Not a laughing matter

I remember before kids I would always snicker at the crazy things kids did, or cover my mouth to try and not show my reaction to some of the craziness.  As a parent, I now know how critical it was to mask that snicker or laugh!

Recently I have noticed that my kids thrive on my reaction, especially Ayden.  Recently Ayden has begun this thing when he wakes up super early, flips on the light, and begins his day with the loudest and most obnoxious toys he can find in his room.  This is all heard and seen through the baby monitor and if I don't get up quickly to stop the insanity it awakes Audrey as well, which results in a long day for us all.  The first time this occurred we laughed it off, and well that was the reaction Ayden he wanted.  This kid thinks he is a comedian and anything that makes people laugh he will do it over and over, even if it is naughty or annoying.  

Our wake up routine has been changed, which is adaptable, however its his latest shenanigan that gets on my last nerve.  It's his boycotting of napping at age two that is not going over well.  He obviously still needs his rest, but as I watch him over the baby monitor he is all over the place, as a typical two year old is.  He looks out the window and barks at the passing by dogs, plays with an toy he can find, etc.  I then ask him to go back to his bed for rest, and the kids literally looks up at the camera and laughs.  He then jumps into bed and lays there for approximately 2.5 seconds to then repeat his crazy antics.  I don't remember laughing at this chaos, but I am sure he heard Tyler and I talking about it and snicker, so of course another funny reaction in his book.

Now Ayden isn't the only one that reacts to the laughter, as we have seen Audrey react the same way.  However, she reacts to more of the shock value.  She loves to shock us, whether it be good or bad.  Her latest shock value is her dramatic reactions to things.  Ayden takes away one of her puzzle pieces and she is storming upstairs and states, "I am going to my room and never coming down!"  Really?  You promise?  I know bad of me to think that way, but I can't help but laugh and think these things as our world came to a major crisis because of a puzzle piece.  Now she has got to be feeding off this somehow because the behavior continues, or it may just be a girl thing.

Now I've also noticed that as the stress level in our house has increased we have seriously been laughing a lot of things off because I would rather laugh than lose my ever loving mind, which could occur on a regular basis.  

Here is to laughing behind the closed doors or papers so your children cannot see your reaction, and stirring up yet another annoying habit that was cute the first time but after the 25th time a bottle of wine may be the only cure!