From birth to 3 months, babies learn to smile, raise their heads and chests, and track objects and grip them. From 4 to 6 months, they can roll over, babble (no real words yet), sit up, laugh, and grab at objects (ouch, my hair!). From 7 to 9 months, they begin to crawl - and become quite good at it, sit up without being supported, respond to words, play games like patty-cake, and stand up by pulling themselves up. Between 10 to 12 months, they begin to feed themselves, say a couple of words, take their first steps, point to what they want, and play pretend - like "talking" on a toy phone.

All of these milestones are approximate - every baby develops at his or her own rate. But there's no denying that the first year of a new human being is full of rapid development and that parents eagerly watch for each one. Every day, our babies do something new and surprising. And parents document each stage through baby books and/or photographs. It's an exciting - and often tiring! - adventure, being a parent and taking care of a new life. Here are some comments on parenthood - from an article in Parents magazine :

"My love for my own child was so visceral, it made me appreciate my own mom so much more." - Keli Fisher

"Makes you find the joy and see that all the material things that run the lives of most people really mean nothing at all." - Tegan Drapehs

"You don't get to go to the bathroom alone anymore, and you can actually get by on three showers a week if you have to. But don't you dare skip laundry day!" - Tia Delao

"Before you have kids, you go to a movie fifty times a year. After you have kids, you watch the same movie fifty times a day." - Erica Byrd

". . .Most important, I learned that I could love someone more than myself, more than life, so much that it hurts sometimes." - Stephanie Reeves Cottrill

Being a parent is the hardest "job" in the world - and the must fulfilling. Now, we all know that the most beautiful babies are our own, but we can all appreciate others' adorable babies - especially when they are our ancestors. Their bright eyes, huge smiles - and often adorable frowns, the photos of these youngsters have a way of making us smile. Here are some of the little cuties from the past 100+ years.
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