The other day, my baby and I were sharing one of those moments that just melts a mama's heart. We were laying in bed side by side, staring into each other's eyes and chit-chatting away, just relishing each other's company.
Then all of a sudden she reached up and honked my nose, and laughed uproariously. It was awesome, especially since she's generally a pretty serious baby. I sometimes have to perform hours of my best material just to get her to crack a smile, let alone laugh. I once pulled a muscle in my neck trying to make her giggle. So it was pretty hilarious to me that in the end all it took to send her into hysterics was letting her squeeze my nose.
I thought about all the other things that truly entertain my little one, and I realized that none of them are the toys and assorted baby gadgets currently turning my apartment into an episode of "Hoarders."
These are the things she loves:
Long before baby ever came along, my husband and I installed ceiling fans in every room of the house. That turned out to be a spectacular decision, because our baby girl loves them. From the day we brought her home, she's kept a close watch on them.
I'll confess that I definitely worried about this at first. Typing "baby stares at ceiling fan" into Google and having it suggest that I tack on "autism" didn't help things. Thankfully, I took my query to the moms of Instagram, who all reassured me that ceiling fans are big baby crowd pleasers in their homes as well. My girl coos at the one in our bedroom every morning, and often falls asleep babbling to it at night. In this house, the TV will never be the babysitter, but the ceiling fan...? That's a strong maybe.
Baby Em has been known to stare at her little hands with the same level of fascination as a person tripping on mushrooms. To her, they are wondrous and magical. Until she pulls them so close to her face to examine them that she pokes herself in the eye.
This one actually drives me a little nuts, because I'm afraid it'll rot her little baby brain. If there's a TV on, she's watching it. And if it's not actually in her line of sight, she'll flop her little body around until she can see the screen. Bizarrely, her two favorite channels to watch right now seem to be MSNBC (with Daddy Guy) and FOX News (with Great-Grandpa). At least she'll be well-rounded?
Baby girl loves to keep an eye on our street from our living room window. She enjoys looking out so much that I sometimes wonder if she joined a neighborhood watch without my permission. Instead of just being nosy, maybe she's actually on-duty?
While I do hope my daughter always enjoys such simple pleasures in life, this list made me realize that I could have also written a post called "A Bunch of Stuff I Wasted Money On." This is why you save your receipts.
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