kisses

We are a very affectionate family, we like to cuddle and give kisses. Our butterfly is an expert at giving kisses now. When she was less than a year old, she made kisses part of her bedtime routine. When I announced it was bedtime, she would go to each person in the room to give them a hug and a kiss (they started out very slobbery, something that fortunately improved over time) before I could take her to her room. The last few months, she has become more interested in movies, being able to sit and watch a whole plot. She is especially in tune with the musical cues, and will identify "scary, oh no, scary" or "bad guy!" or exclaiming "yea!" at climatic hero moments. But the best one is the "aww" at the lovey, kissy moments. We were watching a movie with Grammy and saw the climatic moment kiss moment. She turned to Grammy and cupped both hands onto Grammy's cheeks and solidly planted her lips against Grammy's. But this was no ordinary kiss. She held their faces together, pausing for a moment and then tilting her head the other way, pausing, tilting the opposite way, mimicking a very passionate kiss. Grammy struggled to keep a straight face while I fell off the couch laughing. We've since curbed her attempts at passionate kissing, trying to encourage an appropriate kiss for family only. But especially funny is when she sees me kiss her smokin hot daddy. She will run over to us and push her way in between and claim his kisses for herself. It's hilarious and I will even tease her by kissing her daddy until she maneuvers her way in and insists on the three of us taking turns to kiss.

On the other hand, Ladybug has not been as eager for lip action. She lets us kiss her but typically makes no response other than her shy and endearing smile. Several weeks ago, she began to mimic the kissing sound back, but would only to it occasionally and only for her daddy. She would return a quick kiss and then press her face to his shoulder with that shy smile. Lately she has become better at giving me a kiss but it's still pretty rare. Her kiss is soft and sweet (not near as soggy as baby kisses can be). She prefers a "finger kiss", where we each kiss our finger and then press them to each other, making a "sss" sound. She loves this and rewards me with a huge, happy smile. But just last week, she has also mastered blowing kisses, complete with the kiss sound and the wave of the hand. But the best part is her smile that comes with it. This girl has the most amazing smile, her whole face lights up and her beautiful eyes are stunning. This little girl can make me melt!