Kisses

Charlie has started giving "kisses." Last night he wasn't quite full after his bedtime bottle, so he was restless in his crib. Sylvia asked me to give him another couple of ounces, which I gladly did while rocking him gently by the dim yellow light of his Pooh night light. I could see his big round eyes staring across the room while he drank, and sure enough he finished the bottle before he had drifted off to sleep.

I held him to my shoulder and began gently to pat his back, not so much because he needed to burp but because sometimes the rhythmic motion soothes him and he drops off to sleep. This time however, he leaned away from me, eyes wide, to observe my face in the dim light. After a few moments of staring at me, he opened his mouth and slowly moved his face in next to mine, gently touching his cheek against mine. We held it a few seconds, then he pulled his head back to look at me again. Back he came, this time touching his lips to my cheek. The third time he rested his cheek against mine for a few seconds, then let his head fall to my shoulder, his eyes closed.

I laid him in his crib and quietly walked out of the room, my cheek still warm from his touch, my heart even warmer from experiencing this first explicit expression of Charlie's love.