I don’t know who told Riley she could do this…because it certainly wasn’t me.  For the past couple of years despite being a ‘big girl’ walking around…she’s been so consumed in her own little non-verbal world…and so far behind in weight that she’s still seemed so tiny…so much my baby…

So I’d look back at pictures like these and think – that’s not so long ago:

 

Suddenly in the past few weeks she’s been blossoming…in good ways and bad.  My tiny non-verbal, non-eating little baby-girl has begun to refuse her liquid meals in favor of REAL food.  She’s talking and turning out to be one heck of a spoiled-brat-bullying-big-sister.  She’s got attitude…she plays…she eats and eats…she displays her intelligence in surprising ways.

She still has her quirks, she still hesitates in crowds and at school.  She still has her ‘Riley-isms’…but there’s a new part to her…one that is a big girl.  One that has shown up suddenly, one that has me watching her in wonder…wondering where my baby girl went…and how we ended up with this in her wake:

 

An all-growed-up big girl…one that can express her needs and wants…and does so with aplomb.