Childhood influences

This isn't a post about a favorite pet or teacher, or a life-altering experience... no, nothing like that; it's about a shower curtain.

My Mom taught high school social studies, which included history, geography and current events --from remedial to Advanced Placement levels. And if all that wasn't enough, she also became my school's leader on teaching students how to write a research paper. Including me.

Her area of expertise/ interest was an childhood undertone for Me and Chris-- the national news was on every evening, several newspapers arrived on our doorstep, and many trips and outings included a history or current events angle. As my Mom often tells, when she and Dad would tell us we were going away somewhere, Chris would ask in a suspicious tone "is this going to be a history thing?"

Of course there was always, like a pool or amusement park or shopping excursion involved. M&D were clever about working in the educational part.

So anyway, we got a gentle reminder of the world around us every day, while showering enclosed in a world map shower curtain. You pick up more than you'd think by just looking at something day-in and day-out. It included major cities and capitals, so I knew all of the odd ones like Tegucigalpa (do you know the country?*). Big-time party conversation in high school. But I was the co-editor of the school paper, so maybe that wasn't so far off. Speaking of that, my fantastic co-editor and friend Chris Donovan is now a producer of this TV show ...my Mom was one of his influential teachers, but he must have had a world map shower curtain too.

But that shower curtain is one of the things that I remember and love from childhood--Chris too. And I just LOVE maps in general. I got that bit from my Dad. I can (and do) pore over an atlas for ever and ever. Ask anyone who has ever lived with me.

So, as we get ready to outfit our new house, of course I'm planning to buy a world map shower curtain for the upstairs bathroom that will be Luke's daily showering, tooth brushing and toilet using place. Something like this, compliments of Target.com:

...ooooh baby, one of the perks about moving back to the USA = Target!

Though I haven't mentioned this design choice to Keith yet (and he does care about decor; we're already heatedly debating pendants for the dining room--no joke!), I know he will approve. He appreciates world geography, AND, he's a capital whiz - US and worldwide. What a geek.

That's why I think the world map shower curtain will be a perfect conversation piece with Luke and perfect addition to our new house.

But this brings me to another decorating dilemma that we will face in our new house: we have too many maps. We have traveled a bit and like to pick up a map of meaningful places when we're there, then frame it. Wonderful memories, yes, but as a result, if we hang all of them, PLUS the shower curtain, our house will look like the Rand McNally headquarters. Oh, that and all of the mountain pictures/paintings. We love mountains and gathered lots of different mountainy wall hangings before leaving Utah incase we never lived near mountains again.

In general, we really need to branch out with our artwork. But that will be the fun part of being home owners again.

Stay tuned for before and after photos of our new house.

*Honduras

Milestones

Today was a day of milestones - some large and some small.

The large ones included:

1. Keith's final day of 11 years of medical training.

And he went out on a high note... literally. At the staff's request, he brought in his bagpipes and --to the great joy of the office and patients-- played a few tunes (the joy part is amazing; it's a small office and those things are LOUD)

Also at the staff's request, Luke and I visited the office to say good-bye. Everyone there has enjoyed Luke's visits since we arrived in Vancouver last summer. This time they marveled at his curls and super walking skills.

Every single person in the office, from Keith's two surgeon mentors to the nurses and front office gals, showed their true sadness about Keith's departure. It was very sweet and certainly a year he'll remember. They all wanted a photo with him and the bag pipes. Those pipes have always been a crowd favorite.

So, big monumental day and all, I expected to hear trumpets playing and fireworks firing as he exited the building. But no... it was just another Friday. Except that we were able to go out for happy hour overlooking the setting sun at Kits beach with a bottle of champagne and a chilled seafood platter:

Lovely adult time thanks to Renee, which brings me to large milestone #2...

2. Luke's final day with our wonderful babysitter Renee.

Renee has been watching Luke for a couple of afternoons per week since January and has been a fantastic caretaker and playmate for him. She is the first non-grandparent person to watch Luke, so we have come to really trust and appreciate her. When we walked in today, she had him laughing hysterically about a toy that we've had for months and I've never seen him even notice. But that's what she's like - she does whatever it takes to make him happy. We'll miss Renee. Here she is with Lukey:

And, not to be forgotten -- the small milestones:

1. I completed a big writing project and my to-do list of moving prep tasks.

I'm glad this is our last significant move, for sure... at least for the foreseeable future. The moving topic deserves it's own blog post, and since I didn't have a blog when we moved the last three times, I think I'll work on one. It will include things like how a second-rate moving company (which I selected because they were the cheapest) lost a few things like our bed, our college diplomas, Keith's medical school diploma, and other important bits & pieces. Let's just say I learned a lot about moving long distance). Stay tuned for that post... probably after we complete this move, incase there are a few more rich anecdotes to add.

