Baby's First Christmas

Today my daughter turned 20 years old. To commemorate the day, I dug out an album of photos taken during the first few months of her life. The very last photo, one taken on her first Christmas morning, is my favorite. She is sitting on the floor in front of me, nestled in the semi-circle formed by my legs. We are both facing out, reading a book together (LITTLE TREE by e.e. Cummings, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray). My daughter is holding the right side of the book, while I am holding the left side. At five months old, she is already showing signs of print awareness. And print motivation. She is looking up intently into the camera as if to say, "Hurry up, Dad, and take the picture -- we want to continue our book!" To this day, the child in the photograph has remained an avid reader.