Happy baby

My daughter has been very happy (and a bit hyper) lately. No surprises there, for her father is home this week. I also wonder, however, if her grandfather hasn't been secretly giving her a dose of his potent, turkish-style coffee in her sippy cup.

Actually, she's been just a bit more "awake" than usual for the past week. We've only spent the last two days with her grandparents. She's so excited to be here, she lets out these high-pitched sqeaks while rocking her upper body in fast and seemingly uncontrolled motions. I guess she's just a happy baby. And well she should be, for her grandfather spends most of his time carrying her around and playing with her. When he's in the house, she wants nothing to do with her mom, dad, and grandma. But that's ok, because we know she loves us just the same.

Here's a precious parenting moment: the other day, I picked my daughter up at my neighbor's house just before lunch; when she saw me, she said "Maamm!", and proceeded to pump her little fists in the air with so much vehemence she nearly struck herself in the face. It gives a mother such a wonderful feeling, when her baby is so excited to see her she nearly punches herself.

When my daughter gets really excited, she does the strangest things. One of the funniest is her head-banging move. I pick her up, and sometimes this will make her so happy she will rock her head forward and back in a very fast, brisk motion, just like some long-haired 80's rocker. I always have to move my head a bit to the side to make sure our faces don't get into what would be a very painful collision. Another thing she does is her "Ray Charles"; that's when she'll rock her body from side to side while looking up at the ceiling. I ought to put some sunglasses on her face when she does this and take a video.

She also loves to be applauded. Whenever she does something new, we let out a cheer and clap our hands. This makes her so happy, she bounces on her tush while clapping her hands, as though to say: "Look! Aren't I fabulous?" Of course, sometimes she gets carried away, and as one hand misses the other, she comes dangerously close to slapping herself in the face (just like with the fist-pumping thing).

My daughter is a happy baby. And with so many people around her who love her, why wouldn't she be?