I know everyone goes on and on about how quickly their kids grow up, but the amazing thing is that it literally happens in huge leaps and bounds. We noticed it when Trinity went from being a baby to a toddler, mainly because it happened right when she started to walk. Literally overnight. One day she was a floor-bound baby, the next day she was walking and a toddler. And now we understand the term toddler, because they truly toddle about when they are first learning to walk. What has just recently shocked me though, is that Trinity is no longer a toddler - she is quickly becoming a little girl, and I don't really know when it happened. Our friend Sabrina pointed it out the other day, "isn't it interesting how Trinity and Ginger are little girls now?" and wow - that's when I realized it was true. She doesn't really have any more baby fat (other than the cute tummy pooch) and her legs are these beautiful, sculpted muscular things that are just a smaller version of a woman's legs. Trinity has mastered the walking thing to the point that she runs, jumps, spins, spends hours just walking on her tippy-toes, spends a fair amount of time only walking backwards or sideways, and spends a few minutes each day nursing skinned knees because she pushed it too far.

Her changes are happening rapidly in other areas too. One day we were swimming at Hotel Irma with Ginger, Maya and Sabrina. Trinity was doing her usual thing of jumping into the water into my waiting hands. Ginger put on some water wings, flung herself in the water and started swimming about on her own. The next day when Trinity and I were at Comercial Mexicana, she saw a package of water wings, pointed them out, so I bought them. The next time we went swimming, it took all of one or two jumps into the water before she realized that she could be totally independent of me, and could swim around just like Ginger. Now our Sunday family beach trips have moved away from the baby pool and into the grown-up pool so she can jump and swim with more ease.

I guess what it is is that she's paying attention to what's around her, and then tries to copy it. She saw the tail end of an episode of Gray's Anatomy last week (because I was watching it during her nap) and the very next day I walked in on her with the babysitter, Denise, laying on the floor, having her tummy examined by Dr. Trinity and her stethoscope. Upon a second glance, I saw that she was using Bijou's old cat collar, but it was obvious what she was trying to do. (It might be time to get her a toy medical kit.) She's also really absorbing all the educational toys we have around the house. Her favorite thing lately is to try and sing along to the alphabet song, and when daddy writes letters on her chalkboard table, she names the letter and tries to sound out the word. So far she's working on cat, moon, pool and mummy, but when she sees the letter, she knows it and knows the sound it makes. Is that normal? She's only going to be 2 years old in a few weeks...Andy reckons that she'll be actually reading by 2 1/2 at this rate. Well, if that's true, we'll need to get some more books. I guess it's time for an amazon order.

Anyway, I'm happy to join the ranks of parents that are amazed by the pace with which their children learn and grow. It is so fascinating watching her enthusiasm for everything she learns and encounters and it makes life just a bit more exciting for us too.