Dragonflies, Butterflies & Lady Bugs

Nina Walks!

Nina took her first steps today, in the living room just as the symphony at the end of "Mr. Holland's Opus" swelled in the background. Could she have chosen a better soundtrack? My girl! At 10 1/2 months old, she beat the pants off both her sisters, who were well over a year old before they took their first steps.

She's been teasing us for weeks, taking a half step here and a half step there. Today I just had a feeling it would be the day, so I told Jeff to move across from me, where he sat about five feet away. I took Nina from my lap, put her on her feet and Jeff called her -- about five attempts and four steps later, she walked! Not only walked, but had the biggest, most shit-eating grin you ever saw, accompanied by a noisy intake of air signaling her joy. (Do you remember the Looney Tunes where Bugs asks the lion if he wants one lump or two and then bangs him on the head? Know that funny noise the lion makes? That's the sound of Nina's joy.) Now she's practicing all over the living room.

The other cool thing Nina Bina does (Nina rhymes with "Tina" for anyone who wonders) is play the drums. She LOVES my djembe, but we also have an empty popcorn tin in the corner that she's fond of pounding on. She cracks me up because she actually looks like she knows what she's doing -- and maybe on some primal level she does.

I can't believe how fast she's growing up!

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