A Serious Conversation

Fae, I think it's time.

You've had four months and one week to show us your best, and it's high-time to do that long-awaited Performance Evaluation.

That's right, we're going to look at everything you've done so far, what Impact it had on our family and on others, and discuss not just what you did, but how you did it.

Why?

Well how else would we give you guidance on how to grow into your best self? We'll see the things you do right, and more importantly the ones where you can improve. There are always some, in that last category. And don't worry, our feedback will be actionable, not just a fluffy "you're doing great, keep at it". The fluffy feedback is our cat Willow's prerogative (see side photo).

We'll break it down by sections, to make it easy:

Roles and responsibilities:

• Crowning achievement of our family of 5+🐈, with huge pressure to figure out what we're up to, at all times. Eye tracking and head control are key assets for this.
• Intermittent tie-breaker between kids' disagreements, with a focus on cutely but loudly interrupting conversations when things get heated-up.
• Perpetual entertainer for people of all ages (though only mildly interesting to pets); most recently employing the novel technique of sporadic giggling.

Key achievements:

• Joined our team on Nov 2 2019, with exponential ramp-up on the project.
• Mastered the technique for a deeply-sweet eye contact very early on, after real-time-feedback from TL on the topic.
• Head control progression from floppy to sharp and precise angle switches on demand in just 3 months.
• Iron grip on anything close enough to touch, with thoughtfully-delayed release. Demonstrated at the 4mo doctor check-up when she methodically shredded the crinkle-paper covering the table while two adults tried to convince her to let go. Peer (pediatrician@) quote: "Wow, she is strong!"
• Discovered feet!

Impact:

• Increased Smiles-per-Hour metric (SPH) for 4+ humans by at least 700% (partially tracked here).
• Minimal reduction of total/average sleep in the family, against all odds (though 99th percentile has periodic high spikes for one family member).

Leadership:

• Clearly demonstrated by frequently grabbing others' fingers/hands and leading them to her mouth to munch on.
• Sets direction for others: when carried by a grown-up she will make it extremely clear which one is the right way to go, by briefly - but emphatically - crying out her distress when turning the other way.
• Proposes new initiatives: right after the 4mo mark she started trying to grab things off table; outcomes vary between gentle wiggle-and-displace to swipe-to-floor, showing breadth of scope.

Difficulty:

• Nobody else can just go around smiling and make everyone else smile in quite the same way.
• Enchantingly small body and plumbing, so impact-per-mass is very high.
• Faces terrifying circumstances with a brave heart.
• Let's be honest, most of us could probably do Fae's projects, maybe even much better. But for her level, compared to ladder expectations?

Rating:

• Consistently Meets Expectations: needs to show sustained performance and demonstrate further growth. We'll see her again next perf cycle...
• Areas for improvement: discussed in personal 1:1s. 

Appendix: 
Below are itemized examples of demonstrating the well-recognized 4mo baby requirements:


Rolls over from front to back:

Sits with support:

Pushes up to elbows when laying on stomach:

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Reaches for objects with one hand | Coordinates seeing and movement—spotting something they want, then reaching for it:

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Follows objects moving from side to side with eyes | Brings hands to mouth:

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Wields a double-sided lightsaber:

Wears Crafted-by-Mara paper hats with dignity:

Can take care of dogs:

Demonstrates proper use of silverware:

Occasionally becomes a Junior Train Conductor:

Consistently smiles at mirrors:

Gives talks on petrified forests with good audience eye contact | Looks petrified in front of petrified wood (Greg and I couldn't decide on which caption is better...):