Averages are just that. Average. So when we Google "when do babies first smile?" and they said four to six weeks, we started watching the three and a half week old baby very closely. She has been getting more and more engaged with her surroundings, so that was a hopeful sign. The kids came over early for D&D night, while I was still cleaning the kitchen, but I took a quick break to greet the grandbaby. She seemed to recognize me even better. She crossed her eyes ever so slightly as she practiced focusing her sight on my glasses.
And then the magic happened. It knocked me back like a thunderbolt.
The twenty-six day old baby smiled at me. It was a real smile, complete with a dimple in her cheek. It was absolutely disarming. Her parents squeezed in next to me, and we did everything we could to persuade her to smile again. She did it a few times, but we put a camera in front of her face and she was suddenly unamused.
The beautiful smile was just what I needed on a long day. Any time I have something important to do in the morning, I always wake up dozens of times during the night. Despite this happening again, I made it to my annual physical on time. I was there more than an hour, covering enormous amounts of ground, and giving the upper limit of blood samples that I'm comfortable losing. I should have napped after that, but instead had a busy around-the-house day. Just as I was starting to flag, along came this baby with a thousand-watt smile. Perked me right up.
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