When does a baby turn into a toddler? And, will she one day be a teenager?

Laurel is looking very girl-like these days. Her baby cheeks have melted away and her hair is starting to grow longer.

Yesterday we went to the playground to meet Kai and Sarah, and Sarah's sister and nephew, Oscar, who must be about 6 months older than Kai and Laurel. No longer can we leisurely chat and sip tea while babies roll around and coo ...instead we shout at each other over the slide and have piecemeal conversations while scooping up runaway toddlers about to dive headlong off the jungle gym. Sarah is one of those people who always seems absolutely delighted by babies. She sings and laughs and chases and cuddles and looks thrilled to be doing so. (Not that I'm a baby hater or anything, but I had a kid who yelled for the first 3 1/2 months of life, has slept through the night exactly 4 times, and had 3 ear infections in the last four months. Delight is not always on the forefront of my mind when I think of babies. It's not exactly been a Gerber commercial.)

Anyway, hanging out with Sarah reminds me to take delight in Laurel, because of course, there are many things to be delighted about.

1. Walking. I bought her a pair of shoes. They were ridiculously expensive, and I am slightly embarrassed by the purchase, but dang, does she look cute in them. She toddles around the house barefoot most times, but it's cold outside, and often damp, so I wanted to give her something that would keep her feet dry in the park.
2. Eating. She ate a piece of pizza for breakfast. We went out to dinner the other night and she went to town on a bowl of lentil soup and pita breads with baba ganoush. No more baby food for Laurel...she wants the good stuff!
3. Pooping. Ok, not in and of itself. I don't care what they say about not being bothered by your own kid's poop. It's still nasty. You just do it because you have to (like getting up in the night...never gets easier, but you stop thinking about how life was before.) We bought a potty chair a couple of weeks ago and she likes to sit on it sometimes. And yesterday she pooped and peed in it! Not that she's anywhere near potty trained, but she was really excited about it.
4. Music. Laurel loves to jam out on the piano and guitar. Now that she can stand up, she does funny little bouncing dance moves. I love watching her dance while M plays the guitar.