Friday, June 26, 2009

Laughter is Contagious


Beatrice, for the past week or so you've been waking up around 9:30pm for no apparent reason. I go in there, take you out of your crib and rock you for a couple of minutes, then you settle right back to sleep.

It happened again last night. I went in there to find you in your crib, on your knees, arms outstretched. I picked you up, your arms linking around my neck, your legs around my waist. We sat on our glider and within minutes you started to fall back asleep, the pitterpatter of your heartbeat slowing to match mine. As our breathing began to fall in sync, I felt your soft little hands reaching for something behind my head. Your hands moved slowly and methodically, finding the edge of the glider cushion behind my head. Then, all of a sudden your pace quickened and you gripped the sides of the cushion, pulling it tight to squish the sides of my head.

You tried to suppress a giggle, without much success. Pretty soon you were engulfed in a full body laughting fit. I tried with everything I had to fight the urge to join you. Within moments, we were both in hysterics. We'd start to slow down to catch our breath, then you'd reach behind me again to squish my head. Cue laughter. We repeated this pattern about 10 times. And of course, the more I laughed, the more you laughed, and the more you laughed, the more I laughed.

I haven't laughed like that in a long time. You laugh like that at least once a day. I could learn a thing or two from you.

2 comments:

  1. I loved this post...reminds me of time I spend with Henry too...about once a week we have a belly laugh fight back and forth where I am crying I am laughing so hard..usually around bedtime...and, like you, I don't mind prolonging sleep at all and could listen to my little gremlin laugh like that all day long :)

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  2. I love this post too. So adorable. I admire that girls sense of humor! - KM

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