Dahlia's fourth top tooth has emerged!

Last Wednesday, while playing out in the snow, I flipped Dahlia upside and took a sneak peek into her mouth. I saw two more teeth making there way through her top gums, right center and next to that one. I also could see some action on the one left of center side, totally four teeth on top.

On Saturday, the right most two broke through. We are still waiting for the one on the left of center side.

Dahlia went to her first birthday party on Sunday for baby Harry who is really no longer such a baby. She and Harry were the only two little guys there and it was fun to watch them get a good game of ball going. Harry gave Dahlia quite the look when she tried to snatch the ball away from him, like, "Back off, I've got a big brother and I know how to fend for myself." Dahlia was completely unaffected, because little does Harry understand that Dahlia too has this same situation and skill.

In a crowd of jumping and crazed toddlers, Dahlia does seem alarmingly at home. But she does has sharp instincts. She can sense an impending attack and scurry away as fast as she can, crying out as she flees from the scene. An example is in the bathtub. Elias is relentless in the tub, pouring water over her arms, at first, very innocently, and then, in a nonchalant manner, announces that he will now be pouring water over Dahlia's head. She does not like this, so much that she really no longer will sit in the bath with Elias and now is reluctant to have a bath at all. I tested this theory last night by having a bath with her. She was fine and loved splashing in the water. I guess it is a big ole bath tub couple with the fear of being engulfed in water by her brother's hands. I'll jump in with her for awhile until she feels better.

Dahlia's becoming a real kid, eating lots of food and having opinions about everything. I think Elias is going to be surprised in the upcoming months, as will we all.

Here is Dahlia crusing at the kitchen table. She's quite an explorer and remarkably steady and stable. Dahlia has sprung tooth # 3! (as of Thursday) We went to play in the snow today and toward the end, we put Dahlia down in the snow. She seemed to really enjoy herself, all bundled like a bug rolling around in white!

Dahlia is so joyful! I have no idea where she gets it from. She is always laughing and smiling, from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed at night. She seems to find excitement in any old thing, from her pumpkin that she has been playing with since she started moving her hands and fingers to a magazine, she treats all equally, as if it were the most exciting, fascinating thing she's ever seen. I love to watch her move around and explore the world. It's a contagious kind of joy that makes one want to squeeze her until she pops! I must be careful to resist this natural inclination.

I believe Dahlia made her first sign yesterday, for milk, squeezing and releasing each of her little hands, open and close, and crawling up into my lap, tugging at my shirt. These changes are just miraculous to see in your own little self-extensions. Even though they mark the beginning of the end of babyhood, they also signal the beginnings of another exciting phase, as we have certainly experienced with Elias. I must try to really appreciate this time, as this will be my last hooray in baby land.