Becoming more of a delight

In addition to what Sarah wrote about in her last posting, I wanted to add some of my own updates about how Lexi is developing:

Like Sarah said, she seems to mind less - and even enjoys - riding in the car now. Every time I put her in the car in her car seat, when I lift her up into the car, she looks up at me and smiles. I don't know what this smile is saying to me, but it's funny and heart-warming at the same time. Sometimes I think she is saying, "Oh, hi! When did you get here?" like she's seeing me for the first time that day, even though I was the one who put her in the carseat. Or maybe she's saying, "Thanks for putting me in the seat and lifting me way up here. You know, as a baby I can't do that myself. I appreciate it." Mostly, however, I just think that she's saying (for some strange reason at that moment every time), "Hey, Daddy, I love you."

Since we arrived in Nairobi, I have noticed that Lexi is getting more control of her hands. She notices more when you hold something in front of her and responds most of the time by reaching for it. She can hold on to things most of the time but isn't a really strong gripper, Sarah notices. She's still not grabbing at anything and everything yet like a really curious baby, though. She also notices sometimes if things make noise, like the crinkling of the bag for my sandwich buns. She's slowly becoming curious about things like this that make noise and is figuring out how to make noise with them. She is definitely figuring out that she can hold something and move it with her own hands. It's fun to watch her discover these things and find things for her that will entertain her.