kani warai

kani warai, originally uploaded by mckibillo.

I'd like to think that lil' Nico is smiling 'cause something's tickling her fancy... but it's probably just gas. At least that's the accepted wisdom. Actually, there's a term for it here, kani warai, or crab smile. It comes from the fact that the underside of a crab's carpace resembles a smile. The term is meant to imply the automatic, reflexive kinds of smiles babies have at this stage.

But even if it's just an autonomic impulse, it's still damn cute. Can't wait for the "real" thing.