Where's Has My Baby Gone?

I know we have all heard it before, but it's true.  The speed at which babies and children grow up and change is shocking.  You just don't really care until it is your kid.  Aria is now 10 months, and while at certain points (pretty much daily) I have felt that I was in the  7th level of hell and that I would never have a moment to myself again, I have also had the nagging feeling that my baby girl is almost a baby no more.  The days and months really do go by too fast, even though some minutes and hours drag on far too long. 

Today was another one of those days where I felt the sad joy of my growing baby girl.  Today, at 10 months and 18 days, she walked.  Just 3 baby steps; pretty uncertain and pretty wobbly, but 3 steps none the less.  Dom and I were sitting at the table, having a rather heated discussion about Georgia peeing on  the new carpet.  Aria was standing, looking outside through the french doors.  Maybe she got tired of listening to us debate the pee problem, who really knows what goes through this kid's head, but she obviously got an idea!   All of a sudden, cheerios clenched in both fists, she bent her knees just a little, presumably to soften the fall if her little adventure were to take a bad turn.  She balanced herself, with her arms out to the sides, and she took her first steps.  Of course her plan worked and we immediately stopped discussing all matters related to canine urination.  There were lots of "yays!" and kisses, and then of course, Dom and I both started crying.  I know, pathetic...  But we were both so happy and a little sad and totally overwhelmed, all at the same time.  So proud of our little baby, but then realizing she isn't so little or such a baby anymore.

In the past few weeks, Aria has really come a long way.  A few months ago, Dom and I were both certain that she was behind.  I mean, it took the kid 6 months to learn her own name!  She sat and crawled at "normal" times, but being our first, I think we just  had high expectations.  And we made the rookie mistake of comparing our baby to other babies.  We were mistaken and she has proven us wrong!  Here are some of her other recent accomplishments:

~talking~
There is still the standard baba. yaya, gaga etc.  But there is also Dada and Mama!  And she actually knows what  they mean!  She says Dada a lot, but tends to just whine the word Mama when she is upset or wants something.  Not exactly what I was hoping for and it is mildly annoying, but it's a start.

~standing~
This seemed like a bigger deal before she walked.

~waving~
This one caught us a bit off guard.  We were at Canadian tire last weekend and she has been flirting with the cashier.  When the cashier waved "bye bye" to her, she waved backed!  Dom and I walked out of the store thinking "That's new, I wonder if it was a fluke?".  Well, it wasn't, and now she happily waves to hello and goodbye, as much as she possibly can.

~kisses~
I had been working on this one for a while.  Everyday I would snuggle her and give her lots of kisses, and say "kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss..."  Now she totally gets it!  She grabs my face with both hands and pulls me in.  She opens her mouth and latches on to my lips.  Sometimes she bites them.  The biting does hurt, but she gets the idea, and that is the main thing.  Although, I am not sure why she has gone for the open mouth kiss...she didn't learn that from me.  She is coy with her kisses though, and in true Aria style will rarely do it on command.  When she isn't in the mood, she will look away with a little smirk on her  mouth.  She knows what we want, she just doesn't care.

~bath time~
Whenever we start the bath, she hauls ass to the bathroom, stands up, and hits the side of the tub.  As I undress her, she helps, by pulling her arms and legs out of her clothes.  She apparently loves the bath!  When it is time to get out of the bath, I just pull the plug.  Then she stands up again, at the side of the tub, and bangs the tub until we get her out and wrapped in a towel.  I know, I know...she is obviously a child genius.

I am sure the next few months (and years) will be full of just as many new and bitter/sweet accomplishments.  Every time she does something new, my mind will race and I will fast forward 30 years and imagine her getting married or having her own babies.  I will probably look at her and get a bit teary, and then call a bunch of people to let them all know how clearly gifted she is.  This time in her life is so special and thankfully, I get to stay home with her so that I won't miss a thing!  Luckily, Dom didn't miss a thing today either!

Two pics of Riri playing on the day she took her first 3 steps