school ( I was heading to the library and she was heading to the nursing school right next door to teach a class.) Kev watched all three kids for the morning and apparently they had a good time together. Then Tuesday Kev dropped Caroline off at Sam's house after dropping me at campus and she spent the better part of the day with the three of them. And apparently she had a good time. This will be our Monday-Tuesday arrangement for awhile. It is giving Kev a much needed break, some much needed alone time and C some much needed social time. A great deal! And its helping Sam with a childcare dilemma! Win. Win. Win.
Tried to get a decent 14 month shot in her new crib. None turned out great. A few funny ones along the way. And one o.k. one. Just thought we'd let you see some hints of her dramatic flair.
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