Say Cheese!

Juliet has learned to smile a real smile (as opposed to smiling while passing gas).  At first, we weren't sure since she was smiling after her meals, which is prime time for gas.  However, I was changing her one afternoon, and I noticed that she was smiling like I was smiling at her - a different kind of smile than her usual one.  So, I stopped smiling and waited until she stopped.  I then smiled again at her, and she smiled back at me!  When Ray got home, he was holding her and smiling at her while talking to her.  She smiled back at him, too.  It is the most amazing thing to watch her smile in response to our smiles.  It feels like our first real communication.  Until now, communication was largely Juliet crying and us trying to figure out what she needed.  We talked and sang to her, of course, but she didn't really respond.  This smiling back at us feels more like an actual exchange.

I think I've mentioned that Juliet loves bath time, so we get lots of smiles from her in the tub.  My favorite smiles, though, are the ones that I get from her when I go in to wake her up.  There is nothing better than having our daughter smile as soon as she sees me leaning over her crib.  Watching Ray elicit smiles from her is amazing also.  When he gets a big smile from her, he will laugh and comment either on how awesome she is or how funny she is.

I think turning over will be her next milestone, but I'm looking forward to hearing her laugh.