Every child is unique, like a precious snowflake.

So ... Skipper is a little slow. Not officially - she's totally fine, and falls comfortably into the range of normal. Were not concerned about her development. But she has been, right from the start, slower to hit every developmental milestone than her sister was. I felt, when Skipper was new, that she was taking her time in arriving, while I remember Dutch as being very much HERE from her first breath. Dutch wasn't any sort of super-genius baby or anything, but she ticked off her milestones early or right on time.

Skipper doesn't really talk yet. She has a few semi-recognizable word-esque noises (for hat, dog, and uh-oh, mostly). She says "Hi!" very clearly. Signing for Dutch was a temporary bridge during the short period when she wanted to communicate but couldn't yet talk. Dutch, at this age, was saying quite a few words, and had pretty much left signing totally behind. Because of

this, we've been pretty casual about signing with Skipper - she knows the basics. She uses conventional or invented signs for more, all done, drink, eat, sleep, nurse, cracker, music, tickle, and help. Now I'm thinking it would be useful to learn and to teach her a few more, since the words aren't coming, and she clearly wants to communicate.

Another parent at the daycare today said to me "So, is Skipper walking on her own yet?" and I looked at her in puzzlement. Skipper is nearly 15 months old. She's been walking for 2 months. But I can see why the parent was confused - Skipper is the youngest kid in her daycare classroom by a month, and she's always so far behind the others that it's easy to start thinking of her as being WAY behind.

I look forward to looking back on this* and seeing how her early personality developed into her adult personality. I'd like to think that her unhurried approach to life will translate into a willingness to try new things and make mistakes, which would also differentiate her from her sister. Anyway, Thomas Edison's teacher apparently described him as "addled."

*I do this a lot.