2. I got a haircut.

It's only a milestone because it's my first cut since the day before Luke was born! Since my hair always (and only) looks nice when I get a salon haircut and have it professionally blown out, I asked Keith to take a photo of Luke and me on our balcony. Because who knows when it will ever be blown-dry again. Then again, we're moving to Utah, where the dry climate makes every day a good hair day for my thick and wavy mane!

Clean windows

This morning I found a man dangling in front of our window washing it.

At first Luke was confused but intrigued (you can just make him out hiding in the corner peeking out at the guy):

After a few minutes he thought it was pretty cool and got right up in the poor guy's business. He was standing inches away from the window, just watching, when the nice man started waving at Luke. He got quite a kick out of that. Then he plopped down on the floor and kept watching:

And then, when the guy was gone, Luke turned around and did this (you've seen this trick before):

I wonder if that window washer guy can come over and clean the inside widows?

Ready to pack

Soon we'll start the undesirable task of packing for our move to SLC.

Luke thinks he is helping by emptying his bookshelf.

I guess we're moving at a good time, since Luke can make a day of putting things into boxes.

The bad thing is, he also likes to take them out and --as I have reported before-- hide them around the apartment.

I actually just found his current favorite book in the freezer. Now he's walking around with my wallet and sure enough, my license is not in there. I'd better go check the toilets.

Looking for fun

We didn't show him how to do this; he just figured it out. And since we laugh every time, guess what - he keeps doing it. And it's still funny every time.

Two-man band

I had my very own two-man band perform last night.

As you can see, Luke is pretty good on the rattle, even if not in perfect beat with Keith's guitar playing. You'll notice Luke look away/ stare into space a few times. That's because game 7 of the Celtics vs. Lakers final was on and obviously he didn't want to miss a second!

So sad that the Celts lost, as most readers of this blog will agree. I was so bummed that I refused to watch the Laker post-game celebration and interviews. Yeah, I guess I'm a sore loser.

For those interested, Keith is playing:

"There Ain't No Bugs on Me" We know it from the Advantix commercial, which has puppies singing. We think it's hysterical.

"Pinball Wizard" by The Who

"New York, New York" by Ryan Adams

We have very eclectic taste over here.

...and Luke is rattling to his own wonderful tune.

The No era

Yesterday I realized that we've begun the era of saying "No" to Luke, like all the time.

This struck me after about the 100th time I said it to him yesterday. It takes different forms - the stern "NO Luke"... the "No Lukey baby"... or the "NO! NO! NO!"

Then there's the "That's not for you", or the customary "That's dirty, No" when he goes after the toilet, garbage pail, or various other filthy places like the parking garage floor.

Of course there's the "that's dangerous", which he obviously doesn't understand or care about.

Straying from the No theme a little, there's the "get away from there" which I usually begin with Please, but by the third time in a row, the please is gone.

Anyway, what a bummer that there are just so many things that he wants to do but can't or shouldn't right now.

The little guy probably thinks I'm a total bitch for saying No all the time!

Maybe some day he'll thank me for keeping him safe. But then again, as Keith said the other night when I wondered this aloud, "when have you ever thanked your parents for saying No or keeping you safe or giving birth to you?"

I guess I've never thanked them for those exact things, so I shouldn't expect that Luke will either :-)

Totally unrelated, Luke has been napping for longer than usual so I just peeked in his room and he's peacefully snoozing in his usual and favorite position:

It's funny because that's the way I like to sleep too. Must be hereditary. And he has proven for months now that he's fine sleeping on his belly, so at least I won't say "No" to that.

This time, last year

On this day last year it was our first weekend home with Luke and I took this photo, which is still one of my favorites.

Beach party

We had beautiful weather in Vancouver this weekend and it's getting dark pretty late now.

