Wednesday night, pretzels and frosting...

James is in bed, Karen is at work, and I am still sadly unable to run. So, here I sit eating pretzels dipped in strawberry frosting. It's actually pretty good, really. I only ate a few, as I am afraid to eat lot this week since I can't exercise much.

James and I walked over to the neighbors house yesterday after I got home from work and I rode their pint-sized 60cc motorcycle around their yard. It was a blast, even though I am sure that I was way over the weight limit. It probably looked something like "fat man in a little coat". I'm still a kid apparently. James said that he wants to ride with me on the motorcycle next time. I am not ready for that, the thought of him riding with me scares the bejeezers out of me.

James is the coolest kid ever. He loves to helps us out, no matter what we are doing, and he is even starting to listen to us when we ask him not to do something. He helped me change the oil in the car tonight, by tapping on the oil cans as I poured them onto the valve cover, making a "big mess", which made James laugh hysterically. I then changed the oil in the lawn mower, and James helped me by holding the handle of the mower, testing my pouring skills again by making the mower a moving target. Same result, "big mess", followed by more hysterical giggling. I don't mind cleaning up the messes, at least he is interested.

As James gets older, I find that it is a little harder to make him get the giggles each night at bedtime. I usually have to find novel ways each day to make him laugh until he gets the giggles, occasionally followed by the hiccups. It's really a challege some days. For instance, the other night, James was brushing his teeth and accidentally gagged himself with the toothbrush. I told him to be careful so that he doesn't make himself go, "blaaaaahhhh!". He thought that was the funniest thing ever and could not stop laughing, even after he got the hiccups, which made me laugh even harder. It didn't work half as well the next night, so I had to switch to singing loud nursery rhymes, way off key (as though I had a choice) and making funny faces to get the desired effect. I thought that the "blaaahhhhhh!" should have gotten much more mileage, especially since it made me laugh too.