“She smiled at ME!”

Dear Cookie-  every day we leave the house, you light up the lives of everyone you meet.  You smile at every person you see and make eye contact for as long as they will look at you.  You charm everyone.  When you smile, the person feels as if the smile was made just for them, that they did something special to deserve it, and it brightens their day.  This is so nice, but as your mother I also know that you give the same smile to all equally!  You smile at “undesirable” people that we encounter on our walks.  Homeless people and the mentally ill, they smile at you with toothless grins and you beam right back at them as if they were your best friend.  People love you. We all do! You are so special that everyone notices you and has to stop to comment and talk to you, even if they have their own baby. You are not afraid of anyone or intimidated or unsure.  All ages, all races, you adore them and want to jump right in and get to know them. DJ and Little Mama in Butternut park with the 5 sisters.  They picked you up and made you a crown out of grass and weeds and you pulled on the beads in their hair! The 8 year old boy and the owner at the bubble tea place in Little Vietnam.  She plays peek-a-boo with you and you laugh and giggle.  The elderly man who made bird calls with his hands, unfortunately you were way past your nap and crying already. On Devon Ave, the Indian ladies loved you and the men stopped and tickled your toes.  People whisper, “Look at that baby!”  and “How cute!” and “She smiled at me!!”  This happens dozens of times a day, nearly every person we pass. It makes me think you are going to be famous someday.  Not celebrity-famous, but famous for something, KNOWN for something, because you are so magnetic, people are drawn to you like a beacon.  We know you are special, and the world sees it too. I have never in my life witnessed a baby so adored by strangers as you are.  You are taking the world by storm, and they embrace you! We are so excited to watch you grow and meet the person you are becoming.  I try to picture you at 2 years old, 5 years old, 8 and ten.  Sometimes I see glimmers of the Future You on your face and it fills me with joy to think about who you will be. Now you are merely a baby, an infant, and while some babies sit around like sacks of potatoes, you are already chock full of life and personality, I often say, “Who is this KID?  I ordered a BABY, and I got a KID!”  We are so proud of you and thrilled to have you.  No parents have smiled as much as we have when we see you and think about you.  Every day is JOY.  We should have named you Lucy Joy!!  Love, Mama.