So, last night we headed out to the beach around 5 pm (that's what you do when your husband is a dermatologist - you have to wait until the evening to go to the beach).

We brought a blanket and chairs, a bottle of wine, and some snacks (now mandatory for any outing) and toys for Luke. Though Lukey is a very steady walker on solid ground, he found the sand to be a little tricky.

He loved watching us toss stones into the water and cackled each time we exclaimed "kerplunk!"

As expected, he thoroughly enjoyed his very first ice cream (vanilla). We know this because he kept saying "yum, num, num, yum" like a broken record after each bite.

And we saw two cruise ships heading out to see, which is exactly what we'll be doing in three weeks. I hope we depart on a night that's as lovely as last night was.

Singing animals

I may have written before about Brigitte's laughing fits (Barbara and Kim get them too, so I think it's hereditary). Anyway, it's quite funny to experience. One very memorable laughing fit took place on a street in Chicago last year. She was laughing so uncontrollably that she was doubled over and we had to stop walking until it subsided. People were looking and wondering what was wrong with her. When she says (as she often does) "geez I was only laughin' me ass off" it's almost not an exaggeration; she really does laugh that hard.

Anyway, one thing that will always get her going is a singing and/or dancing stuffed animal. She has one that sings show tunes, a little dog that dances and flips around on the ground, an angel that says a prayer in Spanish, and I'm sure there are others that we haven't seen yet.

So, we weren't too surprised when, on Luke's birthday, she pulled out a Happy Birthday singing bear. Over Skype this bear sang and sang and sang to Luke. And not only was Brigitte laughing (her ass off) but Bill and Keith and I got going too. And Luke, for the first time, started bouncing up and down. We've seriously never seen him bounce or shake or dance to music, so we thought this was very cute.

All you need is a box

It's great being a one year old, when an oversized box can keep you entertained for hours.
Luke has been enjoying this Pampers one for a week now. He climbs in and out, collects things in it, turns it upside down hiding things like my Blackberry, and in this shot, apparently his dump truck has crashed into him while he was just sitting there playing.
I can only imagine how crazy he's going to go when we have an apartment full of big moving boxes. Good thing my parents will be here to keep those little paws out of my packing!

PS - there are socket covers on that outlet right there in full reach of the little guy; they're just clear so you can't make them out in this photo.

One with the pots and pans

Back when Luke started exploring, who can remember how many months ago, we put drawer and door locks in the kitchen and bathrooms. But since he loves opening and closing drawers/ doors and rooting around inside, sometimes I permit entry to one of the three that include only things that [most likely] won't him. Keith still doesn't like that I let Luke do this, but as I always say -- you try to keep him entertained all day long.

So, earlier this week the ever-nimble Luke graduated from reaching into the pots and pans drawer to CLIMBING into it. I wish I had seen him figuring out how to get in, but didn't notice until he was right in there. He eventually got stuck kneeling in a pot and I had to rescue him. It was hard not to laugh.

Crayons

We just came from Luke's 12-month check-up where the poor little guy had three big shots - one in each arm and one in the thigh. The doctor said he's most likely going to be a little sore and grouchy all day. Great.

She also went down the development check list, asking if he is doing this and that. The last thing she asked about was whether he was marking on paper with crayons. I paused, said "uhhh, I don't think he has tried it. We don't have any crayons" and then I immediately wondered if I was impeding his development and picked up a pack on the way home.

I assumed crayons were for older kids, but hey, why not try it.

I should have known.

The first thing he did was chew on the box and rip the top off. I took a few out and showed him how to scribble on the paper, then helped him do it. For a child a very strong grip, his hand was like a wet noodle with the crayon.

Then of course he drew a few lines on the wood floor, but since I bought the washable crayons, it wiped right off. Though he didn't understand how to scribble with them, he sure enjoyed carrying them one-by-one to the couch, then putting them all into a tupperware container, taking them out, putting them back in. He was quite entertained for about 20 minutes, which was worth the $2.30 for the pack. When I saw him gnawing on one of them, however, I decided to put crayons on hold for a while. They're non-toxic, but still. I don't want to clean up a waxy diaper.

And even with the washable kind, I'm thinking that I may want to spare the newly finished floors and freshly painted walls in our new house. But we'll see.

