At Least I'm Funnier than Somebody
Is there anything better than the sound of a kid laughing? If there is, I haven't found it. I live to hear Alexis laugh. It's somewhat rare that she falls into a fit of breathless giggles (mostly because I never know what will induce it), but every day I go out of my way to make her laugh, if only because I want to hear it.
There are many guaranteed ways of getting the kid to chuckle. Pretend to be disgusted by her stinky feet and she'll treat you with a giggle. Send her on a Poot Hunt (if you think about it, you'll figure out what that is) and she'll laugh out loud. Incorporate the words booty, bum, poop, or bee-bees (I'd tell you what that is, but you wouldn't believe me) into any story and she'll giggle for ten solid minutes.
It's really not that hard to get the kid to laugh. She's the class clown, a room filled with bubbles, the giggle monster, and a ray of sunshine all rolled into one. There are days when all you have to do is look at her and she'll bust up laughing.
When I take her to have her picture taken professionally, I go straight for the stinky feet method of making her laugh. It's guaranteed that I'll get giggles and smiles within seconds. We have managed to get a dozen amazing photos in under five minutes several times. (Local peeps can see proof at South Hills Village Picture People. While you're there, I wouldn't hate it at all if you figured out how I can get all of those photos for free. I only bought one 8x10 because I suck. And didn't have the money for more. And still don't.)
I don't expect that a photographer would know the magic tricks for making my kid laugh, but if somebody is a professional photographer who makes a decent living doing school pictures at daycares and preschools, I kinda think maybe he or she should know how to get a giggle or two out of a short person. It just seems like that would be a really important part of the job.
Alexis agrees.
Yesterday Alexis was one of the first kids to have her school pictures taken. She happily walked to the background, stood on her mark, and waited. The photographer tried a lame joke. Alexis stared, waiting. The photographer tried another lame joke. Alexis stared, waiting. The photographer whipped out a third lame joke. Alexis looked him dead in the eye and said, "You're not funny," right before crossing her little arms across her chest and turning her back to the guy.
He didn't even manage to get one picture.
I'm OK with the total school picture fail because I now know I'm comedy gold in her eyes. After all, she has never once told me, "You're not funny."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Reader Comments (13)
U're SOOO funny! And I agree, I love my children's laughter, and Alexis' is great too. Most photographers? Suck at working kids.
I can't believe I remember this, but that was taken after Dylan's party!
I had a job at Olan Mills for a short time, and DUDE, it was a really, really hard job. Oh, and you don't buy the pictures. You get MIL to buy the pictures for your husband for Xmas.
I hated picture day. Those guys are completely lame.
You know I may be deaf, but she had me smiling and laughing right along with her. Her whole body just lights up with her laughter. You can't help but smile. (Hugs)Indigo
you seriously have the coolest girl i "know"
(now please don't tell her about that little crap in my own yard nonsense)
The girl knows funny! What a great quality!
I've got a class clown, too. She loves to laugh and is always trying to make those around her laugh. It IS such a great sound and feeling.
Most school pictures I see are bad, but I never knew anyone that turned their back. Way to go Alexis! Someone has to take a stand against bad jokes once and for all.
Thanks for posting that video again. I am having a super-stressy day at work and now, because of Alexis, I have the biggest smile on my face. :) See?
Maybe you can get a paid gig as joke writer for kid photographer!
I adore their honesty, don't you?? Cute story! Our preschool's female photographer REEKS of cigarettes, has a deep, loud voice and treats the kids like they're 6 month old babes. It's odd.
You take better photos anyway. Better luck next time.
p.s. have you ever considered using photobucket?
I'll be laughing all day now. When I was a kid, one thing I remember most about picture day was that we all got a comb. The reason for this was that the teacher and photographer actually took pains to make sure the kids halfway resembled the cute tots their mothers had sent off that morning, dressed in their finest, all spit polished. By the time my kids were in school, it seemed that the photographers were moonlighting from their normal jobs of taking mug shots of messed up, drugged out, drunken, roll in the dirt criminals. That photo of Nick Nolte from a few years ago had nothing on some of the girls' school photos.
Donalyn--That's awesome! I learned this round that if I french braid Alexis' hair, she'll get to go first. Apparently her teachers were afraid she'd rip the braids out any second and they didn't want to have to try to make her look human.
That's great! When I started reading this and you talked about her giggling I immediately thought about that video so I was delighted to find it at the bottom of this post!