Brooke and Claire turned four months old a few days ago. Besides the requisite amazement at how fast that much time can go by, I reflected on some of the things I can do now that I couldn’t do four months ago, such as:

• Change a diaper while only 20% awake, with only indirect light from a night light to see what I’m doing.
• Use my foot like a third hand to bounce a bouncy seat, toggle vibration switches, pick up dropped binkies, or otherwise manipulate my environment in hand-like ways while my arms and hands are already occupied by a baby.
• Pour formula to within a few milliliters of the number of ounces I’m aiming for (1 oz. = 30 ml.) without being able to see the measurement lines on the bottle.
• Change a poopy diaper using three or fewer baby wipes (most of the time).
• Tell you what color can the formula comes in if you tell me what kind of formula it is.
• Get my arm and hand in perfect synch with the pendulum action of a swing, in order to replace a pacifier that has fallen out without disrupting the motion of the swing or bopping a baby in the face.
• Come up with about 25 rhymes for “Claire” without thinking hard: There, eclair, hair, hare (like a rabbit), Brer (like the rabbit), stair, stare, fair, fare, blare, rare, chair, nair (for removing hair), wear, aware, unaware, flair, flare, bear, Robert (French pronunciation), Colbert (Stephen’s pronunciation), swear, blare, air, and care. (All have been worked into improvised songs.)
• Come up with about 10 rhymes for Brooke without thinking hard: Look, nook, cook, book, brook (like a small stream), took, rook, wook (short for wookie), crook, and forsook. (Brooke is harder to rhyme, but the girl needs her rhyming songs.)
• Make my daughters smile.