Reflections are

Elaine loves looking in the mirror. I'll hold her in front of the mirror and she'll smile and wave and try to hit it. One wonders at times what she thinks of this reflection. Does she think it's another baby? Perhaps one very clever at copying her actions?

It's become clear over the past weeks that she recognizes my image as a reflection. She'll look back and forth between me and my reflection and treat us the same way. She easily makes eye contact with my reflection and does silly things.

Today, I lifted a hand-held mirror of Meredith's to Elaine's face. She did something interesting. She saw her reflection in the mirror, then deliberately looked behind her to see who was there. After a momentary search, she gazed back at the mirror and waved. She then smiled and then started to try to hit the mirror. It seemed quite clear to me that she recognized that the mirror reflected people in front of it, but was unsure at least on this occasion if the reflection was herself or another baby in the vicinity. Sometimes it's difficult to figure out how these kids think. They have so much to learn and put together on a daily basis. Good thing they are so curious.