First of all, Molli’s been fantastic lately. She insists on our constant attention when she’s awake, but rewards us with smiles and laughs all day long. I can’t get over how often she smiles. Her laughs are discernibly laughs, now, but still in their larval form: it’s more like she’s doing bird calls with a big smile on her face. When she’s very happy, she does that thing her aunt Debbie used to do as a child, where her face sort of shakes and her eyes widen and it looks like her head is going to pop from sheer delight.
Here’s a picture of one of her smiles—a middling smile, but still lovely:
And coming up next, maybe the best picture yet. We gave her a bath tonight, like we do every night, and I decided I’d shoot a few pictures this evening just because we haven’t taken any bath pictures in a while. She does seem to enjoy her baths, to a point, but they also startle her. In preparation for this week’s first-ever “infant swim,” Trine’s been dribbling water on her face during the bath for the past few nights. Kind of freaked her out the first time. She’s been getting used to it, but it still gets her attention. Tonight I was lucky enough to snap one of my pictures in the middle of her reaction, and I really do think it’s one of the best ever:
It may not be the cutest picture of her, and it’s certainly not the happiest, but I think it’s the picture that does her the most justice in that it’s crystal-sharp, perfectly focused, there’s no red-eye, and she actually looks like she does in real life. (There are some very nice pictures I took last night, as she was breaking her all-time sitting-up-and-holding-her-head-upright record, but they just don’t look like her.)
In fact, it’s so nice I’m going to make the full-size picture downloadable: click here for the full 745kb photo: Molli’s Best Picture.
Then there are pictures like this last one (drying off after tonight’s bath), which aren’t especially good pictures and don’t show her off to full advantage, but which nevertheless make me want to reach into the photo and pinch her:
(Of course, in that one it looks like she’s trying to reach out and pinch me back.)
Anyway, she’s growing, she’s happy, she’s healthy, and she’s the little love of our lives. I can’t imagine her being any more wonderful than she is.
Today marks her 10th week of “development age” (15th week of actual age, and 8th week of age since her due date). She seems to be right where she ought to be if you use the “development age,” I think: holding her head up virtually all the time when we carry her around, holding it up fairly well when sitting up (but of course unable to sit up on her own), but utterly unable to lift it all the way up when lying face down. In terms of playing, grabbing, smiling, laughing, following voices, reacting to expressions, and all that, she’s as alert, curious, and easily distracted as either of us. Look, a squirrel!
Well, it’s nice to hear that Molli has inherited something from her dear old Auntie, even if it is looking like her head is going to pop off. I am always looking for similarities between Molli and the girls in pictures but I never think to look for resemblances to myself. But, in truth her and I have more genetic similarities than she does with the girls.
She is so beautiful, and I wish I could see her and hold her. Sometimes it is painful to look at the pictures and realize she is growing out of phases that I will never see her in.
From everything you say about Molli, evidence really points to the probability that she will be a very social person. The fact that she paid so much attention to the biker boy, that she is happiest when you and Trine are entertaining her, etc. I’d line up the playdates now. As a baby, Hannah was happiest when facing inward on my lap so she didn’t have to look at anyone else. Of course, at seven, she would completely deny that but you know it’s true (especially as Uncle Overstimulation). I guess it’s no surprise that she’s so social considering her genetic pool but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Hope we’ll see you soon.
Deb