Discover

There's no download this week - I needed a little break.  However, something has been on my mind that I want to share with you instead.In the scrapbooking world there are a plethora of products on the market that have the word "discover" on them.  Trust me - I've created a ton myself.  I always knew that the word was popular for scrapbookers for travel and just as a generic word that seemed to work in a variety of places in a project but I never knew until the last few weeks what that word would come to mean to this new mom.It's true that it seems like Cole changes before our eyes and has from day one.  Just two months after he was born I saw a newborn baby only a week old and thought, "How is it possible that he was that tiny?"  Already he had grown so much, learned new tricks with his mouth and didn't look like a newborn any more.  I think that during that time we, as new parents, were doing most of the discovering when it comes to babyhood.But over the last couple of weeks we have seen a distinct change when it comes to our understanding of "discovery."  Coleman is able to focus on objects and on us now.  He can open his hands to start and grab things like his current favorite: his burp cloth which he puts to his mouth accompanied by a growl to go with it.  What started out as waving his arm and to his delight, accidentally hitting a toy swinging in front of him, he now hits the toys with purpose and determination, knowing that it will get the desired response.

Then there is his smile.  Sometimes it's a crooked little crinkle of one side of his mouth turning up.  Sometimes it's opened wide in sheer joy.  We even have been getting giggles and laughs thrown in along with his shrieks and squeals and grunts that come with discovering he has a voice - perhaps the ultimate discovery of all for any individual.As an educator by degree and a former school teacher, I am amazed and transfixed watching this learning process happen right in front of me.  Although I have witnessed many awe-inspiring lessons through teaching, I have never had an experience in education like this particular one I am having right now.  And I am finding as much delight and joy in Cole's discovery process as he is.My one question is: How do you get the jingle tunes emanating from the star that lights up above his activity gym from running constantly through your head?