Tag Archives: Smile

Spotting My Daughter’s Smile in a Crowd Makes me Happy

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I love that my daughter’s school uses Class Dojo to share events and classroom memories. But last week’s memory was extra special. For the first time in two years, I spotted Quinn’s smiling face immediately. She didn’t blend in with the sea of children wearing masks where I had to zoom in to find her. I immediately spotted her in the middle of the third grade crowd holding with a peace sign in the air with a huge smile on her face.

Most recently, her school made the difficult decision to make masks optional. Since Quinn is vaccinated, my husband and I allowed her to determine if she wanted to keep wearing a mask. She opted not to but said she wants to carry one with her just in case.

Though I blurred out the faces of the other children for privacy purposes, they all looked so happy, and it practically brought tears of joy to my eyes to see all of their smiles. Is the tide officially turning? I hope so! These children are so resilient and been through so much. They deserve to have some fun without constantly worrying about all that came with the pandemic. We all do! Here’s to seeing everyone smile big in the weeks and months to come! 😁

All the best,

Tanya

Put on a Happy Face: My Little Girl Makes Me Smile

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With concentration, she held the chalk between her fingers first making a large circle, rubbing away part of it to start over again for precision then continuing by making smaller circles inside of the larger one. I then asked, “What are you drawing sweetheart?” “A happy face!” my daughter responded as she finished up her drawing with a smile and even eyebrows, “And it has to be perfect,” she continued. When I asked why she chose to draw a happy face, she told me, “Because I’m happy, and I love making happy faces.”

To hear my daughter say she’s happy and to see the smile on her face or the happy faces she draws fills me with so much happiness. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t put a smile on my face. Even when she may sulk for a bit, have to receive a warning if she’s misbehaving, or be upset because she believes it’s unfair that she can’t get a toy from the store or have a piece of candy, before long, she’s back to her jovial self bringing light into my life and all those with whom she comes in contact.

She always manages to bring a smile to my face, and I look forward to many more happy, smiling faces in the future courtesy of my little girl.

All the best,

Tanya

Something Special About My Toddler’s Smile

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Quinn's Infectious Smile

Quinn’s Infectious Smile

It’s been a little over two years ago since my daughter, who was just two months at the time, inspired me to post a blog entry philosophizing over why humans are not natural born smilers and typically do not begin displaying smiles until about two to three months old. Within these past two years of watching Quinn grow into a toddler, her smiles and giggles have been infectious and often brighten up my day when it’s been hectic or I simply have a lot on my mind. I truly believe that at the tender age of two she understands the power behind a smile and is compassionate and empathetic enough to comfort others when they are frowning to put a smile on their faces.

When she’s sneakily trying to get an extra snack or sticker, she’ll display a big grin in hopes that she can make a fast getaway. There are even times when she is in “no-gotiator” mode (saying no to everything and every request), yet she will still have a smile on her face that is hard to resist. If she sees a disgruntled look on my face, she’ll come up to me with a big smile and wrap her arm around me saying, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

There truly is something special about her smile. When I think about how much she is learning and how intense it must be for her as a toddler processing so many new experiences and tasks, it warms my heart that she smiles far more than she frowns. As an adult going through my own experiences and tackling multiple tasks, I hope I can continue to take a page from my daughter’s book and smile far more than I frown because there truly is so much for me to be grateful and happy about: my daughter clearly being one of those reasons!

All the best,

Tanya