The sweetness of a smile

Any of you who have known even one infant knows what a thrill it is to see him or her smile for the first time. Shortly after arriving in Sharon on Friday afternoon, I was holding Julia and talking to her and she smiled at me! I soon found that it is relatively easy to elicit this response by smiling at her and speaking in that voice that we adults seem to use instinctively when speaking to babies.

Of course I did not have my camera at that moment so I lost my chance. But this evening we gathered at Simmie and Ronen’s house for a family barbeque, and Julia obliged.

Those first smiles are so precious. Up until that point, the only real emotions you see from a newborn are hunger, discomfort, pain, or general unhappiness (translation: you have no idea what in the world is bothering the baby once you’ve fed her and changed her diaper). All of these emotions are expressed in one way: wailing! But at last, you find something you can do or say that fairly reliably elicits the desired response. To me, this moment is almost every bit as exciting as seeing the newborn infant for the first time. Those first smiles are the first clear sign that you are really communicating with this little person, and they open a door to someone you have so longed to meet.

Here are a few pictures I took earlier this evening. You can see that Julia has really filled out quite a bit in the last few weeks. And she still has the lovely dark hair.

We had a wonderful, busy weekend. We had Simmie and family over for Friday evening dinner, and Joshua and Ella with us for lunch. After lunch we headed back to their house and played in the yard for a few hours. This morning we took Eliana and Maya to “Launch,” a place I described a few months ago that is filled with trampolines. We went when it first opened so there were not a lot of children there and it was so much better for the girls and for us. If you ever plan to take children to one of these places, I strongly urge you to get there when they open; it makes for a much better experience all around.

The whole family gathered for a barbeque at Simmie and Ronen’s house. Fortunately the weather cooperated so Barry did not have to stand out in the rain at the barbeque grill.

We will be heading back to New York tomorrow morning. Although technically, summer does not begin until June 21, at least in the United States Memorial Day is the “kick-off” of summer. I have been wearing my sandals and even linen for the last couple of weeks, so it is time for the weather to get into step.

Have a wonderful week.

Love,

Rebecca