Safari

Lyla's favorite chair, which she often sits in when the paparazzi descend on her, has an attachment that puts her in a simulated baby safari. Sounds of the rainforest sputter out of a tiny speaker. A plastic monkey sways. A plastic frog goes up and down. It's very exciting.

Lyla talks to the monkey and frog. If you watch her and listen carefully, you can translate her gurbles into actual English:

"Froggy up, froggy down, froggy up, froggy down. Monkey left, monkey right, monkey left, monkey right."

Sometimes she gets angry when the monkey and frog do not obey her.

"Monkey stop. Monkey stop! MONKEY! STOP MONKEY STOP STOP STOP MONKEY! AUUURRGH!"

She's getting bigger. Her feet now hang off that chair. And today we bought diapers in the next size up, size two, specially designed for the 12-18-pounders, with the word "Jumbo" in the upper corner. The first diapers she wore might have kept your fist dry in a rainstorm. These ones you could stick to your Swiffer and use to mop the floor.

Her newborn clothes are packed away. The bassinet is ready to be returned to the family who lent it to us. Everything shifts; everything gets replaced. One of the only constants is that chair and its stubborn, disobedient monkey and frog.