A Boy's Laughter

Today James laughed like I have never heard before. For some reason, he thought it was hilarious to use his toy excavator to dig inside my mouth. I would hold the toy in my mouth by the arm and repeat James' favorite exclamation: "Scoop! Dump!" Of course, this would come out somewhat muddled (ever try talking with an excavator in your mouth?), which made it even more funny. After a round of this, he would lean his head back and I would nuzzle/tickle him in that sweet spot where the jaw meets the neck, which sent him into convulsions. It was a combination of belly laugh and exploding giggle, as if his little body just couldn't hold back the joy. Then, we would do it again: excavator, scoop-dump, head back, tickle. And he would laugh hardily again, this time perhaps even more than the last. Best of all, after he caught his breath, he would let out a long sigh as he looked at me, a sort of, "Ahhhh..." that said both "I need a break" and "do it again."