February 16, 2000:

Daisy's mom Suzy wrote:

"Daisy is awesome! She has grown so much, none of her clothes of a month ago fit her (she looks like a sausage when we try) and she is really beginning to look more toddler than infant. Still no crawling, but extreme mobility by scooching and rolling (we are building her a corral today) and we think she may skip crawling and go directly to walking, as she absolutely adores being vertical. She can hold our fingers endlessly balancing upright, and can cling on to low table edges for about 15 minutes before she begins a slow motion split ending up splayed on all fours.

"Teletubbies have become a regular part of our family, and we love them for their magic powers! (Although we think Rev. Falwell is correct, by all appearances it seems Tinky Winky actually is gay. The red handbag is the clincher.) Yes, Daisy truly understands toys now. Her favorites are things that light up and make noise, so between Furby, the Teletubbies, and assorted other anthropomorphic critters, the house is a constant barrage of tiny little voices calling out things like "Big Hug!" and "Play with me!" and "Yum, tubbie custard!" not to mention a barrage of battling lullabies from magic turtle, magic bug, and assorted magic binkies.

"She loves coming to the dance studios with me which is fabulous, where she is doted on by masses of both kids and their moms. We're thrilled about this for the obvious reasons of portability and convenience, but also because some of the most wonderful kids I've ever known have been dance studio babies.

"No words yet, but lots of talking! As I type this she is singing her little combination of growls, high pitched sudden shrieks, raspberries, and a repetitive chorus of "babababa bweh bweh bweh aiaiaiaiai ah ah ah ah guhguhguhguhguhguhg" and then a moment or two of heavy breathing before it all begins again. No teeth yet but a lot of drooling, and every now and then an otherwise inexplicable outburst of panicky crying, so we think a tooth or two is just around the corner.

"Her smile can still melt the state of Alaska, and now she has taken to almost painfully fabulous baby hugs and baby kisses. She holds out her arms wide for the former, and for the "kisses", the process goes like this: 1) gaze at the object of her affection (usuallly either mommy, daddy, or furby), 2) tilt head slightly downward, 3) in a slow motion dive head for the object, 4) mush open mouth against target for approximately 4 seconds with no movement other than a slight drool, 5) pull away and look in wonder at the kissee. Is there anything better than being loved by a baby?

"Anyway, as our friend Barbara pointed out, the house seems to always be full of laughter now. Robert just walked in from school and Daisy looked up and said "Da!" and Robert melted."