Laughter- Bursting at the Seams!

Everyone is familiar with the emotional outbursts of pregnancy, but has anyone else experienced laughing attacks? A few nights ago I seriously could not stop laughing, and it really wasn't that funny to begin with, but the laughing felt so good.  Every time something remotely comical happened I burst out in laughter that made tears stream down my face. It started in the kitchen.  We have this issue with our dishwasher... well basically it leaks water almost every time we run it and I always forget and end up stepping in the little puddle getting my socks wet... which is one of my little pet peeves- wet socks. So I happened to be wearing my huge fluffy monkey slippers and stepped right in the puddle and kind of slid a little, and this for some reason was hilarious.  I went on and on laughing all the way to the couch.  Then this dumb commercial came on which was also the funniest thing I have ever seen apparently because it made me laugh so hard I wasn't sure if I was still laughing or balling. Martin just kind of looked over at me like I was insane and said, "doing all right over there?" to which I replied through laughing spurts, "that was so funny, wasn't that funny, did you see that?"

Anyway... this keeps happening.  It happened last night while reading.  There was a semi-funny joke in my book that just cracked me up.  I was sitting up in bed while Martin was brushing his teeth, and he had to come see what all the commotion was about... me book thrown on the side of the bed, giggling excessively.  Then of course I had to tell him the joke: "Two cannibals are eating a comedian. One says to the other- does he taste funny to you?" -funniest thing in the world.  Martin smiled, and gave me a sympathy laugh, you know the kind you know isn't real, he was being polite. I made him promise to tell the joke at work to see if anyone would laugh out loud. Because obviously this was real humor here.

I guess what makes all of this so outrageous is that I'm not really the "laugh-out-loud" kind of person.  When I think something is funny I smile, I might say "that's funny." I might giggle a little, but full out guffaws, nope. Not me. Even on funny shows or movies, I rarely make a big laugh.  I also rarely cry. Now I do both.  I guess pregnancy is just funny that way!  I wonder if the baby likes all that laughing.  I was imagining him twirling around in there like he does and then all of a sudden his world is shaking with laughter and a new sound.  I bet it makes him feel happy too.  It does feel good to laugh. You know after you've REALLY laughed, there's that relief afterwards.  It's like, "oh I'm glad I let all that out!" At least that's the way I feel. Maybe we should all laugh more, even if the joke is lame, or the circumstance is just another blah moment. I'm certain it's good for your health, and makes life less mundane. I've also noticed that my kids will laugh with me even if they have no idea why we are laughing.  that one is my favorite.  you just can't help sharing that happiness when someone else is full of it.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Elijah!

On September 25th my Elijah will be four...FOUR! I just can't believe the time has gone so fast! Ironically, that exact day was the day Martin proposed to me in 2004, two years before Elijah was born. It seems not much time has passed since then, when we'd spend countless hours walking the park in York, Nebraska, but at the same time it feels worlds away. Now I know things I never planned on knowing like the theme songs to all of the most prominant super heroes, and the names of building trucks like loaders and cherry pickers, dump trucks and cement mixers, which play an active part in our daily lives.
It doesn't seem like I should have a four-year-old. But then again it seems completely impossible not to have him. I love listening to him when he doesn't think I'm listening, like in the car. He talks to himself, relives conversations that we've had or that he's heard in school with character voices and all kinds of drama. Yesterday, he was saying, "No, no Hannah!" in the back seat of the car. I asked who Hannah was. He told me she was a girl at school, but that she was in a different class. This morning I knew exactly who Hannah was when I heard a teacher scolding her and telling her to get back in line. They really are listening ALL THE TIME!
Many days after school i let him change into "play clothes," clothes that aren't school uniform. He has taken on this tendancy, probably from me, that his clothes have to match. He refused to wear his favorite "number twelve" pants because we couldn't find the "number twelve" shirt. Then he saw one of his jumpsuits, you know those sweats that have matching sweat tops... they look like little running suits, any ways... he was thrilled when he discovered that he found something that matched. "I'll wear these, mom!" he exclaimed excitedly and bounced on his bed to pull them on.
He's always making me laugh about something... many times when I shouldn't be laughing. Its a known fact that laughing when you aren't suppose to is ten times more fun than when its expected, like in church, or in my case when I'm trying to be stern and disciplining my child. He's had so many potty accidents that it has become routine to go in the bathroom and get him cleaned up. Its incredibly hard not to giggle when he starts singing while I'm trying to get him cleaned up, or when he turns to me like nothing is going on and says "I love you," or something silly.
Saturday, that silly boy will hold up four fingers instead of three when you ask him his age, and there will be four candles on his DUMP TRUCK cake, but part of me will always see that baby, my first that was born on the 25th of September.