The grins are in

The books and the bad, bad internet said the babies should've been smiling a a few weeks ago, but they weren't. It wasn't clear if they didn't like us, were already doing the teenage sulk or thought they were supposed to be posing for some grim daguerreotype portrait, but their range of emotion was limited: sleeping was as close as we got to "happy," when chomping on a nipple they showed a sort of relief, and on the other end of the spectrum was hellacious screaming associated with stinging, bilious spit-up. Being a baby has looked like a huge ordeal.

But all that is suddenly over now. They're smiling like champs. Odessa is still a little coy with the grins, doesn't want to give 'em out too easy. Georgia cheeses from ear to ear whether it was funny or not, and the other day she said "ha!" Odessa is saying more serious things like "ah, hmm, er," and little throat vibrations.

Here are photos from the smiling, and from the heat wave that happened at the same time... (Steel yourself, Bethany!)

And bébés, listen: just don't do anything new and exciting this week while you're away, okay? Don't go any further than "ha!" -- save your first multisyllabic laughs and muttering for when you get home...

xo

Mommy