Happy 17 month birthday to The Abstracted Daughter

Last night was The Abstracted Daughter's 17 month birthday.
I was cutting slices of banana for her and she was happily eating them. I got distracted by the television for a second and her eating outpaced my slicing.
"Nana, pease."
I turned, half shocked, half amused. My daughter was looking up at me, waiting for another slice of banana.
"Nana, pease," she repeated.
"Why, yes you may," was all I could stammer, before cutting another few pieces of banana for her and trying not to burst into proud tears.

It doesn't seem all that long ago that she was inside her mom's tummy and I could watch her tiny hands push outward, as though she were exploring the boundaries of her fetal home. I'd see where her hand was and I'd gently push back. The protrusion on my wife's stomach where the little hand was would disappear, then seconds later reappear, testing to see if I'd poke at it again. It was bizarre, I admit, to play little games with my baby when she was still in the womb, but at the same time, I was as curious about her as she was about the outside world.
What will this little child be like when she's born? I remember wondering. What will she be like when she's 17 months old?

Never in my wildest imagination did I foresee that by the time she was 17 months old my daughter would be politely asking me for another slice of banana. They grow up so fast.


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