Hello, Pushkin

It completely blows my mind how much Mae understands these days. For example, if she's feeding herself yogurt and you ask for the spoon, please, she will put it right in your hand. Well, most times. Other times she will throw it on the floor and then lean over to see where it went, looking amazed and amused. She also understands "Stand up big and tall, please," and "Sit your bum, please."

And she knows her way around the house. "Lets get in the stroller," I'll say, or "Which way to the bath?" and she holds one of my index fingers in each hand and leads me there, barreling headlong, practically panting with excitement.

And yesterday. Oh my God. Yesterday. It was the best day ever. Not only did she say mama for the first time, but she also gave me a present. We were at the park having a snack of Cheerios. I was picking them up from her stroller tray one at a time, and she was opening her mouth like a little bird so I could pop them in. Then all of a sudden she reached into her mouth, took out the Cheerio I'd just fed her and, with a huge smile, tried to feed it back to me. Was it gross? Oh yes. But I ate it anyway because that's what mothers do. And I loved every mushy, pre-chewed second of it.