40 Hours

I the "Call of Cthulhu" roleplaying game I recently began, when our characters travel into the world of dreams, one week there equates to only one hour in waking life (only we're sleeping).
If Leigh were in the world of dreams, that would be 40 hours of sleep (10 months)


It almost does feel like a dream, when I consider how much different life has been with her. We took off together with Charlotte to Montreal for a 5-day stay last week, on the occasion of a colloquium the latter was attending.



I thought it might be worth noting some of Leigh's development in the two months that I have lived and spent many of my waking hours with her:

- Leigh went from kind of crawling to now moving all over the place, including up to 10 steps in a row on occasion.

- She has always slept from about 8PM to 8AM, only seldom waking during the night (except when ill or teething) - ye reading mothers, I do understand the jealousy, it's quite miraculous! As for naps, went from 3-4 almost scheduled 30-minute naps per day to hour + -long naps or none at all.

(This is a picture of us at the Baha'i Sanctuary in Montreal, the Maxwell home where 'Abdu'l-Baha stayed briefly:)


- Leigh has always had great determination, even stubbornness: she knows what she wants (to eat, to touch, etc.), and is rather dextrous. It's hard to determine how good she is at communicating, since a big part of that lies in our willingness/ability to understand her various sounds

- Her sounds went from frequent bababas, dadadas, and mamamas (with differing degrees of perception of intentionality from us adults) to a relative reliability in what she says - she does know papa, mama, byebye (kind of), ah-teh (supposedly "Andre").

(This is Leigh, enjoying one of our several stops at Yoy, a sushi cafe with bubble tea, great prices and nice atmosphere - our favorite spot in Montreal:)


- Leigh has taken a most definite liking to me, with much pleasure in seeing me, and complete trust

- She has been not only taking blocks and various objects _out_ of boxes, but importantly also putting them back! She also likes piling stuff in my hands. She's really good about letting people taking things away from her, including other babies!

(Leigh and I visited the Biodome, with its various gorgeous foreign environments, including the Laurentian Forest:)


- Leigh, of course, LOVES other babies and children. She also loves all people, and is particularly practiced at charming them. many people are really good with her too - they'll play with her, talk to her, etc. - often random people on the bus or in the street! It's inspiring, 'cause it helps me realize how much it helps - I too have become significantly more comfortable entertaining and amusing other babies.

- Leigh especially loves her family. The days when she gets to stay much of the day with her whole family are her happiest, where she frequently grins and giggles. She and Andre (her brother) get especially well along. He loves to let her claw at and clobber his face (her great sign of affection), and he manages to be very gentle and considerate with her, despite his over-charged energetic penchants.

(Leigh got along well with Myrtille, Annie's daughter - Annie being a friend Charlotte met up with at the colloquium:)



Everything has been just so fabulous for me! I am immensely grateful for these times, and Leigh has taught me more than most single individuals I have known. We share a great deal of intimacy, and our spiritual journey so far has been rich. I can't help but wonder what our connection will look like in the long run, especially if a very long lapse of time passes between my departure in December and our next encounter... Surely, whether on a conscious level or not, we have a close bond. I talk and sing to her a lot, so I imagine my voice will always be familiar to her. Plus I can count on Charlotte to tell her about me - as she has certainly done with Andre, who considers me an integral part of his life. (In fact, we're planning on each giving the other one of our ears, so we can hear each other and all other things once I move to China...)

Fish with frog's eyes,
Creation is perfect.