Courtesy Laughs

I've always known that I'm not the funniest person in the world, and I'm okay with that. I have a very dry and quirky sense of humor that only others with an extremely dry and quirky sense of humor get, and then only sometimes.

Luke, my two year old, has been laughing at every silly little thing since he was four months old. He has that deep belly laugh that bubbles up from his toes. Sometimes, he'll even fake laugh just to make himself laugh. He loves silly fun. Eli, on the other hand, laughs only when something is truly too funny not to laugh at.

I had a boyfriend in college who refused to give courtesy laughs. You know, the kind where you laugh when someone makes a joke just so they don't feel bad that what they said really wasn't that funny? I give out courtesy laughs like candy because I truly know how to appreciate them. I make bad and unfunny jokes all the time, just ask Kris. (He gives courtesy laughs, by the way, but they are completely unconvincing.) I always secretly thought it arrogance on my college boyfriend's part to not be nice and just laugh to make people feel better. But now...I think he was born that way. Eli certainly was. He smiles all the time, but laughs are saved for very special occasions. If it's not funny to him, forget it. Luke has always gotten more laughs out of Eli than anyone, with Kris coming in a close second. I think I've made him laugh twice in his ten months of life. I'm comforted by the fact that he hasn't laughed at anyone else pretty much ever.

Last night, though, while holding Eli I blew my hair out of my face in a slightly exaggerated way, and he burst into giggles. He was laughing like crazy, over and over again. It was great. What an ego booster! I mean, I felt like Chris Farley, only slightly thinner. After doing it about fifty times, it lost it's charm and he moved on. But it made my night.

Furry Animals

We live in an area that is somewhat wooded and that houses a little bit of wildlife. Luke, like all children, loves animals of all kinds. Furry, wild, domestic, colorful - it matters not to him. We are blessed to have some "Creecocks" (Peacocks) that live in and around our neighborhood. I guess I can say blessed because they have never pecked a hole in their reflections on the bumper of my car, just my neighbors. Our cars are probably too dirty for there to be a reflection on our bumper. The racoons that eat our cat food at three in the morning are a particular favorite of Kris'. They have challenged his ability to rig cat doors on numerous occasions. I believe he has come out the victor on that one, but the racoons won out on the fight with the inflatable pool. May it rest in peace, or should I say pieces.

Down the road are some cows and horses, and often on our way to visit them we see different types of birds, dogs, cats and occasionally a pig. Luke's newest favorite freinds are the squirrels. He will walk around the yard looking for them and then stand under their tree refuge to watch them jumping around from branch to branch. Apparently, the squirrels in our yard know the danger that a two year old little boy imposes, and so they run. Luke, tired of the squirrels running from him yesterday, shouts out, "C'mere squirrel! I hold you! Luke wanna hold you!" I doubled over laughing at the cuteness of it all, but sadly, the squirrel did not want to be held. Personally, I am of the opinion that squirrels wouldn't make the best pet anyway. But for a moment, I wanted to catch that squirrel and make him stay still so my little boy could have what he wanted.

I love being a mama. I love feeling the place in my heart expand to bursting that wants the world for my babies. It is so fun and wonderful, so full of life. It is those moments that make the miserable days of teething and sleepless nights of earaches, croup and random awakenings so forgettable.

Valentine Love

I know Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow, but I'm going out of town, so I won't get a chance to write tomorrow. I wanted to write this story for Valentine's Day, though, because it's a love story. And, it's definitely a story I want to remember down the road.

The weekend before Eli was born I went on a women's retreat with my church. We went over to the beach, only thirty minutes away, and I left Luke with Kris for the weekend. Kris' mom, Mrs. Bonnie, went, too. On Sunday, after the retreat was over, Kris decided to bring Luke over to meet us so we could hang out on the beach for a little bit before heading home. When Luke walked into the room for the first time after being away from me all weekend, he wouldn't come to me. He didn't hug me or call out to me. He wouldn't even look at me. He did, however, immediately run to Grandma and hold onto her for dear life. As you can imagine, my little heart shattered into a million pieces. I was just completely rejected by my child, and I could barely breathe. (Not to mention that I was hugely pregnant and completely emotional to begin with.)

