I had another one of those unforgettable experiences trying to put chiara to sleep last night. i turned out the lights and, exhausted as i was, stretched out on her bed as she performed her usual routine of walking around the bedroom, opening books and turning pages as though she could read them in the dark, walking to the bed and crawling in, then immediately turning over and climbing down and repeating this over and over again.

Finally, she climbed into bed and decided to stay for a while. In the faint light coming over the transom, I could make out her face as she leaned close and kissed me. Mwah! she said. Then she kissed me over and over again. What a sweet, affectionate baby. At one point, she pressed her forehead against mine, and looked into my eyes, and then shook her head back and forth making Mmm Mmm sounds. This reminded me so much of my own mother, I’m sure Chiara picked it up from her.

Chiara kept repositioning herself on the bed, at one point her feet were on her pillow and he head was on the turned down sheet and comforter. from this position she could gaze at me from about arm’s length. She touched my head and said, in Korean, “mori (head).” Then she pointed her little index finger gently at my eyelid and said, “neun (eye).” Next she pointed at my mouth, “ipe (mouth),” she said. Then she pointed at my chest, “Booby (booby).”

Next thing I know, she looked right at me and said, “Bye bye booby.”

“Bye bye booby.” Wow. What an insight. Yes, the booby is going bye bye as Chiara is turning 18 months in two more days and she doesn’t really need to nurse anymore. She eats really well, and seems to like the foods that are good for her, too, so I’m not so worried that she can’t get what she needs from the foods we fix for her.

But it’s taking a long time to wean. At this point it’s not much of a burden on me as I only nurse her once a day, early in the morning before I’m even fully awake. So I’m not pushing too hard, but I’m also not letting her backslide. The momentum is toward shortening the amount of time she spends nursing, until she’s completely over it. I think Chiara is telling me that she knows what’s going on and that was reassuring. The end is near!

Here’s a recent photo of Chiara giving me a kiss while taking a bath. Luke played with her hair