Chasing the vacuum and other stuff

I got over my bad baby day. Meredith is a great baby, but I guess I'm a wimp. She was all off kilter for a few days, teething and having a cold, but in retrospect, it wasn't that bad. Just bad for her (and me). She was just more fussy than normal, and she totally forgot how to fall asleep in her crib. After reading about 2 friends' babies being in the hospital, I'm counting my blessings. I feel guilty complaining.

ANYWAY, Meredith likes to chase the vacuum cleaner. She crawls around the living room "chasing" me while I use it. She mostly wants the cord, so I have to be vigilant about holding the cord up and out of her way. Today she succeeded in pulling it out of the wall. Yikes! She gets excited when I vacuum near her, and she wants to reach out and grab the whole thing.

I wish she weren't in such a hurry to grow up. She's started to try to pull herself up when she can. She was on the floor of her room the other day, and she just reached up, grabbed the crib rails, and pulled. It's so interesting to me to think of the little wheels in her brain turning and telling her these new things to try... but I wish she would just slow down and stay little forever.

Saturday, I was asked to play the piano at the baptisms of several children in our ward. One of the children being baptised has a real fear of water, I think mostly of water covering her face. She was so brave, though! You could tell she was trying so hard to be strong. Her dad was so sweet. At one point, he just hugged her to him and said "I promise I will NOT let go of you." It was really tender, and I kind of feel like he captured so much of parenthood in that one statement. I wish I knew how to better express what I mean . . .