Joyful grandchild


It's fascinating to watch various aspects of development of an infant. We easily notice growth in physical size or growing hair or other external aspects; but I especially love to see them start to focus better in their vision, notice and follow movement, acknowledge noise, and then soon start to react to those stimuli around them.
Sometimes we might rush to attribute emotions to an infant. The baby seems to be smiling - at least the corners of her mouth are turned up - so clearly she is thinking, "I'm really happy right now! My tummy is full, my diaper is clean, life is good." Or maybe, "What a funny Grandpa I have! It's so easy to manipulate him into making funny faces and silly noises when he looks at me!"
I'm never sure how far to push my personal interpretation of the emotions of babies I'm holding. Or, for that matter, of adults I interact with! But I like to believe there is something precious starting to happen there. And regardless, I #GiveThanks for the joy of playing with a darling grandchild. It makes me feel younger again too! Thanks Matthew and Jenna.

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