All smiles

Atticus is a big smiler. When he is well-rested and well-fed, he will smile at anyone. His big toothless grin masks the acrid poopy smell lingering from the trashcan, the achy-ness we feel in our necks and shoulders from carrying him... All of the unpleasantness that comes with baby-raising dissolves when he smiles, kicks his legs in the air, and throws a mudra with his fingers. Tonight, he slept on Robby with his middle finger sticking out. I don't think that's a mudra.

He also goes through a long period of stretching after being released from the swaddle or the car seat. He arches his back, then extends his legs and arms at the same time.

Why are babies so cute?
I think that the strange proportion of their body parts attribute to their cuteness. First, his arms fully extended barely reach over his head. Second, the length his head from top to chin is about a third of the length from his neck to his toes. Therefore, he's got a BIG head. Good for television, I've heard. Big-headed people always look better on TV. Lastly, he's chubby. How can we not gush at pudgy toes and fingers?

My mom always comments on how his face seems to grow horizontally. When he was smaller, his face would get wider and wider. When he sleeps, his face is all lines - his eyes, his mouth, his little pig nose.

Oh, the review for the new movie Babies is out. I love the movie critic A.O. Scott. I always prefer reading his reviews over watching most movies themselves. The worse the movie, the more acerbic his review, which makes for entertaining reading. He gives it an okay review. What isn't there to love about babies? There doesn't even need to be any subtitles for the four families from different countries. Here's the trailer if you won't end up seeing the movie. It's very CUTE.