As with all her predecessors, we all derive great delight from Claire’s first wakings. This morning I enjoy a shining episode. For well over fifteen minutes she is by the warm air, lying quietly on her back and making a brand new noise with the softest, sweetest voice. “Da-da-dda-dad….,” she says, pointedly and repeatedly. Note that we don’t think she’s actually speaking English. It’s just another consonant that she’s getting her tongue around. But I fancy, or rather feel quite sure that she’s aware of a change, and glad to be sharing it with me.