Yesterday Rosa lay on the bed with me scrutinising my hand carefully. Then she reached out one little hand, and very gently tugged my little finger between her index finger and thumb.
“Finger.”
Then she moved to the ring finger.
“Finger.”
And so on until she reached my thumb.
“Baby finger.”
“Almost,” I replied, “thumb.”
So she went back to the start. “Thumb?” she ask, pulling at my little finger again. “No, that’s a finger.” Through the hand she moved a few more times, until she had the distinction firmly in her head.
One of the best things about babies and toddlers is watching them learn about the world from first principles; they are so focused and inquisitive about things I’ve forgotten to even wonder about. Watching Rosa learn the world anew is the same joy it was with Ada.