Hi!

Serena has officially said her first word: Hi! She says it as she waves and it is so precious. I have been waiting for her to say her first word, but in no rush. I think being a parent the second time around is so different. With Calli I remember I couldn't wait for her to talk and I was always encouraging her to try and say something. With Serena I am much more laid back and figure it will happen when it happens. And besides, I have the experience of knowing CALLI, who pretty much started talking and never shut up. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely a good thing and I think she is a very smart for her age. But I am not in such a hurry to get the little ones talking anymore. It happens when it happens and it is not a race or reflection on your parenting or how smart your child will be. Moms get so competitive about every little thing when it comes to their children. Most of them forget that by the time they all go off to kindergarten, every one of them is TALKING, WALKING, POTTY TRAINED, etc. etc. And by the time that child graduates from high school I can guarantee that they are not going to be exchanging stories with their friends about who said their first word the earliest or who walked the youngest. So anyway, I am sure in no time Serena will have as wide a vocabulary as her big sister and will be teaching her little brother to talk as well.

Serena also seems to have discovered Calli's favorite hiding place. If you have been to our house and know Calli, you have probably seen her disappear a time or two into her "hiding place" as she calls it, which is really a cabinet in the kitchen. She discovered it when we first moved in when she was about eighteen months or so. Despite the fact that she is nearly four and has grown tremendously in that time, she still fits! But now it seems that she has some competition for that spot because little miss Serena has desginated it her "hiding place" too!