Grandma Duties

Besides all the "fun" duties (folding laundry, loading the dishwasher, etc.) that a live-down-the-hill grandma gets to do to help the household with a new baby, there is also the joyful task of getting to hold the baby! My mother doesn't hesitate to lend a hand when I say, "Mom, Tobin is a little fussy. Could you sit in the rocking chair and hold him please?" :)

During this particular evening (on Wednesday, Feb. 13), my mother noticed that Tobin was maintaining more eye contact with her...and he even smiled at her 3 distinct times. That was the day that, in the morning, Jeff saw Tobin smile for the first time...and then Josiah, as he rode by Tobin on his tricycle, saw him smile, too. For some days, I had been noticing that Tobin's mouth curled up in a smile at random times; but I knew it was the unconscious, unintentional kind of smile. However, I was very glad to hear that family members were seeing on-purpose smiles...although I still haven't seen one yet and am eager to do so. Saying in a sweet, sing-song voice as I hold him, "Tobin, my boy, smile for your mama," doesn't seem to be doing the trick! :)

~ on the day I took these pictures, I was upstairs putting away laundry and could hear my mother singing softly to Tobin as they rocked...she covered a lot of ground--from "The Alphabet Song" to "Jesus Loves Me" :)
~ my favorite part of this picture is the way Tobin is holding on to his grandma's fingers
~ safe in Grandma's arms