A Graduation Of Sorts

grad·u·a·tion [graj-oo-ey-shuhn]
–noun

1. an act of graduating; the state of being graduated.
2. the ceremony of conferring degrees or diplomas, as at a college or school.
3. arrangement in degrees, levels, or ranks.

According to friends and coworkers, kids graduate from everything these days. Now, obviously there are ceremonies and celebrations for high school and college graduation, but I guess they now have ceremonies for the transfer between the following school levels - daycare, pre-k, kindergarten, elementary school & middle school (junior high-ers get off easy).

Well, knowing that's what we have to look forward to, we are choosing to graduate E today for successfully completing her first 2 months of life. There are many things to celebrate in our home today and this week in general.

Here are some noteworthy items:

- She is 2 months old today

- She has almost completely taken the pacifier on her own. She'll take it and really seems to like it, but eventually it will fall out. This is still great progress though as only a month or so ago she wouldn't even entertain the idea without crying hysterically!

- Diapers N have been replaced with Diapers 1

- She almost appears to be laughing at times and can recognize us (and our voices) from across the room

- I have added a new nickname to my long list; I am now...L-Dad!

- She accepts a bottle at ease at least once a day and can do so from either one of us, at any time, awake or asleep (her that is, not us)

- Aside from growth spurts, she is sleeping in chunks that are a bit longer than before

- Longer eyelashes

To date, this is my absolute favorite picture of E. To me, there is just so much more to the story in this shot. I guess you could call it my Mona Lisa. Is she smiling? Is she Frowning? Is she Content? I know one thing - she's growing! The wonder in her eyes is astounding – wait, am I starting to sound like a parent?