Where's Your Smile?

It's contagious. Any smile of a baby causes a physical reaction of the face of another and it breaks into a grin.

Alaska has been smiling for awhile now but it's gotten to the point where I am pretty sure she recognizes the sentence, "Where's your smiles?" It's a theory that we've tested. Sure, she'll smile if we say something different in the same tone. But only us. Anyone else has to say, "Where's your smiles?" And they don't have to have the inflection perfect, either. It's rewarding for those who have their premonitions about babies and are a little unsure about what to do.

I always sweet-talk her when setting her in the carseat, exclaiming how exciting it is to go on a trip and what a good baby she is and then as the straps snap closed over her shoulders she realizes what's going on and she starts to get worried. It is the funniest thing to watch her emotions play tug-o-war on her face between her mouth and eyes. Still sweet-talking her I ask her where her smiles are and her mouth pulls into a smile, instantly wanting to frown and open into a wail. Her eyes give me a bizarre look, as if she can't control the bottom half of her face and she pulls from frown to smile as long as I am asking her where her smile is. Eventually I have to stop to take her out the car and the fussing begins but those few moments beforehand crack me up every time.

She is the finickiest little thing about being in that carseat and it's torture for all in the car when she's buckled in. On our trip back from Rexburg this weekend I sat in the back with her until she exhausted the hope of me getting her out and fell asleep. At first it was fun to have someone in the back with her. She was all smiles and giggles until she realized that I was making her smile and giggle on purpose and then she began her own sweet-talking, trying to get me to let her out. Her little mouth opened in an 'o' and her eyes all serious as she cooed to me. When that didn't work the big guns came out and she became more vocal. It was a loud half hour before she settled in for the long haul.