The giggles

Parenthood is always throwing something new at me. First it was exhaustion, then a complete lack of confidence in my parenting ability, then I got over myself and started to relax, and then Olivia got a little less "demanding" and a lot more fun.

Now that she's a speed crawler and furniture cruiser, we've entered a whole new realm of parenting challenges. Luckily, she's getting much better on the balance thing, and we're getting much better on the strategic placement of toys to distract from dangerous areas (so as to avoid picking her up and redirecting her every two minutes). So now, it's quite typical that I can spend a full half-hour sitting in the middle of the floor while my baby crawls circles around me and plays with her array of books and toys without hurting herself or the DVD player.

This is what I was doing this morning when I noticed the giggle. It's something she's been doing for the past several days, but now I notice that it's a completely spontaneous thing. Any little thing can make her giggle. This morning, it was one of her blocks that made her giggle. Then the rattle, then the doll, then the toys on the exersaucer. At lunch with Daddy, it was the buttons on his shirt that made her giggle. I guess she's just in a giggling mood lately.

Another one of Olivia's new favorite things to do is spitting. I'm talking about a cross between blowing raspberries and what cartoonists always characterize as "Thbbbtt" while sticking your tongue out. She does this constantly...when she's not giggling. It's another one of her "happy sounds", and she thinks it's hilarious. Come to think of it, it may be the cause of some of her giggling. It's very cute.

So when I slowed down this morning long enough to appreciate the giggles (and the spitting), I realized that I LOVE being Mommy to a seven-month-old. She's just a little ball of energy, full of joy and enjoying life and new discoveries to the fullest. I wish I could be that carefree.