a new expression and lessons learned

Kate's latest facial expression is ... cute. ? Most people smile at me when she does it, asking me with their eyes why I would teach my child to do such a thing. They say, "It's cute." "Funny." "Where did she learn that?" I find it amusing sometimes, but mostly I wonder where the smiles went. She used to look at people and smile, or scrunch up her nose, or even, sigh, stick her tongue out at them (thank you Daddy). Now she scowls.

And what a scowl she has. It's a frown and a glare and a 'how dare you' all rolled into one. And I'm not sure where she learned it. I hope it's not something I subconsciously do.

Last night we went to Stubby's fini-flight. She scowled at everyone. Stubby, Sydney, Stubby's mom, Tim. Even me. Kris thought it was cute. Everyone smiled back at her, trying to see if she would smile, or just glare. Mostly they were rewarded with more scowls, but then she began smiling. Maybe she was hungry. She seemed to smile more after she had pizza and cake with blue icing. I didn't get a photo of my little Smurfette, unfortunately; she had smurf-blue streaks on her cheeks and hands. That was cute.

This morning I learned a mommy tip. Why do I learn these things the hard way? Anyway, my lesson: don't give a 1-year-old shredded wheat. Especially if that shredded wheat has come out of your cereal bowl and is thus drenched in milk. This is what you end up with:

Kix in the hair, shredded wheat on the face, arms, ears and chair.