Leaves brought in after a walk

Sometimes even when I am watching Olivia I am not fully giving her my attention. When we go on walks, we don’t get far because she is constantly picking up a leaf then ditching it when she sees a “better” one. The other day she kept letting go of my hand after picking up a leaf. While this was unusual, I didn’t think anything of it until I got caught up in one of those “Wow, this is my kid” moments and really paid attention to why she was letting go of my hand.

When Olivia picks up a leaf, she grabs it by the stem. That’s the real fun of the game is giving those little pincher fingers some exercise. Once she does have the leaf and starts walking again, she will wave the leaf and squeal in delight. In this moment of really observing her, I noticed she would let go of my hand after picking up a leaf whenever she grabs the leaf upside down. She promptly exchanges the leaf between her hands so she can hold it upright and wave it.

It sounds simple, even silly I am sure to those with out kids. I am telling you however, there is something fascinating about seeing a little child not only manipulate such a tiny objective with their immature coordination but also seeing them “prefer” something one way over another–to show their personality.

This simple observation got me thinking about some of the other almost unnoticeable milestones Olivia has achieved. I am so thankful for her personality as it blossoms little by little. She is such a blessing and happy addition to her family. We are so excited for January, when we met our second addition too!

Sorry for all the leaf talk. I guess I will just leaf it at that. Har har har 🙂

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