Millie's First Laugh

Saturday I was standing out in the cul-de-sac, as I often am in the early evenings, in an attempt to walk, bounce, and stroll Millie into the dreaded 7:00 hour.  Our neighbors Shelly and Kris were passing by, and they stopped for a minute to laugh at our misfortunes say hello to the baby. Then, the most amazing thing happened.  Millie started laughing. Not just laughing, but cracking up.  Shelly was making faces at her, and this baby was laughing her ass off.

If I live to be 105 years old, I'll never forget that feeling-- hearing the sound of my daughter's laugh for the first time is one of the coolest experiences I've had as a new mom. I guess it's moments like this that make up for the horrific morning diaper changes, the untold gallons of baby vomit, and the loathsome xylophone music.  I called to Sean, and he joined us in time to hear her--- adding to the perfection of the moment, and in Millie's opinion, to its' hilarity.

The four adults just stood there-in awe of the laughing baby.  Needless to say, we were all crying, and by "all of us" I mean, "just Kris," who wept like a sissy. Millie laughed so hard she peed herself. (Or, at least we think she did-- that may have just been a coincidence.)

Like so many things with Millie, once she learns how to do something, she then wants to do it all the time.  Saturday night Millie laughed the whole night, just to prove to us she could. She laughed at the TV, she laughed at the dog.  She laughed during breastfeeding, which made me feel self conscious about my boobs.  That night, as Sean read her bedtime books to her, Millie laughed at him as if to say, "that's hilarious Daddy, hilarious that you think I'm going to bed."