March 16, 2026- My work as Hana’s weekday caretaker started today, sort of. Her mother’s return to work saw a light workload, so Yunhee was around for much of the day, With new items that she had bought, I was able to devise a new activity for Hana to practice. The inflatable seat gives her a soft, but firm, place to sit upright, for a few minutes at a time, It is close enough to a wooden rack, from which some plastic rings are hung, that she can reach and grab the rings-one at a time, and hold onto them for two-three minutes. This adds to the short activity of lifting her head up and looking straight ahead, also for a few minutes, in anticipation of learning to crawl. She also enjoys the manipulation of the balloons, using her legs.

A side effect of these is that, as I am talking to her during the activities, Hana is picking up words here and there: “Wow”, “Yay”, and a clear form of “This is fun” (which she hears on a Sesame Street audio toy). Without teeth, her speech is mostly babbling, but a keen ear can pick up one-syllable words. She is “talking” almost constantly now, so I will not be surprised if her actual speech surfaces early. Penny was a gabber; so was my father. Aram can be loquacious, also.

She is also quite assertive about expressing her needs-with the customary loud crying one expects from an infant, as well as facial expressions-and certain babbles made with eye contact. This, too, presages early command of communication skills. We pay attention to her, so the assertiveness is being reinforced. The activities I mentioned above are done in short increments, three times a day, which I think will reinforce her learning. I look forward to each day, whether she holds her own, advances further or needs to slip back a bit. All in all, I notice that Hana is already motivated to learn. She will go at her own pace, without pressure from us.