Happy Girl

"Happiness is anyone or anything at all
That's loved by you" - Happiness, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

I was noticing this week, and remarked to Daddy last night, that Maeve is becoming a happier kid as she gets older.  As a baby, she was a super-serious observer, and even when she learned to smile, they were few and far between.  You had to work really hard to get her to crack a smile, and most of the time she just wouldn't.  Strangers at the grocery store would be upset when she wouldn't smile for them (which was annoying, my baby does not exist to entertain you).

But these days she is so playful, so energetic, so game for anything that she smiles all the time.  Maybe not for strangers at the grocery store, but she did smile at the Japanese businessman who played Peekaboo with her at Heathrow, which would have been unheard of six months before. 

She is still an observer, and pretty shy with new people, but if she likes them, she's bringing them books to read her, showing off her toys, and playing Peekaboo within ten minutes, easy.  And it's such a joy to make her giggle, it's so easy, it means I can diffuse tantrums and tears with a silly dance move or a bouncy song.

Maeve is really a little ball of sunshine these days - which shines through even when she's teething or grumpy for whatever reason.  And the one thing that makes her beam the most- guaranteed- is her Daddy.

Typical Maeve face, a year ago

Typical Maeve face yesterday