Jimi Victorino's Blog: Dad Darren

Jimi, sitting on the couch, sporting the hat, in January 2006 somewhere near seven months old. In the picture above, he is six times as old, 42 months.

I assume this is Jimi's "fishing hat." I believe that Grandpa Abel Campos and Daddy Darren have taken him fishing a couple times.

Grandpa Hoff's main outdoor activity is driving to Sonic on Pierce St. to buy a dietetic chocolate milk shake.

Fact: Do you know that Jimi eats vanilla ice cream, but will not eat chocolate ice cream. He doesn't seem to like chocolate anything.

I, on the other chocolate-coated gooey donut, like dark chocolate, chocolate with almonds, fudge chocolate, chocolate milkshakes, chocolate mints, chocolate shrimp, chocolate gumbo, chocolate enchiladas, chocolate tacos, flaming chocolate, chocolate kisses, French chocolate kisses, chocolate pizza, chocolate cigars, chocolate bunnies, chocolate chips, chocolate potato chips, chocolate toothpaste, chocolate shaving cream, chocolate margaritas, chocolate Pepto Dismal. Did I mention French chocolate kisses? This bit of humor is not based on the Forrest Gump shrimp this, shrimp that bit.)

Encouraging Sense of Humor in Your Baby Or Toddler
by Beverly Frank

A good sense of humor is one of the most important things you will carry with you in life. Life is simply too difficult and serious for you to not have one. Some people think that the best way to deal with things is to just be serious and never laugh. Research shows that this is not the case. Laughter actually is good for your heart-it can increase the blood flow by more than twenty percent! Laughter allows us to take a break from the daily grind. It helps us to escape our situation and look at it from a different perspective. Without laughter we would surely be in a terrible position in life. Because we know that laughter is the best medicine, most parents want their children to develop a good sense of humor. Like their parents, children will need to know when to laugh at life and its absurdities. But how can you, as a concerned and good parent, encourage a good sense of humor in your child? It isn't like watering a plant to watch it grow. A child is a person with a unique personality, and we should not try to change this. However, all children probably have some sense of humor and they can develop it more. While this might be easy in an elementary school child or teenager, how can you possibly encourage a good sense of humor in your infant or toddler?

In this respect you will be somewhat limited, although there are things you can do. Infants are only so aware of the world and what is going on in it. This means that any kind of complicated sense of humor is simply denied to them. However, because they have so little understanding, the things that happen to them are very important and influence their later development. A baby often smiles at certain people who make funny faces or when they are tickled. Encourage this sort of behavior in your child. Find the things that make them smile and repeat them. As the baby gets older it might start to recognize what is absurd or funny. In this case find absurd things that will make the child laugh.

Toddlers are the physical comedians of the world. They love to be tickled or thrown in the air. Some kids are more verbal and might like certain rhymes or silly words. They might find cartoons funny at this stage. Another thing that a toddler will start to do is be funny. When you recognize this in your child you know that they have a strong sense of humor. This usually manifests itself in behaviors that would seem absurd; when a child, for example, recognizes a rule or pattern but chooses not to follow it in order to get a response. Sometimes the beginning of a sense of humor is simply found in trying to get others to laugh.

One of the most important things you can do to encourage your young child's sense of humor is to laugh a great deal yourself. A child will observe this and learn that it is a good response to the world. A child who observes a great deal of seriousness and difficulty will probably think that the world is a scary place. When you laugh out loud you show your child that the world is okay and that its problems are not so bad. Kids will imitate their parents and follow in their footsteps. So remember to laugh in front of your kids and you will help them to develop great senses of humor.

Above Article Source

Do your kids have a special joke that they really like? Visit http://www.JokesByKids.com to submit your funny jokes, and to read Jokes by Kids.com submitted by other kids from around the world.

From Jokes by Kids

1. From Charlie, age 4, Delaware, Ohio
How did the gorilla know he was sick?
He had a belly ape!

2. From Sadie, age 10, California, United States Of America
What did Snow White say when she was waiting for her photos?
Someday my prints will come!

3. From Megan, age 9, Milton Keynes, England
What is green, has four legs, can't move and would kill you if it fell out a tree on top of you?
A pool table!

© Bob Hoff, 2009

"I do best what I do best."

That's what Jimi repeats several times a day now and he has been doing it for a while.

I finally asked him, "where did you learn that Jimi?"

He replied, "from my teacher."

"Which teacher?" I asked.

"From my school--Shining Stars."

When I asked for confirmation he said no, not Shining Stars. But then said something that sounded like it to me, but I wasn't wearing my hearing aid at the time.

When he says this, he reminds me of a very small motivational speaker. I love to hear him say it.

Now I am teaching him to point to his own head and to say, "When I think best," and then point to his own mouth and say, "I talk best." This is a lesson that while I have known it for years, I still struggle to apply on a daily basis.
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You-Select-the-Caption-Contest
Mail your suggestions to hoff_bob2003@yahoo.com by August 15, 2008. First Prize Winner may take Chris and I and as many people as we invite out to dinner, picking up the tab, the tip, and without whining.

Second Prize Winner will receive from Bob Hoff, former Park Historian, "free directions to the caverns."