It's all worthwhile

I watched Lil' J as she played in her playpen today.
I literally sat on the sofa and watched her, like watching TV.
Only the TV wasn't turned on because she was facing it.
It could be the most boring 30 minutes to anyone.
Lil' J was just fiddling with her toys and not doing much.

Then I saw it.

She was on her tummy (well, she's on her tummy 75% of the time she's awake), a distance away from her new toy --  the fabric stacking block.
You know she wanted the toy. You could tell from her expression.
She wriggled and moved like a worm. I watched as she advanced bit by bit.
Then she lost balance and fell over to her back.
But she flipped over pretty quickly, and with this flip, she got even nearer to the toy.
She gave a final push while on her knees (on her knees!) and she got it.

When she was done with the toy, still on her tummy, she did the 90-degree turn in the playpen.
She used to take a while to change directions. Now she's fast. Like, really fast.

My momma-heart went a little crazy witnessing these.
It's a mixture of "You smart baby!" and "Awww... my baby is growing so fast.."

My baby IS growing fast.
Each day, she progresses a little.
It was a boring 30 minutes but I'm glad I stayed to watch.
If I had chosen to leave her alone while I busied myself, I wouldn't have witnessed it.
Just when I was wondering if I made the right choice, quitting my job to be a stay-at-home-mom.
Now I'm sure I did.

It's all worthwhile.