Clara turns 5 months old on May 1st. She has hit a number of critical milestones. She is almost 12 pounds, she is now eating baby food and she actually appears on the growth chart! (A big deal for a premiee). For a human being of such a young age, Clara has accumulated a lot of "stuff". And I'm not just talking about the things you'd expect, like clothes, diapers and high chairs.
This little lady already has gear in support of her favorite athletic teams (poor thing), a television monitoring system with infrared technology and of course toys. A lot of toys. Toys, that up until yesterday she didn't seem all that interested in.
One of the many gifts that Clara received in the days after we picked her up, was a beautiful bunny, given to us by the main anchor at my TV station Gene Cox and his wife Elle. For some reason the bunny became a permanent fixture on her changing table. I'd often bop her in the nose with it, or rub its soft fabric on her skin. The gestures did not seem to matter to her one way or the other.
However, almost overnight, Clara has become very interested in the bunny. It grabs her gaze whenever you put it in front of her and when we put it in her car seat she starts to grab it, put the ears in her mouth and toss it around. When we pull the bunny away, she shoots us a look of concern, almost fright, that her new friend is being taken away.
So Clara has a favorite toy. I am sure it won't be the last. But like every milestone, this too is special.
