kisses.

Maybe you've noticed, but in the majority of my photographs of Ethan, one of our cats, Amelia, can usually be found in the background somewhere, camouflaged against all of the baby toys. Amelia is quite protective over Ethan, never really straying too far from wherever he is. The adoration is most definitely mutual. Ethan's face lights up whenever Amelia enters the room and his favorite pasttime is using her back as a table to stack his stacking cups on. More than anything, Amelia is patient.

A couple of weeks ago, I taught Ethan how to "give kisses." Basically, whenever anyone says the word kisses he'll open his mouth and slobber all over that person. Lately, he's discovered that he loves giving kisses so much that he doesn't even wait for someone to say the word before showering them in baby slobber. I can't speak on behalf of other unassuming babies at the baby gym who find themselves on the receiving end of Ethan's kisses, but I find it unbearably cute.

Nothing, however, could prepare me for the cute when Ethan decided he wanted to give Amelia kisses.