I love the deep belly laugh, and hadn't really noticed that my guys had outgrown it a bit - at least until this evening. Alex was letting loose the most infectious, deep, gurgly belly laughs I've heard from him probably since he was a baby. And the best part was - it was all born from imagination and silly play - something that does not always come naturally to my little guys.
Alex decided he was a scary monster and would roar at Jim. Jim would return a shocked look, act scared and Alex would absolutely loose it. I wish I had recorded the laugh - as the memory of it will have me smiling for days. The eye contact, the smiles, the initiation, the imagination, the joint attention - it was awesome. When he tired of the interaction with Jim, he sought out Trooper who spun around and reacted hilariously - further exagerrating Alex's belly laughs.
So what prompted this outburst of silly play? Pure cruelty - Alex initially was attempting to terrorize Tanner! Tanner has been scared to death of monsters, villains, sharks, the big bad wolf...any dark or scary character in all movies/books for the past week or so. He has been waking up at night with bad dreams and refusing to watch many movies. All kids go through these phases (I know). I'm just shocked that sweet Alex was perceptive enough to pick up on it and find pure joy in Tanner's anxiety! Sounds like brotherly love to me!
Who says that scary monsters and belly laughs can't go hand-in-hand? Alex certainly thinks they do! I see this game playing itself out repeatedly over the next few days...happy Alex...poor TanMan.
5 comments:
It sounds like they are deepening the bond between siblings. I was always happy when I could tease my brother mercilessly. In fact, I'm still happy when I can tease my brother. Love ya, Jim!
Life is good then you learn how to torment your sibling.
When my kids and Jeanie’s kids were little, they used to get together and put on plays in Grandma Jean’s back yard. One day they decided to do “The Three Little Pigs.” Kelly, Heather, and David were the pigs, David was the most angst ridden little pig I ever saw, and guess who was the BIG BAD WOLF. Yep, you got it; Jimmy.
I can still see tiny three-year-old Jimmy standing on his tip toes, raising his arms in menace, and loudly growling, “It’s the BIG BAD WOLF.” I wish we had pictures.
WD: I think I barely remember that. I know we put the lawn chairs together to form houses. Now why would Jimmy be the Big Bad Wolf? Hmmm...
My memory of that backyard is of little Jimmy running over my knees with a tricycle. Scary monster, indeed.
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