Laughing With Us and At Us

So the baby Thumper (not his real name, not sure if I'm going to stick with this one or not) has been smiling for a few months, but only in the last month has he been developing his laugh.  It starts out as a smile that gets bigger and bigger, until finally he gives a little "heh heh" chuckle or a squeal.  When he really gets going, his laugh is surprisingly lower and sounds like "Ha! Ha!"

It can sometimes sound a little mocking, I think mostly because it makes me think of this:

Most of the time, he doesn't seem to be laughing at anything specific; the Yeti and I will be laughing at something together, and Thumper wants to join in, so he chuckles along with us (which usually makes us laugh harder).  But there are times.  Oh, there are times.  

One day I'm in Whole Foods and Thumper's along for the ride in the Ergo carrier.  We get to the checkout aisle and I notice Thumper's smiling at the cashier.  This is kind of a big deal, because at that point, he pretty much only smiled at the Yeti, me, and my mother when she visited and spent an extended amount of time with him.  When strangers tried to say hello or smile at him, he typically wouldn't even make eye contact.  

So he's sitting here smiling at the cashier, and the smile is getting bigger and bigger.  The cashier isn't even paying attention to him, he's talking to me, but Thumper's staring in delight.  Then he starts to chuckle: "Heh heh heh." 

At this point perhaps I should mention that the cashier, in typical hipster fashion befitting Whole Foods, has this giant, wispy, handlebar mustache that's wiggling as he speaks.  And it hits me: it sure looks like Thumper's laughing at it.  

He's done this a few more times since: when he watched me chew my food.  After the Yeti and I got haircuts he distinctly laughed while looking at the tops of our heads (thanks, kid).  It's adorable and hilarious, but at the same time I'm a little relieved he isn't talking yet.  Who knows what he's thinking when he gets going? 

see, mustaches are funny