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Rivkah had her first true smile at six weeks. Since then, Jack had been absolutely obsessed with making her laugh. He tickled her tummy, he made funny noises, he played peek-a-boo, he did everything he could possibly think of to make her laugh.
Occasionally, they would get a little giggle, but he wanted to hear his girl laugh. (Her smile had been enough to convince Jack he might be having a heart attack, his chest had ached so much at seeing it).
While Rivkah was not laughing, Robby certainly was. Jack was being absolutely ridiculous in his attempts, which got a little more ludicrous every day. “Jack, relax, she’ll laugh when she’s ready. She’s barely three months, most babies don’t really start laughing until about four months.”
“No, our baby is very advanced. She is absolutely ready to laugh, she’s just making me work for it.”
“I have a feeling this might be a common thread throughout our lives.”
“I’m going to get her to laugh.” Jack insisted.
Later that night, they were all in the kitchen. Jack was looking through the fridge, trying to decide what to make, and Robby held Rivkah, chatting with his husband.
“I don’t know, what do you think about—” Jack started, then cut himself off when he sneezed violently, bashing his head on a shelf, then bashing it again when he tried to stand up too fast.
Rivkah laughed. Not one of the little giggles, a full on belly laugh. Robby stopped, holding still so that he wouldn’t lose it. Jack, rubbing his forehead, pulled out of the fridge and turned to look at them.
“Did she just laugh?” He asked, his voice tight.
“Well…” Robby tried, failing to keep a straight face.
“I have mimicked every barn yard animal, tickled her, played precisely 8,000 games of peek-a-boo, and me bashing my head after sneezing is what gets her to laugh?” He asked.
Rivkah was still giggling, mostly because Robby was also laughing, even though he was trying to hold himself together. Jack placed his hands on his hips. “Is this what we’ve come to? Violence and sneezing are funny?”
She continued to laugh. Jack broke the pretend seriousness and smiled widely, taking Rivkah in his own arms. “Of course that’s funny, not Papa trying to make you laugh, Papa injuring himself in the most ridiculous of ways.” He pressed kisses all over her, causing her to shriek and laugh more. “You are devious, my child. I love it.”