Four things we'll miss

Four things we'll miss about Vancouver are:

1. Glassy sky scrapers that reflect the light beautifully in the evening
2. Swings on the beach
3. Being able to walk everywhere, all the time, for everything we need
4. A backdrop that includes mountains AND ocean

There will be more, after we move.

And there are a bunch of things we miss about Chicago too.

Now we'll know exactly what to do and where to go when we visit in the future. I guess that's the neat thing about living somewhere for a year.

Happy First

It seems like Luke enjoyed his first birthday, but then again, it doesn't take much to make him happy.

The day started out rainy so I took him to the local indoor pool. It was his third time in a pool, though the first two times were over 7 months ago so it was definitely new to him. He was timid at first, with a death grip on my neck, but was splashing around and laughing after about ten minutes.

During the day he "saw" both sets of Grandparents on Skype (and enjoyed a long "Happy Birthday" serenade from Grandma Brigitte's singing and dancing stuffed bear - one in her collection of singing toys that makes us all laugh uncontrollably).

And he talked on the phone with his Aunt Kim and cousins Kian, Declan and Burke, whose early-years birthdays I can remember well, and now their voices are changing and stuff. I feel old.

Keith got home pretty early so we walked to the swings at Kits beach and out for an early dinner. And then it was time for Luke's very first bucket of sugar... I mean, cupcake!

When we first set it on his tray, he couldn't have been less interested. It was the first time--ever!--that we put something in front of him and he didn't immediately shove it in his mouth!

After like three minutes of coaxing him to try it, he discovered that it was sweet (especially the 4-inch mound of frosting on top) and started digging in. We had to remove the frosting mound in an attempt to dampen the forthcoming sugar rush a bit. Though he was obviously enjoying it, he wasn't showing any sign of excitement or pleasure (see photos). He wasn't even doing his "yum, num, yum" thing. Strange.

The excitement came about five minutes later when, stripped from his frosting-covered clothes down to just a diaper, he started stomping around the living room with his arms up like a zombie, blabbing on and on and laughing. Somehow I didn't capture that part on video.

After opening a few gifts (thanks to all!), the little guy was exhausted and crashed in bed right around the time that he actually came into the world one year ago.

The Story of Luke's Birth Day

Every year on my birthday my Mom calls to say "did I ever tell you about the day you were born?" I haven't gotten sick of hearing it yet, so I think I will start the tradition of telling Luke the story of June 7, 2009.

Not that it's all that exciting. For instance, I didn't debate whether to wear panty hose to the hospital like my Mom did. But I do remember feeling nervous. Well, in addition to feeling waves of extreme pain and even worse nausea of course.

I was nervous during the whole pregnancy, actually. Nervous about whether he would be healthy and whether I was doing a good job preparing him in there. For the last trimester I COULDN'T WAIT for him to arrive. And I had a very smooth and easy pregnancy, so it's not that I couldn't wait to stop being pregnant. I just wanted to see what he looked like, what he felt like, how he smelled, and to make sure he was ok. Oh, and mostly, I wanted him to arrive with enough time to get his birth certificate so we could get him into Canada when we moved, which was less than three weeks after his due date! I lost a lot of sleep stressing about that, and about the move in general. Ask Keith.

Since we were a little time-crunched and everything seemed ready to go, my doctor thought it would be fine to induce me on June 5th - the day before my due date. We went to the hospital (Rush, in Chicago) at 6 am morning (it was a Friday), all excited and prepared and playing jazz in the car to relax us. We had a bag of magazines, games and music on the iPod. I blow-dried my hair nice and straight, since I knew there would be photos. Huh, I guess that's akin to my Mom debating the panty hose...

Anyway, the OB resident started me on Pitocin to get the contractions going, but apparently (no offense to residents in general) she/the team there skipped the important first step of giving me a drug to soften the cervix... the step that my doctor had prescribed. So, for that reason, in addition to the fact that it just wasn't time, the induction didn't work. So, after being pumped full of Pitocin for 12 hours, we packed up and went home.

Oh, and my poor parents -- eager for the arrival of their first grandchild-- had been waiting in the Rush lobby all day. They said they had a blast watching the circus that goes on there, but it was surely a long day for them as well.

The next day I felt awful, no doubt because of the beating I'd taken on Friday.

