Did we, uh, just Onomatopoeia?!

I spend much of my day trying to make the kiddos laugh. Most times humor comes naturally to me, sometimes I’m hard-pressed to find the humor in a situation. Then there are days when divine intervention drops an amazing, and serially situational set of funnies my way.

One such day was spent with Doc and Rebel. Doc, while walking backwards across the living room—as precocious four year-olds are wont to do—tripped and fell down, landing on his bottom. He simultaneously let out a sharp passing of gas. Now if anything tickles the kiddos’ funny bones—it’s gas! Doc, Rebel, and I all started giggling, and I inquired, “Was that a trip n’ toot? You hardly ever see one of those this early in the morning. This was met with roars of laughter from the boys, to the point of tears in eyes and labored breathing.

Now, this instance alone—the now famous “Trip N’ Toot of 2013”–would have garnered enough giggles to make me feel like Nanny of the Year, but it was coupled with a later incident involving my tendency to sneeze in a way that sounds more like a cough choked by a scream. “AAAACHOOOOAAAAAH!” After the boys had blessed me laughingly, I shook my head fast, “Whew! Was that a sneeze n’ shriek? Geez guys, Doc’s doing trip n’ toots, I’m sneeze n’ shrieking, we are just out of control today! What’s next?” Laughing Doc and I both looked expectantly at Rebel who returned our anticipatory gaze, and who would deliver his own sound of the day in good time…namely lunchtime.

Rebel had a case of the hiccups during lunch. Between swallows of food and drink, wisps of air would hiccup out of his little body, getting a smile each time. Then after a particularly large bite, a hiccup flew out with a burp at the tail end of it. No one looked more surprised than Rebel, and we all began laughing hysterically again. Of course I had to point out that, “In one day we had a trip n’ toot, a sneeze n’ shriek, and a hiccupburp!” The boys were in hysterics at the newly named emission and the combination of all three!

What humor the human body provides! (And the naming of the sounds is made so simple, just listen and they name themselves!) So there y’all have it, caregiver comedy made easy; Just sit back, relax, and listen for the sounds of yourselves.