Tonight Raphaela and I were playing together, and for the first time since we moved in September, she noticed the group of framed photos of family and friends.  We started going over each picture, I would name the person and explain their relationship to her, and she would repeat the name.

Among the collection, I showed her one cracked photo in an old frame, a snapshot of myself at the age of four, when I was a flower girl at my aunt's wedding.  This particular item had occupied my grandmother's night stand until she passed on.

Raphaela asked, "Who is that?" And I answered, "That is Mommy, when I was a little girl just like you."

I wish I had captured her reaction on video, because you could almost see the wheels turning in her amazing sponge-like brain.  She stared at first, and as comprehension dawned, she broke out into a huge smile and exclaimed, "Baby Mommy!"  Then she hugged the frame tightly and gave the picture a kiss.