Sweet Treats

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of observing a play date between my fourteen and a half month old daughter and another little girl of nine months. Both had seen each other from their mothers arms on several occasions, but this was a chance to get down and under their own power, explore and interact.

Kiki arrived to play with Little Miss with much anticipated delight. Once she was on the floor, eyes wide and pacifier firmly installed in her mouth, she quietly sat looking to see what would happen. Little Miss walked right over and gave her a pat, followed by a very loving, gentle hug around the head. To all of this, Kiki sat quietly and did not object in the least. Then Little Miss, who has been noticing eyes of late, discovered that Kiki had eyes to point at and poke. Mom gently extracts Little Miss and Kiki continues to sit placidly where she is.

Soon the attention starts to be drawn to the toys. Kiki is interested in these as they are not the same ones she plays with every day. Little Miss picks up a toy and starts her regularly scheduled walk around the house with it. Kiki who is only crawling sees Little Miss high stepping away and begins to follow. Thus goes the morning.

The sweetest moment came just before Kiki had to leave. Both girls are standing at the gate that is erected across the hallway, blocking their access to the stairs. Both girls have a pacifier in their mouths. Kiki's is a large bulb attached to a short cord that clips to her shirt. Little Miss' is a smaller bulb with a little handle. The girls look over the gate, then back at each other and then at their moms. This goes on for a little while. As the moms watch, Little Miss removes her pacifier and offers it to Kiki who taking it, looks at it and then drops it on the floor. More looking, then Little Miss reaches over and takes Kiki's pacifier, which is still in Kiki's mouth. Little Miss looks at the new pacifier, then promptly pops it in her own mouth. Pulling it out, she looks at it to observe how different it is from her own, then pops it back in. Again, Kiki stands there placidly observing all that Little Miss does and there is no protest, no tears.

The moms, laughing at the antics of our sweet little girls, declare the play date a success and plan to do it again real soon.

As I reflect back over the exchange, I smile with delight over the world of discovery that is my Little Miss'.