Melody is 16 months old and marching right along! She is a happy little girl and has become quite engaging and immensely charming.
She loves to be with us and is more social than we would have expected. In fact she is so used to having us around that she falls asleep for her nap more readily on her mat in the family room where her siblings are than she does in her bed by herself. Her siblings can be talking, laughing, playing piano, etc., and she just falls right to sleep. I think she figures, “Why on earth should I ever have to be alone when there are so many people around here that just love to be with me?”
She appears to enjoy going to church and feels quite at home there. She seems to think that our pastor’s sermon should be an interactive discussion, as she likes to put in her two cents. Thankfully, several people have been gracious to tell us that they rejoice in just hearing her little voice. Melody couldn’t fully appreciate the kindness and sacrificial love our church family has shown us during her times of struggle. She couldn’t count the prayers prayed for her. (One friend told me her family still prays for Melody at every meal!) Nor could she comprehend the grievous tears that have been shed on her behalf during her close calls. She does, however, appear to understand that she is loved mightily by her church family. We are so thankful for our wonderful friends!
Melody is understanding cause and effect. When Melody was first born, sadly, she didn’t cry. Over time she gained the strength to cry, but it was a sad little quiet cry. Now she is figuring out how to cry in a way that gets our attention. She is not as loud as most babies her age, but she can get her point across. We tend to be on alert with her for obvious reasons, so if she cries we are quick to assess and analyze what could be troubling Little Miss Melody. The other night her daddy put her to bed and he noted that she cried “like 20 bees were stinging her”. He picked her up and she lit up, smiling her remarkably charming smile. All she wanted was to be with us. 😀
Melody likes play time. After she works her way down her crawling track, her “reward” is to slide down it on her back a few times. She loves that! Peek-a-boo is her favorite game. That almost always elicits a big smile. She enjoys sitting with the girls while they play piano. Additionally, she delights in any attention her big brother bestows upon her. She doesn’t seem to mind that his toys of choice are usually cars, trucks or a football. She doesn’t even appear to mind that she is sometimes the “road” on which the cars drive. Her brother is actually quite gentle with her and he absolutely adores Melody. It is very sweet.
Melody is a precious little treasure. She has blessed our family in countless ways and we all love her dearly!
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17