Bean Farther up the Beanstalk

And slaying giants...of a sort. Babies who have normal vision have one path for milestones, babies with visual impairments quite another. I don't know if it makes it more special when she reaches peaks or not, but for us, it's awfully exciting. Two great things I witnessed recently: one, she is finally leaning forward to accept food from a spoon, something that I think indicates at least a bit of vision, but certainly awareness of what she is doing. And two, I saw her drinking from a bottle today with our nanny, A, and she was HOLDING IT HERSELF. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I know most babies end up doing this at a much younger age, but we are so jazzed about everything she learns to do that could constitute "self-help", it was a great moment. For me, at least---apparently she's been doing it for a number of weeks, and I have to give A complete credit. She has become such an indispensable part of Bean's life and development, I just don't know where we'd be without her. So if you're reading this, A, we love you!

My other point is completely unrelated, but well worth checking out if you at all liked Lord of the Rings and/or Bridget Jones' Diary. Very Secret Diaries of the Fellowship---prepare to giggle.

Happy New Year, y'all.