June 22, 2004: More important developments

When discussing the development of a child, everyone always asks about the typical things like walking and talking but no one wants to know about the really cool stuff. For instance, Veronika, like Raimi, is all about hugging and kissing Mama and Papa these days. The hugs are very nice--she smiles at you and then puts her arms around you, lying her head on your shoulder. Often she will hold the hug for a few seconds, back away and look at you, then smile and hug again. This can go on for some time but I can't imagine ever getting tired of it. The kisses are not quite as developed. Most of the time she just opens her mouth, holds her lips very still and leans in to press them on your cheek. She thinks this is one of the funniest things in the world.

Another new and interesting development is the frown that we now get in response to telling her "no," seen in one form here. This usually comes when she's testing the capabilities of her voice and we ask her to keep it down. She immediately recognizes this tone of voice and responds with the pout: bottom lip out, head tipped down and eyebrows pushed into a frown. It's difficult not to laugh.

These are the things that really keep me going. As you might imagine, a hug from Veronika works wonders.