Cracking Up

Grammy taught Abby the term "cracking myself up" this last weekend. Abby has learned that jokes are suppose to be funny. She just hasn't learned what exactly is funny. So, whenever she thinks she's making a joke (and who really knows what a 2 year old believes to be a joke?), Abby laughs uproariously at herself. As if she's just invented laughter. What makes it even more deliciously perverse is that she uses her most fake laugh. Total strangers could tell that that is not her genuine laugh. So here she is, making a completely off-the-wall, nonsensical statement, laughing loudly and with phony mirth, while the world pauses to stare. Grammy, seemingly at a loss with her, asked "Are you cracking yourself up or what?" So, Abby learned "I'm cracking myself up." Occasionally she'll get it wrong and say "I'm cracking up," which really works just as well considering her daft statements and maniacal laughter.

Anyway, in honor of Abby's cracking up, I wanted to share some crazy pictures collected over this Father's Day weekend. We had some good family fun, swimming, visiting family, attending a BBQ at the park, and general play.

Uncle Mikey just returned from a trip to San Diego with some presents for me and the kid. Abby got a cute shirt (Mike seems unable to not buy T-shirts wherever he goes) and a little Shamu whale. It's officially joined the royal suite of stuffed animals honored to sleep with her.





What was funny about this was Mike's gift to me. I was ennobled with a "natural," eco-friendly journal. Made of elephant dung. That's right folks, elephant poop made my journal. Gee thanks, Mike.

On Sunday, we visited Lee's family, and their great-big-horse-of-a-dog Bo, at a park for a BBQ. It took a while for Abby to warm up to everyone, as usual. But when she did, she didn't hesitate to grab a cousin or aunt or uncle by the hand and drag them off somewhere. I love the next photos for two reasons. One, she just grabbed cousin Josh's hand while babbling and took him over to the grass to show him something she had found. Two, she hauled him all the way over there to show him Bo's poop - about the size of a cow patty.





The next photo is fairly self-explanatory. Here she is cracking herself up again. Only this time, everyone else got the joke too.



(BTW, it's a gummy worm.)