Scaring the crap out of my son. Literally.

Soren likes to hide in random places, like behind the couch, behind the blinds, around corners, etc. The other day he felt it would be fun to hide himself in the coat closet, sporadically popping out and yelling, “Boo!” Melanie, Lorelei and I were sitting on the couch, just laughing at him. But then I thought I’d shake things up a bit. Upon shutting the door with him inside the closet, I snuck right up to the door, got on my hands and knees, and waited for him to open. When the door cracked open, I let out a roar that the neighbors likely heard, and Soren jumped and slammed the door shut. After a few moments, he opened the door and said, “Daddy, I’m poopy.”

It was quite entertaining for us, and it makes me wish I had a camera running in the house 24/7, like one of those nanny-cams. But then again, maybe I don’t; that would enable Melanie to see how I wait until 5 minutes before she gets home from a night shift to clean the house (I always promise to do a thorough cleaning…). I don’t want that kind of pressure on me.

I must admit, I am not the first the excite excrement from my boy. Those honors belong to Brittany. While she was watching him one day at her house, Soren found her stereo, and turned the volume knob to full blast—while the stereo was off of course. Then, finding the power button, his curiosity forced him to push, and the radio came on at full volume. He leapt in the air and ran behind the couch as Brittany went to turn off the stereo. As she did so, she noticed quite the stink, and sure enough, Soren had scared the crap out of himself.

These are the moments that we live for. I recall the time that Melanie and I were recording our “application” for the Amazing Race (with Terence and Brittany of course). We were trying to showcase how energetic and crazy we all were, and the four of us were wrestling around. I ended up getting a good tackle on Mel (she’s such a good sport; she lets me win on camera, but never hesitates to incapacitate me when we’re alone). As I did, the force of the blow caused a pair of green elevens to spew forth from her nose. The last thing you hear on the camera before the scene cuts away: “You knocked the snot out of her!”

I love my family!