It happened this morning. Our nanny had arrived for a few hours (I needed to report an upcoming story for The New York Times) and I turned to head from the kitchen (downstairs) to my office (upstairs). As I pivoted, the baby squealed and started moving her right hand from side to side like the Queen of England. To my amazement, she did it for about half-a-minute.

That wasn’t the last time she waved throughout the day. In fact, she spent portions of the remainder of the day waving at everything from me and Powergirl to Coomer (the cat), the telephone (with grandpa on the other end) and, of course, a whale puppet.

Where did the waving come from? What made it finally sink in? Believe me, dear readers, I wish I knew (because if I did, I’d follow the same steps to ensure that “Orca” is her first word).

Whatever the explanation, one thing is certain: that kid can wave with the best of ‘em. Her salutation makes dignitaries such as Michele Obama and Jill Biden look as lifeless as the Statue of Liberty. The late Princess Diana? Let’s just say that cat’s wave to the crowd had nothing on my L’s.

Making matters even more delicious, our baby somehow has managed to capture some nuance in her wave; the way she flutters her little fingers, her hand resembles a tiny butterfly, flitting aimlessly through the sky.

It’s safe to say L’s newfound talent for waving tops my list of stuff she does. At least until she does something new again.