That Smile!

Parenting a newborn is perhaps one of the more thankless jobs in the world.  We've put in our hours (many of them at zero dark thirty) feeding and changing and feeding and playing and feeding. But until recently, we had received no sign that our boy appreciated all our efforts, no inkling that he even liked us.  Of course, he would stop crying when we picked him up or appeared with a full bottle, but his expression was always rather apathetic.  We could make funny faces and silly sounds all day long with no hint of a smile from him.  Until a few weeks ago.
We were eating dinner (Caleb in his rocker next to the table), when he decided that we had put in our penance and that we were worthy of his smile.  The big, gummy smile lit up his face and the whole room with it.  You would have thought that our baby had just jumped up and danced a jig by how ecstatic we were!  Tony and I both saw it and were in agreement that it in fact was a REAL smile directed towards us.  There was no time for picture taking, as the smile only lasted seconds and then disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.
Over the next few weeks, the smiles (and coos) increased so that now they are a regular occurrence.  We've finally received compensation for all our labors!  It was totally worth the wait.
Here are a few pictures that we managed to capture (not the best quality pictures, but we have to act fast when the smiles appear!):

Dream Smile

Being silly with RaRa

Eating time always brings a smile to his face!

"They might not need me; but they might.  I'll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity." - Emily Dickinson