moments such as these ... 2

The other day, TJOML was playing with her new playdoh salon set she got for Christmas.

It has a little doll with different detachable scalps; the scalps have different patterns on the head to grow playdoh hair when a lever is pushed... she loves this toy and has been playing with it more than anything else since she got it...

Well, anyway, the scalps are not easy to detach and attach. So, TJOML called me to where she was sitting and playing, handed me the toy and its scalp and indicated she wanted the new scalp fixed on.

Easy enough. So, I did it for her without much thought and handed it back to her.

She looks at me straight, holds my attention with a sweet smile and a sincere expression and says, "Thank You, Amma"! (Except it sounded more like "taa-key-oo, amma")

I just melted.

That was the first time she said it to me and in correct context!

And she is all of 1¾ years old!

I mean, she demands a cookie, gets it from her dad, but doesn't say Thank You. She asks us to read a book to her but doesn't really say Thank You. But, this time, she wanted help with her toy and when she got it, she automatically said Thank You, it seemed like...

I just could not let this moment out of my mind... it was incredibly rewarding to hear that.
When she does what we ask, like 'please give back the remote control, it is not a toy', or, 'please put back the phone, it is not a toy', we usually look at her directly and say Thank You. But, am pretty sure she did not make the connection easily.

I think her daycare care-givers have been working hard too, trying to get my baby to grow up with good manners. Am not sure I could have taught her half the stuff she now knows without the help of her daycare professionals - and possibly the other kids in her class room. I mean, I know I could have if I was a SAHM, but, alas, I am not, and I will always doubt this decision...