And on Sunday morning, June 7th at 4 am, I woke up to contractions. By 11 am, when they became more frequent and unbearable, I told Keith it was time to go in. No jazz this time. No bag of entertainment. No blow-dried hair. Just us heading to Rush, feeling more certain that this was it.

The same OB resident was there and she seemed to take a little pity on me. She predicted that the baby would be here by 9 pm. It was only noon at that time, and I thought I was dying, so that seemed very unreasonable!

What went on that afternoon was the standard labor torture and lots of slow laps up and down the hall with Keith holding me up. But by 5 pm the epidural was on board and all was fine. I really don't know how people have natural child birth. They are much stronger than I!

In the meantime, my parents were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary that day. They had brunch, followed by sangria at what had become their favorite place - a tapas bar near our house in Lincoln Park. Having experienced the long and uneventful wait in the waiting room on Friday, we told them Keith would call when it was time. So, what could they do except sip sangria and tell everyone in the bar that their first grand child was on his way. I hear they got lots of congratulations, high fives, and some free desserts.

And back at Rush, the clock ticked away and I was crossing my fingers that the baby would come before midnight. I really wanted to have him on my parents' 40th anniversary. At 8 pm it was time to get started and I got really nervous about the baby making it out ok. There were several tense moments when the baby's hear rate dropped and I felt very helpless watching the doctors' faces and their sense of urgency. Apparently the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, AND he was grasping it with his hand. Now that makes sense - he has always had a vice-like grip. So, after 20 minutes of pushing (it felt like a long time to me, but I hear that's nothing), at 9:19 pm Central Time, Luke arrived. I just remember Keith jumping up and down, kissing me, and rushing over to watch the nurses check him out. What seems like forever later, they put him on my chest and I saw my baby boy for the first time. After spending all of those months wondering what he'd look like, feeling him kicking and punching from the inside, it was very surreal to see our son.

Since everything started happening quickly at the end, Keith had to squeeze in a call to my parents, telling them it was time. They rushed over and weren't waiting long before Keith went to let them know that their grandson was here. They were able to come into the delivery room to meet Luke shortly after he arrived. My Mom fondly remembers Keith walking into the waiting room smiling, and she has said she'll never forget entering my room and seeing me holding Luke. And my Dad is still amazed that Luke, a mere 40 minutes old, squeezed his finger.

And that was it. He has been making us smile ever since.

I felt like I should get all the details down, since I might not remember everything over time.

But I think I'll have to come up with an abbreviated version to tell Luke every year.

So, that's my story about June 7, 2009.

Oh, I almost forgot. Three days later, as a result of charming a nice woman in the Chicago Vital Records office at City Hall, we managed to get Luke's birth certificate fast-tracked and picked it up a couple of days later. That was 11-15 weeks quicker than other Chicago-born babies receive their certificates :-) So I could FINALLY relax and start packing for Vancouver.

Pre-birthday hike

For Luke's First Birthday Eve we went for a hike in North Vancouver.

We crossed a high flying suspension bridge (a few times; the trail was a figure eight) and pointed out the moss and ferns and lush scenery to Luke, explaining that his new home town won't look anything like that.

Then we had lunch in downtown Vancouver, in the shadow of the cruise ship terminal, where we'll leave for our Alaska trip in just a few weeks. Luke gobbled up yam fries and guacamole and --as usual-- tried to grab the forks, knives, water glasses and everything else that hit the table.

And on the way home, the exhausted little guy fell asleep in his car seat... facing front!

Utah Quiz

Here is the long awaited Utah quiz.

Scroll down for the answers... but at least try to answer first :-)

1. When did Utah become a state?
2. Where did Utah's name come from?
3. What is Utah's nickname?
4. What is Utah's tagline/ claim to fame?
5. How many National Parks are located in Utah? Bonus: name them.
6. Utah is considered to be a semi-arid to arid climate. What are the average highs and lows in the summer and winter?

And onto the popular religion, two points on the Mormon thing...

First, the proper term for the religion/ followers of the religion is LDS (short for Latter-day Saints, which is short for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Second, we know lots of wonderful and kind people who are LDS. But, it is a curious and obvious topic when it comes to Utah, so I couldn't resist throwing in a few related questions...

