Growing So Well

"Mommy! I count those trucks one, two, thwee, fouw....six, sezen, eight, nine, ten!"

"I heard you count all those trucks. You're growing so well!" I'll offer back with a smile.

I'm in awe of Little Butterfly. Last week she took a long nap, opened her hazel eyes with her sweaty curls glued to her head, and belted out the ABC's. Then promptly marched outside to "make pancakes for Baba" in her sandbox. There's something about noticing the learning in children that makes you feel like even tiny milestones are real miracles, pure and simple.

As a mama, what makes it even more miraculous for me is noticing how much she learns, truly learns, without any kind of real instruction. What I mean is, no school, technology, rewards, or carefully executed Pinterest activity really make a dent for this little one. It's the experiences deeply rooted in life that's the real gift. Who knew that folding laundry each Thursday taught her more about shapes and colors than that episode on TV?  Or measuring flour and milk for cookies introduced her to numbers and weight? And that all of our nature walks has helped her better understand wildlife, weather patterns, our ecosystem, and beauty, better than any educational iPad game can teach.

Ah, in truth it's a great relief to me. I don't worry about some imaginary checklist that every two year old should know by now. For us, toddlerhood is a time for creating, exploring, problem-solving, directing her own play, and having plenty of time to wonder. That's good enough for us.