Toots and Sass a Frass

New phrases are spreading around our house like wildfire. Some are even from my 18 month old, Boston Ren, who up to this point, has been silent (minus the screaming). He began saying, "Yeah, yeah," when asked if he wanted something. He said Nanny for the first time. He says dog when he hears Sam, our chocolate lab, bark and can even make over a dozen animal sounds. I'm so proud of how he grows and learns. However, I am a bit worried about his cow noise because frankly, that cow sounds demonic. Boston's ornery nature has earned him the nickname, "Toots", one I'm sure he'll learn to treasure.

Hooper has become much more bold in the things he says to Shiloah and I which has earned him the nickname Sass a Frass. Tonight when Shiloah told Hooper he was going to run the boys' bath, Hooper jumped up and said, "Oh no! You're not going anywhere!" Hooper has learned the word girlfriend and applies it to any girl he knows. Which leads me to ask, is it wrong to tell your son girls are the devil? Anyway, his most used new phrase is, "Oh that's just great!" It's relayed dripping with sarcasm which could be my fault. If we're out of cookies, "Oh that's just great!" If he spills his drink, "Oh that's just great!" I don't normally like sarcasm in children but maybe since he's mine these phrases when used appropriately, make me laugh. And that IS, just great.

Wrongly Accused

The middle of October was rough for Hooper. He had two problems that converged during one week. Number one: he wasn't taking naps at daycare. Number two: he wasn't getting a clean up treat at Rainbow Lane, his preschool. Of course Hooper's biggest problem is he is one gigantic tattle tale to the point that he rats himself out. He informed us that he had taken no nap on Monday nor had he received a clean up treat on Tuesday. So by Wednesday his Daddy and I were very upset with Hooper. We both had stern conversations about how it isn't nice to not help clean up. And yes, we (and when I say we I mean me) threatened to spank his rear if he didn't shape up.

Here's where I completely fail as a parent. I called our babysitter to make sure he was napping and found out he wasn't NOT taking a nap. There was another naughty boy there that was keeping him from napping by screaming and yelling. Hooper then commented that "he didn't get a treat" again. OH! Utter frustrations until I hear, "It' not my turn yet." Turn? Turn?! "Hooper, do you take turns cleaning up at school?" "Yeah, but it my turn soon again and I get treat."

Utter failure as a parent. With a little questioning we could have found out what was truly going on in both situations but we were so quick to assume our son was the naughty one. Hooper was wrongly accused on both counts. I'm just glad he doesn't listen to us most the time or all those lectures might have got that little fella down.

Ignoring the Obvious

For any parent, one of the most ironic stages of a child's development is talking. You wait and wait to hear those first words. Every word is logged in a baby book somewhere with pride. Soon those words turn into short phrases and then to full sentences. Conversations between parent and child begin. Oh how wonderful it all is.

But then one day you are trying to perform some ordinary task such as paying bills or reading an important article or letter and it hits you. Your kid will not shut up! They never stop talking, not even for one minute.

Such a moment occurred in our house when Hooper was 3 1/2. Hooper wanted to talk ALL day long. He would ask questions about every topic and then once he had run out of genuine questions he would ask the ones he already knew the answer to. Shiloah would come home from work and while eating dinner he would see this behavior and look at me as if to say, "Does he do this all day long?" My answer would always be, "Welcome to my world."

The really annoying thing is that Hooper is smart enough to know when I was trying to ignore him. If he was talking to me and I wasn't participating in the conversation he would get right up in my face and say, "Mom! I'm talking to you!" If I replied in a slightly annoyed, "What?!", he would say, "Mom are you not happy? Are you cross?" Oh course I was always happy and that made him happy. It's what I deserve for ignoring the obvious, he was talking to me! I did my best to always talk back because I know some day he will stop talking to me and stop wanting my answers to the questions he has. Make no mistake, when he decides to stop talking to me I will be right up in HIS face saying, "Son! I'm talking to you!"

Holly's Cross

Parents of young children all know who Thomas is. He's from a series of children's stories about a train engine named Thomas and all his engine friends. The series was created by a British minister for his son. My oldest son Hooper fell in love with Thomas at about the age of three. He didn't just like Thomas. He adored Thomas. He had all the engines and played with them every day while watching the cartoon.

After several months of this obsession he began using some of the British lingo. The most used word was cross. Instead of mad, Hooper would say someone is cross. One night we allowed Hooper to eat a candy bar, which was rare. Hooper devoured it and then requested M&M s. I told him, "No more candy!" very sternly. He walked into the other room where Shiloah was and said, "Holly is cross." Now using cross sounds snotty enough but add calling your mother by her first name, is a whole other category of snotty.