Darius has been bringing lots of smiles and joy to our family with his pure and infectious laughter. This is especially so nowadays, since he has been laughing more, perhaps because he has become more expressive. Also, Catherine and I have started to discover what are the things that will easily get him into smiles and giggles:

Carrying and Swinging

I often tell Catherine that Darius will love roller-coaster rides in the theme parks when he’s older, simply because he loves being swung about by us, be it in up-and-down or circular motions, or us carrying him in an airplane posture while walking around. He does not seem to fear height or fast-moving motions at all.

Recently, he has also started to arch his back when being carried by us. When we rotate him backwards so that he can see the world upside down, he will get very excited and laugh non-stop in that position. He really seems to enjoy seeing the surroundings from a completely different perspective. However, we have to be careful not to accidentally injure him when holding him in this acrobatic posture. ^^|

Peek-a-boo

Like many other kids, Darius loves the game of peek-a-boo, and will giggle joyfully when he spots us appearing from another room or behind an object.

In addition, he loves playing a particular peek-a-boo variant with us — One of us will carry him with his face over the shoulder, and the other will start circling around him while making funny noises. Darius will keep turning his head to keep up with the moving person, laughing and kicking his feet excitedly whenever he manages to spot the person. He will also be letting out exhilarated noises throughout the activity. It’s a simple game but it sure provides Darius with a lot of enjoyment and entertainment.

Police and Thief

Also commonly known as ‘catching’, Darius enjoys playing ‘Police and Thief’, whether he is taking the role of chasing people (‘Police’) or being chased (‘Thief’).

When Darius detects one of us lurking behind him while he is walking, he will turn his head briefly to look backwards, and will start to giggle and try to run away quickly after spotting us. When it’s his turn to chase after us, we will purposely slow down to allow him to catch up with us.

Playing of Games

Playing certain games with Darius will also make him happy and in all smiles, especially with ball games (see Games Darius Play). I will toss a ball towards him and he will gladly pick it up with a giggle and pass it back.

Catherine has recently started playing with Darius using a Pooh Bear puppet. As can be seen from the clip below, he had certainly enjoyed the bear’s company:

Tickling him

Darius can be quite ticklish and he will laugh uncontrollably when we tickle him, or blow air at some of his more ticklish parts, such as his bellybutton.

Hugging and Kissing

Intimate body contact with him through hugging and kissing gets him smiling happily too. He especially likes us kissing on his cheeks where he will smile and shy away afterwards.

Smiling or laughing with him

Last but not least, to get him to smile at you, it can be as easy as taking the initiative to give him a smile first. He will then reciprocate with a generous smile or laughter in return!

Not many things in life are more joyous and satisfying than seeing our children enjoying themselves and smiling at you straight from their hearts, isn’t it?

PS: We are even hearing him laughing sometimes in the middle of the night while he was fast asleep; guess he must be dreaming of some happy things yay? ^^|

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