A Princess In the Making

Maddie tries to get Leah to smile.


Just getting ready to smile for Dad.


Steve captures a big smile for Mom on camera.

I should have known when I filled her closet with more dresses than diapers, that maybe I was creating a princess. Leah has been my earliest communicator. In the hospital, she paused while nursing to listen to my voice. By two weeks, she was smiling and staring at anyone who would talk to her. She cooed. She was trying to giggle. She still does these things and more.

When she wakes up, she smiles at whoever gets her from her crib. She gives Dad smiles anytime during the day, even when she is so sleepy she is smiling while she is nodding off. She looks at people and waits for them to engage her. All in all, it is very charming.

But now she also understands the flip side. She completely understands the power of crying. She knows that if Cara is holding her, all she has to do is start crying and Cara will immediately bounce her on the bouncy ball. She cries if you hold her in the wrong position (against her shoulder), until you flip her around and hold her the way she likes. She cries when George or Max hold her, waiting for an adult to come rescue her. She cries for Maddie until Maddie stands up with her. And she cries for Sam until he walks around with her. Last night, she wailed until Cara made her more milk for her bottle. She will only watch her mobile for about a minute; then she cries until someone picks her up. She definitely has learned that crying, like smiling, is also a powerful communicator.

I think we might have a powerful diplomat on our hand. Someone who knows how to get what she wants, while charming the whole world into thinking that's what they want also. She definitely has this family wrapped around her finger.