And the best sound...

So if the worst sound is coughing in the night, the best sound in our house has to be our son Leo's deep belly laugh. 

I know that everyone loves hearing their child laugh, but Leo's deep belly laugh is especially enjoyable because it is so rare, and only his sister can elicit it from him. We first discovered this when Leo was about 6 months old. Emily was playing with him and all of a sudden he let out this hearty laugh the likes of which we'd never heard before. It was so infectious that we all joined in.

Leo laughs quite often, but rarely that way. I'd say once every few months or so Emily will tease him and it will roll out of him. It's an unexpected precious thing, and every time we experience it, the entire house will quiet down and then begin to laugh along with each new round.

I'm not kidding. No one else has been able to make him laugh this way. I have a secret hope that it will be Emily's unique trick their whole lives.

The thing I hate most

I was reminded this week of the thing I hate most about being a parent. The worst thing is coughing in the night. A child coughing through the night is stressful, because neither of you is sleeping, although you both are trying very hard. You lie in bed, sleepy but stressed, picturing your child in the other room settling in, eyes closed, sleep setting in...and then a series of shaking coughs. Repeat. Repeat. At some point the coughs start to space out a bit more and you start to fall asleep only to be awakened each time. Eventually you get a little sleep. Even if you can put your head under your pillow, you know that your child is still coughing and miserable and it keeps you from relaxing.

The thing I like best is the little catchphrases your kids come up with. For awhile, Leo started almost all of his sentences with the word "actually." 

"Actually, I wanted some milk."

"Actually, it's not my bed time."

His other catchphrase is "I told you." He pulls this out almost as often. It usually precedes a long explanation of something:

"I told you....." [heavy emphasis on the "told"]

I had to fill out a form marking Leo's developmental progress last night and one of the questions asked if he could put together two or more sentences. We just had to laugh, because Leo typically puts together somewhere around twenty sentences when he speaks. He goes non-stop. In the car or at home he will speak at length on anything without pause. It's like a constant Bill Clinton speech. Even though it sounds mean, often we will have to say "Leo, you need to stop talking for a bit" just to get a little silence.

Emily was much more reserved in her speaking. She would toss off these little gems every so often though. One morning when she was three she came into my room and was saying something to me and I sat up to reply. She looked up at me and exclaimed "Hey...you have crazy hair!" It immediately became one of our catchphrases at home.

Election Night 2008

How many blogs about election night 2008 are going up right now? We spent the night as has become tradition in our house...inviting all friends and just leaving our doors open with lots of food on the kitchen counters and the TVs blaring election coverage.

We had several friends come this year and also several kids. Everyone was excited...watching returns with checked anticipation. Even the kids came around every half hour or so to check progress. As always, spirited discussions made the evening even more fun as we watched and waited. We cheered as we saw Pennsylvania go to Obama...then Ohio! Florida and Virginia...it was only a matter of time at that point.

And then it was suddenly called. The shock hit everyone and you could feel the release. Tim had brought a bottle of champagne and we uncorked it and poured it into styrofoam cups.

Later on, only Tim and I were left in the den, watching the speeches roll in from McCain and then Obama. The crowd in Chicago was huge. Then people began streaming onto Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. It was amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was such a spontaneous display of celebration. It was like watching the whole nation undergo therapy on live television.

Before we went to bed, Patti remarked that Bush must not like seeing all those people in front of the White House. My head spun...I hadn't even thought about Bush still being in there. It felt to me like the place had been vacated months ago.

Lots of people remarked that they wished they could have been in that field in Chicago, and I understand why they felt that way. But not me. I wanted to be with that crowd on the White House lawn, where crowds had brought in Andrew Jackson so long ago. The joy in their faces was unmistakable. I wanted to run with them to the gates with tears in my eyes too, finally reclaiming my property.