"I do it myself!"

Preface: Aria takes naps in her swing (long story as to reasoning, but it is necessary at this point in her life) and frequently, her blanket will fall over the side and stop the swing. I can tell over the monitor when this happens because of the *click* noise that the swing makes when it stops swinging, but is still turned on; at this point, I can usually sneak in her room and fix whatever it is from keeping the swing going so her nap will continue uninterrupted.

Today, Aria's swing started the telltale click and, since she hadn't made a noise, I assumed she was still asleep. As I snuck into her room, I was very careful not to make any noise so as not to wake her but, behold, when I opened the door, she was looking at me with big eyes, smiling from ear to ear and holding on to the sidebar on the swing so that it would stop. My thoughts are that she figured out that she could get up when the swing stopped (when I get her up, the first thing I do is turn off her swing) and she was ready to get up. She was also trying very hard to unfasten the buckle (which is nearly impossible for someone of her size and age) so she could get out. No whining, no complaining - she just was ready to get up.

It's these little things she's figuring out (like hanging on to the sidebar will make it stop, and mommy will come in) that make me realize how fast time flies - I can't believe how grown up she looks compared to even just a month ago. My baby girl is growing up.