You’re not fully dressed without a smile

Oh, the emotions! And in just one 24 hour span...

On Wednesday when Mark got home from work, I ran out to the grocery store. One great thing about shopping on a weekday evening when it's 9 below is that you get a great parking spot, and the store is virtually empty. I can't stand crowded stores, especially grocery stores with carts and people clogging the aisles. I'm the type who wants to get in, get out, and go home. No lollygagging or dodging indecisive people.

But when I brought the groceries in, I accidentally woke Claire who was sleeping on Mark in the family room. She hasn't been sleeping the greatest lately, and was pretty cranky about it, so her fussiness turned into crying (which she rarely does, she usually stops at fussing.) She was really frustrated, complete with the lower lip hanging out - it was so cute, but I felt awful! Every time she inhaled, her lower lip sucked in...very dramatic. If she could walk, she would have tripped over it. And that's when Mark announced that there was a tear on one cheek, her very first tear, and I felt awful because I had caused it. Welcome to motherhood, right? Thankfully she got over it and life went on.

So last night I got home from the gym around 9:00 and Claire was ready to nurse and hit the sack. She fell asleep in my lap when she was done, which she usually does, and I was comfy in the rocking chair so I sat and watched her sleep for a little bit. She's so cute when she sleeps; in the light sleep cycle she kind of twitches, and big smiles flash across her face (involuntarily, I've read, because her nervous system is still immature; I like to imagine she's having good dreams). Last night was no different. She was curled up on her side facing me with both hands near her chin, and a big smile appeared, and then she started *giggling*!! Her first laugh was in her sleep!! It was the most adorable thing, she looked and sounded like a little girl on a playground, laughing at a joke with her friends.

Mark had just gone downstairs, so he missed it. I scooped her up as gently as possible and brought her down so I could tell him, but she woke up in the process - and thankfully there were no tears this time. So I tried singing to her and doing what usually makes her smile, but she was pretty tired so we just got a few smirks. I can't wait to hear her laugh again. What a beautiful sound!