For weeks now, Charlotte has seemed on the verge of smiling and yet had never brought herself to really grin for us, no matter how big of fools we made of ourselves (begging in high-pitched baby talk, making funny noises, wiggling and dancing like we have ants in our pants, etc). It never quite got past a look of pleased contentment.
Finally, at 7 weeks she rewarded our humble pleading. Naturally, I didn't get it on film since my battery died after taking these. But below are the pictures that were snapped just minutes before, leading up to the monumental display of happiness! (You can see how playful she was, swiping her arm at the toys dangling from her playmat. It's so fun to see her become more connected to the people and things around her!)
And of course AFTER the big moment
it dawned on me I had a fully-charged camera battery upstairs.
Once I got that, I tried to get another smile from her.
This was her reply:
"What do you people want from me?
After all that, I'm exhausted!
Please leave me alone!"