LOL

There were a couple of moments tonight that I laughed out loud.  It felt so good--especially after abandoning all hope of happily utilizing my throat muscles again.

The first moment was a complete surprise.  Funny Jdog loves to sit in these little box chair we have.  They are the perfect height for a budding toddler: he can sit comfortably with his feet kicking happily toward the sky.  There are a few of them positioned in his special spots around the house.  Well, after he enjoyed a good sit in one of his little thrones, he stood to attempt a short walk to the opposing wall.  His attempt failed, and somehow he became so perfectly off balance that he flipped himself (gently) around and ended up lying flat on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling with a "what the heck went wrong" expression written on his face.

One of the things I love about J's personality is that he can take a tumble.  I'm sure that being a second child has nurtured this trait, and I love it.  So, instead of scooping him off the floor into a cradle, I laughed out loud.  Yes, I was laughing at my baby, who is learning to walk.  No this was not the first time he has been staring up at the ceiling after a tumble, wearing that confused expression.  And, yes, he was alright.  In fact, I think my unanticipated burst of laughter helped him roll his big belly over, shoot me a happy grin, and continue on with his chair adventures.  It was a good laugh.

The second moment came after Atrain negotiated a slightly later bed time.  I said, "two minutes," he said, "five," I said, "No, three," he said, "four," I stood firmly with, "No, three," and he consented.  Then, he started to ask me questions about the husband being gone.  This kid is a very perceptive little boy, and he is recognizing the pieces of the puzzle that is our family's life right now.  "Why is dada in Texas? Why did he have to go alone?  Can I go with him next time and you stay here with J? What hospital will dada find a job?"--just a sampling of the questions he has been asking all day.

But, tonight he came up with some really important ones--and by their nature, I could tell that he had truly been pondering our little conversations throughout the day.  He asked intently, with his arms outstretched to illustrate the grandeur of his question, "When we move to where dada is finding a place, can I take all of my toys in one big big big box?"  "Sure," I responded, "but we might need more than just one big box, we will need a lot of them.  "Ok," he said, "lots of boxes from Ikea!"  I laughed and said, "Ok."

And then Atrain continued, "And we have to write my name on all of my toys--all of them."  Apparently I didn't take him as seriously as I should have when I said, "Ok," without making eye contact, because at that very moment I felt his little hands squish the sides of my face and pull my eyes up to meet his, "Listen!" he demanded, "Go get a marker so we can write my name on my toys!"  I laughed out loud as I said, "Ok I will go right now!"  And that's just what I did--at least until his elongated three minutes until bedtime had expired.  We have a lot of work ahead of us.

I love to laugh with my kids.  And, sometimes at them too.  More often than not, when they see me laughing, they join right in.