I managed to collect myself enough to avoid a scene as we made our way down to the beach to let Luke play a little bit. As I watched him running around on the dunes and nursed my wounded heart, the Lord spoke so sweetly. "Hannah, he will never love you as much as you love him." Gasp. Somehow, that didn't make me feel better. At first. And then I began thinking about that fact. It's true. I will never love my parents as much as they love me, and my babies will never love me as much as I love them. What an awesome privelege I have as a parent! And then, just as sweetly, I heard His voice again. "That's the way it is with you and me. You'll never love me as much as I love you." Oh, Father! Thank you!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1

So, nobody guessed, but I'll tell you anyway. The picture of the cute little fuzzy headed baby is actually Kris. I found that picture and couldn't resist putting it up for you to see. Eli looks a lot more like him than we ever thought. Two cute little fuzzy headed babies. Well, actually, three. Luke had a fuzzy head for a little while, too. I love it!

Being Found

I'm not sure if it's just my toddler or all toddlers that have fixations. They vary from week to week, often from day to day or even from minute to minute. There was a period of time that Luke loved ice. He would beg for ice several times a day and would sit contentedly in his high chair eating ice for an extended period of time (I'm not complaining, I assure you.) That fixation was so intense that I asked my pediatrician if he needed to be tested for iron deficiency. She assured me it was just his most current obsession and that it would pass. (And probably added me to her list of hypochondriac parents.) Recently, Luke's greatest love affair has been with covers, or "cubbers", as he calls them. He loves to have "cubbers" in his bed. He squeals with delight at the prospect of getting under the blankets on our bed. He must have "Cubbers, Mama!" after ever shower (said with his face down on the carpet and his naked hiney sticking up in the air). My personal favorite is in the mornings when he sits in my lap to drink his milk and get under the covers with me.

The other part of this phase is "hi-dig" (hiding). The most thrilling part of being under the blanket is that Luke can't be seen and is convinced that we have no idea where he is. We, of course, play the game and wander around calling, "LUKE! Where is Luke? Daddy, have you seen Luke? Where could he possibly be?" And then we "accidentally" stumble over him and discover his brilliant hiding place. The kid just loves to be found. Even more than he loves to hide. He thrills at the thought that we are searching for him.

God is really good at this little game of hide and seek as well. I'm finding that, like Luke, He hides Himself in plain view where we will inevitably stumble over Him. Sometimes it even seems as if we hear a little giggle from under the covers to give away what we suddenly realize as a most obvious hiding place. Why does He hide? I think He too thrills at the thought that we are searching for Him.

Who Am I?

Any guesses? Here's a hint: It's one of my treasures.

I have a cold. If Luke and Eli would quit wiping their noses on me I might be able to by-pass these things. I swear I'm not lying when I tell you this - today Eli sneezed, wiped his nose on me and turned to me with this big smile on his face like, "Hah! Got you!" I suppose him wiping his nose on me is better than what he normally does. Usually, he tries to wipe his nose with his hands, and it ends up all over his hands and his face. Pleasant.

Colds make my head fuzzy. I went to the grocery store today, and when I got back to my car with all my groceries, I forgot what I was doing. I literally stood in the parking lot for about twenty seconds not sure what to do next. Scary. At least I didn't have the boys with me.

How Does That Song Go?

"There's a flea on the wing on the fly on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole on the bottom of the sea."

Luke will sit quietly and watch the same Veggie Tales movie as long as I'll let it play. I love Veggie Tales Silly Songs. Until I wake up at 3 a.m singing the above refrain. There is nothing good about Veggie Tales at three in the morning. Nothing.