Starring Ethan... As King Kong

I ran across a video clip the other day, and I just had to share it. It did my heart good to hear Baby Allyson's belly laughs. She was about 10 months old at the time, and Ethan was about to turn 10. Here is the video and an entry that I wrote in Allyson's journal that day...

Starring Ethan... As King Kong - Thursday 4/12/07
No one can make you laugh like Ethan can. He can make you laugh without even being funny; you just automatically think anything he does is hilarious.

Allyson at 9 months

Your favorite thing to laugh at is his King Kong impersonation. He really hams it up, and you laugh so hard you literally fall on your bum. Today you laughed so hard that you were seized by a fit of coughing, and still you kept laughing. That was good because it helped you cough up some of the junk in your lungs after a week of being sick with a cold.

I was sitting on Ethan's futon chair, and you were standing next to me, holding onto the metal leg of Ethan's bunk bed for balance. Ethan gave his bare chest a couple of preliminary blows to get your attention. Then he climbed the rungs of his bunk bed, hung onto the top rail with one hand, and leaned back as far as his arm would stretch. Meanwhile, he beat his chest vigorously with his other fist.

All three of us laughed until we couldn't breathe. You threw your head back and laughed hysterically, coughing and gasping for air. Then you fell on your bum with a thud.

I ran to get Daddy's new camcorder, and Ethan did a repeat performance. Again, you laughed yourself silly, but--as is always the case when I try to capture a moment on camera--it wasn't quite as good the second time. Plus, I didn't know how to flip the viewing screen over so I could point the camera at you, now sitting on my lap. So we could hear you laughing, but the clip didn't capture your rapturous grin. Instead, I focused on Ethan's crazy antics.

As far as videos go, it wasn't a great one, but we enjoyed playing it back for Daddy.

I wonder if you will always idolize Ethan the way you do now. I hope you will. And I hope he'll always be as proud and protective of you.



Two Years Later
There is still no one who can make Allyson laugh like Ethan does. She still thinks he hung the moon. But they squabble sometimes, which surprises me. I really thought their nine-year age difference would prevent them from arguing, but I guess sibling rivalry can occur at any age. Still, they're great buddies, and I love watching them together.