The Power of Anticipation

I appreciate Clark's Dad not firing me from my 'co-blogger' position just yet. Like many things in life, as I sit here pondering whether I had 'time' to write things down it dawned on me that suddenly I have a 6 month old baby! And that baby is growing up SUPER fast.  If I don't take a moment every now and then to write some stuff down, I might live one of the greatest lines from Ferris Bueller:

So.. it is with appreciation and action to my thoughts that I share this little ditty:

Two days ago, I witnessed Alejandra discover the concept of 'anticipation'. Now, I realize she has NO idea what the word 'anticipation' means, nor how to spell it, nor how to use it in a sentence. However, she does know how to experience it. What an amazing concept this is.... let me explain...

I've been showering my baby with hugs and kisses ad nauseam since she was born... thrown in there are some tickles which I start about 12-14 inches from her and build up with a "tickle, tickle... tickle" chant until I make 'tickle contact'. I was starting to think my baby wasn't very ticklish and she would throw me a smile once in a while when I wiggled my fingers under her arms.

Then the moment happened....

During one of my "tickle, tickle, tickle..." chants, she started to SMILE! As I got closer the smile got bigger and bigger and then a big belly laugh! It was amazing! (yes, I realize I am describing the moment as 'amazing'; get used to it. One of the cool things about being a parent is realizing that our capacity as humans to become jaded, smart-assy, unhappy, grumpy adults is in itself pretty 'amazing' considering the wonderful nature of babies).

I immediately called out to my wife to come witness this momentous occasion, and tested my experiment over and over again. As of now, it still has not gotten old, and Alejandra still smiles when I start wiggling my fingers chant "tickle, tickle, tickle...."

I'm not sure if it will ever get old, or if I'll stop marveling at the amazing concept that is 'anticipation'. I don't think so... since as a benchmark, I raised my hands and pointed them towards my wife and started chanting "tickle, tickle, tickle...." to much the same response.

- Alejandra's Dad