Smile!

Baby Non is getting better and better at sleeping during the night, which makes me a happy nanny since my job is to watch him during the night, 6 days a week. Tonight he was especially precious. After sleeping nearly 6 hours between his first and second night feed (yay baby!!), I gave him a generous helping of milk and burped him afterward, as he was fussing. He let out two HUGE belches that could have been mistaken for a grown man's. After his tummy was feeling more at ease, he decided this would be a great time to have a conversation. So, he proceeded to stare into my eyes and coo as I responded in turn. I love these moments when we get to "chat" back and forth. He is so responsive for a little guy (now two months old). The best moment of this evening, though, is when he was beginning to fall asleep and out of nowhere he gave me a huge grin! I had seen a few gassy winges and some half-efforts at a smile, but nothing like this. He smiled at me; there was no doubt about it! Granted, he was also falling asleep, so maybe he was smiling at the though of a nice night's rest, but either way I got to witness a huge grin for a brief moment. It made my night.

This little boy has sure enraptured my heart. I think it will be very difficult to say goodbye in seven short weeks. And the rest of the kids... it has been SO NICE to be able to spend time with them again. I hope it is meaningful to them that I came back and didn't just abandon them like so many people in their lives. I realize I am only here for a short time (five months), but I'm praying that I can leave a positive impact on them during this time. I really do hope that I will come back here in the future, if not to live and work then at least to visit. Chiang Rai has certainly stolen my heart.