Entertaining

I am sure every parent is caught doing strange and stupid things to make their kids smile.  Christian pulls his face in every direction and runs around the house with our girls in each arm like airplanes.  My dad used to scream 'touchdown!' accompanied by arm gestures and everything, for no reason, whenever Nathan was around.  It is also common to see parents down on their hands and knees imitating a dog or horse for their kids.  But I find myself doing especially desperate and stupid things sometimes.

Ashley (in the picture above) loves to smile and will smile for virtually no reason.  She isn't due to be laughing for two months, but she already started laughing a few weeks ago.  Why?  She was in her swing and the toy attached to it was swinging around.  I was doing something else and I just hear her giggling and laughing away.  She is just easily pleased.  

But her reaction is irresistible when I sing and dance for her, especially to male vocals.  So this morning I turned on Johnny Cash and mouthed the words at her while dancing around.  She cracked up laughing.  So I flipped to some smooth Jazz (Nat King Cole) followed by some "Whip it".  But the cutest was Phantom of the Opera.  She raised her eyebrows, stuck out her tongue, and then looked determined as she stared at me and started opening and closing her mouth, laughing, then doing it again.  Of course, Elysha was holding her hand and deliberately ignoring me, every now and then letting out a little scream.  Then she fell asleep.

(Elysha)

Elysha smiles from ear to ear when we cuddle with her, she is very sweet and loves to be rocked and cuddled with.  But she doesn't think our desperate attempts are quite as amusing, and usually doesn't encourage me.  That's probably a good thing.   I wouldn't be responsible for my actions if I had two babies to impress with my dancing.