7. What percentage of the Utah population is Mormon (LDS)?

8. What town has the highest Mormon population?

9. Brigham Young, (long-time president of the church, founder of SLC, first governor of UT) is the the most popular/ beloved figure in the church. How many wives did Brigham Young have?

10. What is the target number of children for LDS families?

Fun Facts!

Utah consumes more Jell-o per capita than any other state in the US. Mormons love sweets! Milk shakes and ice cream are also big sellers. But chocolate is generally forbidden, as it contains caffeine - a Mormon no-no.

Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation. As Keith said, "if you can't read the Book of Mormon, how can you spread the word?"

Answers:

1. The United States acquired the region in 1848, which, at that time belonged to Mexico. The people of the region named the area the state of Deseret. On January 4, 1896, it was officially established as the state of Utah by the United States government.

2. The name Utah comes from the Native American Ute tribe and means people of the mountains.

3. Beehive State. The beehive symbolizes thrift and perseverance.

4. Greatest Snow on Earth. Sounds like a boastful superlative, I know. But, it's a fact that the snow that falls in the Wasatch Range in Utah is often very light and dry because of the desert climate and lake effect from the Great Salt Lake. The Wasatch also consistently receives significant quantities of snow, making it a reliable place to plan a ski trip. In particular, Alta always ranks in the top 5 snowiest resorts in the world with an average of 547 inches / year.

Keith thinks that everyone loves skiing as much as he does and insisted that readers would want to know the other resorts in the to 10. Their ranking varies year by year, according to snow totals, but here's the general list:

• Mt. Baker, Washington State
• Niseko, Japan
• Alta, Utah (Little Cottonwood Canyon, to be specific)
• Alyeska, Alaska
• Kirkwood, California
• Stevens Pass, Washington State
• Sugar Bowl, California
• Grand Targhee, Wyoming
• Snowbird, Utah (Alta's neighbor in Little Cottonwood)
• Mt. Hood, Oregon

5. Five National Parks -- Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef

It also has seven national monuments, two national recreation areas and six national forests. If you've never been to Utah, particularly Southern Utah, you really shouldn't miss it.

6. In the summer, the average high ranges from 85 to 100, while the average low is 61. Though very hot during summer days, the low humidity and high elevation typically result in cool nights. Utah is also very sunny (good spot for a dermatologist!) Salt Lake City averages 125 clear sunny days and 101 partly cloudy days per year.

In the winter, the average high is 40, while the average low is 22, though it is typically at least 10 degrees colder in the mountains.

7. 62% of the Utah population are followers of the LDS church. That's for the whole state. In Salt Lake City, less than 50% of residents are LDS. And the percentage of Mormons at Alta on a Sunday (where we'll be hanging out) - 0%.

8. Provo, site of Brigham Young University. And lots of ice cream / milk shake shops.

9. Brigham Young had 55 wives. Also, he was born in Vermont, as was Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What is it about Vermont?

10. The more children the better! But you aren't required to tithe (10% of your income is standard) if you have more than 6 children. Many families do anyway because they are good and faithful followers.

Thanks for playing!

Birthday weekend flashback

It's Luke's birthday weekend extravaganza!

We're not actually doing anything extravaganza-worthy except being really nice to Luke and enjoying the beautiful weather. I just think "birthday weekend extravaganza" sounds funny, especially since I declared one for myself when my birthday fell on a Saturday this year and I informed Keith that he should plan some activities :-)

But we are planning a nice day for The Monk on Monday including lots of time at the swings, a play date, turning his car seat to face front, a cupcake, balloons and a few gifts (including those that have been arriving from family...thank you!). And if the weather is nice we may have a dinner picnic at the beach.

Not bad for a first birthday, given that we don't have family or close friends around. And given that he's only one and won't remember it anyway!

So, in preparation for the big day (which is also my Parents' 41st wedding anniversary!), here are a few of our favorite photos from Luke's first day, starting with the very first time I held him:

Yum yum

Over the weekend Luke started saying "yum, yum, yum" when he's eating. I'm not sure if we've said that to him, or if it's just a sound he's making, but either way, it's pretty cute.

He was enjoying an orange in his mesh bag thingy today and started saying it so I grabbed the camera.

At that point he got very giggly and--of course--didn't say it again.

But I know the last laughing video was a big it, so I figured I'd post this one too.