Project 52: Week Four

Giggle, gurgle! The theme for Week Four of Project 52 was laughter. And when it comes to laughter, there really is no better subject than my little Evan. He's always full of joy and has the biggest, brightest smiles around. He has a great sense of humor, loves to be playful, and is endlessly silly. All in all, when I think of laughter - I think of him.

Here is my submission: "The Swing".

This photograph is so quintessentially Evan. The bright eyes, the joyful, flushed cheeks, and the beaming grin He's taking life for a ride and loving every second!

While I love the emotion of the image, I wish the composition had been a bit better. I would have liked to not chop off his hand on the right side of the frame, but I was holding both the camera and the swing - so I'll take what I got! Beside, when I compared to some of the others I captured over the week, none were quite as giggly as this one. It's not technically perfect, but it's pretty darn captivating. Just like him. 

Here are a few more laughs captured over the week…..I loved how you can't see Evan's smile in this photograph but you can see the beginning of a giggle in his eyes. 

And of course, slides also produce big, triumphant laughs. This was taken at the base of the "big kid's slide" and Evan was so proud of himself for whizzing down. He did it over and over again. Most of these images had GREAT laughs, but were fuzzy on focus. It's pretty hard to catch him at that speed!

And then here he is playing in our bedroom with big brother, who is out of the frame but the recipient of that adoring grin. The boys were playing a simple of game of "Ready, Set, Go!!!!" He'd call out the sequence and then barrel down the hall at full speed and burst in the door and yell "boo" to MJ, at which point both would dissolve into fits of laughter. It had no real point, but they played it for 19 minutes straight - taking turns on who was the runner. Wiggles out and super-cute giggles, I'll take it!

And play time with Daddy is always good for lots of laughter. Being held upside down or getting tickled gets belly laughs every time. Ted always hears "again, again!" from the boys, who never tire of his affections or his super hero strength.

Last, but not least, one little image of my MJ mid-giggle. MJ has a beautiful laugh and an equally stunning smile, so it's not for lack of love or effort on my part that he's only included once. For how wonderful his laugh is, it's always been elusive. Even as a baby, MJ flashed a smile of delight or grin of amusement, but his laughter was always reserved for very special occasions.

I love this image, even though it was taken in very low light and therefore has a very grainy quality to it, simply because it's a perfect representation of his laugh. It's funny, quirky, completely unpredictable, and partially hidden - because he guards it so. But when you catch it, it will light up your heart like nothing else!

Hope your week is full of laughter and delight!