Dawn Patrol: July 9, 2009

Abby's laugh returned in force yesterday. It turns out that she finds kisses to be particularly funny. The donkey laugh remains elusive, and it occurs to me that this might be a good thing. While we certainly found it charming, it might not be in the best interests of our daughter to go through life laughing like a donkey. If you think that I'm just trying to make the best of the fact that we haven't heard it again, you are correct.

Yesterday was a great day. In addition to all the laughing, Abby slept well and so was in good spirits throughout the day.

She is content to play by herself on her playmat for extended periods. Her maximum time without help is about thirty minutes, and the common reasons that I have to intervene is because she has gotten herself tangled up in the supports for the hanging toys or because a desired toy is out of reach. She complains loudly, I diagnose the problem and remedy it, and she goes back to playing. She can play by herself like this for an hour or more with the only the occasional interruption. These periods are usually brought to an end by hunger, a diaper-related need or my own desire to play with her.

A slice of life: One of the cuter facts about Abby is that she loves to have her nose cleaned with the suction bulb. It occurs to me that this might be a common thing for babies, but at any rate, she breaks into a big smile whenever we clean her nose.