With increasing frequency, Amari is determined to do things on her own. Although her independent eating challenges the last stronghold on any sense of order I had prior to parenting, watching the delight with which she pinches things between her fingers, clasps them in her palms, and eventually navigates them into her mouth is worth all the sticky surfaces, the hours of vacuuming, and the surprise treats left between cushions and beneath tables.
One of Amari's favorite toy is, I've learned, called a Shape O Ball - that many-sided ball with pieces that fit into a variety of shapes. She's liked it for ages now, and although we've transitioned it upstairs for a while, she manages to find Hunter's every time we visit the Calverts. She has excellent fine motor skills and a pretty good eye for circles. After that, it's a team effort - with me rotating the ball as quickly as she snatches up the next piece. I marvel at Amari's persistence and determination as she tries to put a triangle into a circle, then a square, a star, and finally its rightful place - across the living room with deserved frustration. Anger expressed, she presses on, and when all the pieces are in the ball or appropriately tossed aside (i.e. pentagon, cross, trapezoid), she quickly says, "Mo, mo."
Similarly, now that she's walking, and now that she sees Hunter and Reya navigate their worlds with reckless abandon, she is challenging herself to do new things every day. At the bottom of the ramp that leads to Granny C's, there's a three inch drop off that is tricky for her tiny legs and feet. The first few dismounts, she fell forward onto her hands and knees with a loud grunt. Each time, she picked herself up, turned around, climbed up the ramp, turned around, and tried again. Face plant, face plant, face plant, and finally a success - after which she walked away and headed back home.
Even language has become an endlessly adorable practice. Tonight, as we were putting Amari to bed she curled up between us, and began saying, "Dada, mapa, dada, mapa, dada, mapa," Every now and again she would look back at me as though to make sure I knew she was talking about me. One of our recent concessions (translation: necessities for mental health) has been introducing Amari to a show called "Blue's Clues." The main character is Steve, and a couple of days ago when he came on the TV, Amari ran up to the screen, waving her hand excitedly, and saying, "Hi St...Hi St..." not quite able to get the "-eve" out. Now that the charms of Jason Mraz have worn off, it's good to have Steve around. When Amari had a toothing meltdown earlier this week, he was the only one would could really calm her down.
Matt and I are actually planning to make our own episode of Blue's Clues this weekend in hopes of giving Amari something to watch while maintaining that interpersonal connection when dad needs to do get shit done. I'm curious to see how it works, because so far it's really just the videos of her that have her transfixed.
We'll know soon.
Isaac Fishman
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