Last night I fed Ellie her last bottle of formula ever (she's a year old now, so she's making the switch to whole milk) and put her to bed. But between those two events was one of the sweetest moments we've shared together.

Ellie finished her bottle and started squirming in my arms, as she is sometimes wont to do. I decided to let her squirm to see what she wanted. Eventually, she slid down my legs till she had landed on the floor. She promplty crawled a short distance to where one of the new books she got for her birthday was lying on the floor. She picked it up and held it up to me. I took the book, set it on my lap, and then reached out for Ellie, who anxiously raised her arms to be picked up. She sat on my lap and we read the book together. After going through it a couple of times (it was only four pages long), she squirmed down my legs again toward another book, and the process repeated. After that book became boring, she went after the first book (which I had set back down on the floor) again.

The reason this experience was so special was because it felt like this was the first sustained conversation Ellie and I have ever had. She very clearly communicated to me, "Daddy, I want you to read me this book." By taking the book and reaching for her, I said to her, "OK, come here and we'll read the book." The sparkle in her eyes when she realized that she had successfully communicated an idea to me was priceless. As a person who is still learning how to work her body and who can't say meaningful words, I bet it gets frustrating much of the time when she can't convey her thoughts and desires to us. But this time, her message was clear, and I responded to it. That success was exciting both to her and to me. We communicated, and everyone was happy.

It may seem like a little thing, reading a book to your baby when she asks you to. And yes, she's asked for a bottle or a diaper change or a toy or whatever before. But this seemed like the first time--at least the first significant time--when the baby was capable of successfully asking for something and being understood. That's a step in the right direction.