Whatever you do, don't laugh

It's so hard not to laugh sometimes. If you've spent any time with a child you know that in a kid's eyes, laughter is the ultimate goal of any behavior or situation. If you laugh, it's over.....and over and over......

IE: New words for Piper these days include "I'm done", "side" (outside), and "down". Very useful words, good ones to know. One of her other new words (here comes the whatever-you-do-don't-laugh part) is "cock". This means sock. And, in case you're unaware, let me tell you how new words with 19 month olds work. The new word is repeated. And repeated. And....repeated....LOUDLY. And if you LAUGH?..... that word will never go away. I know this from experience - thankfully not from the afore mentioned jewel, but from a slightly crude, but cuter, word she got from me: "Toot". As in Fart. I suppose that's what I call them these days. And it got QUITE a laugh out of me when she first said it while squatting in the tub making bubbles. And an even bigger laugh from daddy when he tooted and she called him on it.

It's really so sweet when you think about it. Here's a kid trying the world on for size (for the first time, with most things in her daily life). All she knows is that when mommy or daddy laughs it's a good thing and should be repeated.

Once again, we could learn a thing or two from the innocence of babes. Let's laugh more and make each other laugh more. Who couldn't use a good belly laugh once a day. You know the kind where your head bounces up and down if it's lying on your best friend's belly? Who cares if a toot slips out now and then. That's the best thing about a kid. All they know is that laughter is good. It feels good, it makes their worlds shinier. So what the heck, next time she puts on her choos and cocks, I'm gonna laugh. :)

Little Buddies

This is Piper's little friend Austin who just moved to Wyoming.

We'll miss him!

Clancy and Kristen came to visit from Puerto Rico. We had a great time. Piper and Clancy taught each other a few tricks and entertained everyone.

As my good friend Sarah said, so eloquently, "why do all good times end in jail?"

Then we got a visit from our good friends the Idleman's. Here's Piper and little Erin reading together.

The little girl who cried "Wolf!"

Today, as Piper was on the floor screaming as if her finger fell off (it hadn't), I was reminded of a moment in my childhood. I was (I think) in first grade. I had decided that I needed a day off of school. So I told my mom that I didn't feel well. She looked at me for a long moment and then said "Ok, I'll call school." A little later that day, after much TV and babying by Mom, she sat down next to me and asked "Have you ever heard the story of the boy cried wolf?" I settled in next to her and prepared to hear an exciting tale.

When she finished the "tale" I had that rock in my gut that you get when you realize you disappointed your mother. She gave me her trust and never mentioned that she thought I may be full of it. She knew that earning my respect required her respect of me. She was smart, my mom. Still is, actually.

So thanks for the lesson Mom. I learned a lesson then, and I'm learning a different one now.