Balloons and Bugs

Last night the three of us went to the grocery store. There was someone at the door handing out balloons to all the kids, so of course Patrick got one. I have never seen him so entertained at the grocery store, and he usually loves being around all the people as it is. He would grab the string of the balloon and pull it to his face, seeing the world through the blue haze for a few minutes, then let go of the string and shriek as the balloon flew back up into the air. I bet everyone in the store could hear each one of those excited shrieky laughs.

The giggly mood continued when we got home. He was so cute as we put him to bed. He didn't want us to leave him, so he kept playing peek-a-boo with us. He would pull his blankie over his head then yank it down, waiting for us to yell, "Peek-a-boo!" Then he would laugh hilariously along with us. Daddy threw an extra step in the game after a few minutes, tickling Patrick's belly when he couldn't see it coming because the blanket was covering his face. I've never heard a sweeter sound than the laugh that resulted. I swear, if you could bottle that laugh and sell it, you'd make a fortune. It could probably cure cancer and bring about world peace.

Although he's been a little less giggly today, the day hasn't been without its humorous moments. The funniest is also the most horrifying. Patrick was crawling around his playroom, hiding in the corner behind his swing that we have nowhere else to store until this new baby comes. He loves that corner because I can't easily reach him there. Since he's the only one who goes back there, I was a little concerned when he found something small and black on the floor to pick up. Before I could get to him to see what he found, it was already in his mouth. He only giggled at the fun new game when I tried to stick my finger in his mouth to make sure he wasn't eating anything dangerous. Speaking of dangerous, though, I nearly lost the end of my finger once I managed to get past the teeth. He may have left a bruise on that knuckle. Anyway, what little I extracted from his mouth looked suspiciously like tiny, crunchy pieces of a bug. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I tried to get more pieces out of his mouth, but he wouldn't let me. I'm left with no choice but to hope that it won't hurt him any. Either way, I'm watching him super carefully this afternoon to make sure he doesn't have any ill effects from his unexpected snack. As long as he doesn't, this is going to become one of those funny stories we tell about him years and years down the line.