Stranger Danger

K-T and I were able to visit Huzbend at work yesterday.

As I rolled her down the hallway towards his office, a myriad of people came out to take a peek.

One person, then two people, then three people were all leaning over the stroller commenting about how cute she was.

And then, BAM!

She screwed up her face in the most awful looking pout and began to cry. Tears and everything.

She had never done that before. I had to pick her up to get her to stop crying. If I tried to put her down (I needed to change her soggy diaper) she would start crying again. I would say it took about ten minutes for her to get back to normal.

I guess I should have seen this coming. Last month, when my Mom came to visit, K-T was a bit wary of her. She cried when my Mom picked her up. But, as the weekend went on, K-T allowed a snuggle or two.

Today, we went to the University of Washington to participate in an Infant Hearing study. The researchers play different sounds for the babies and then gauge their reactions to them. If the babies react to the correct sound, the researchers activate motion/sound toys as a reward. It was pretty cool.

Anyways, we were waiting in the lobby before our appointment. A lady came in to take us back to the lab. She stood about two feet away from the stroller, looked down at K-T and said, "Hi."

On came the pout, then the crying and then the tears.

Supposedly, "stranger anxiety" at this age is a good thing. It means that she is getting smarter and developing emotionally. It means that she realizes that there is only one Mommy and one Daddy.

It's official. We have become the most important people in her life. I think I'm okay with that. No, I KNOW that I'm okay with that. I've been waiting for this moment for six months! Now, I'm really THE MOMMY. Things have changed. I might not like that fact that she cries when approached by "The Others" but, I do like the fact that she knows who I am and how much I care for her.

So, this is a word of warning to any visitors. She's gonna cry. It's not because she doesn't like you. It's because you're not Mommy and you're not Daddy. I guess that's just the way it is. All kiddies go through it. Don't take it personally. It'll pass.