Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Little Randomness and the Beginning of Sibling Strife

My two year-old hears his father and I use the word "nice," oftentimes in response to said toddler catching a ball, running exceptionally fast, or finishing all the tiny green balls that accompany his chicken nuggets at lunchtime.

He wants so badly to use this word, but completely misses the context of its usage.

A few days ago the foul stench of fecal-filled diaper wafted over to where I sat on the couch, feeding the baby and half-listening to some frivilous travel tips from the Today Show gang. 

"Did you poopoo?" I asked The Tine.

"No," he lied with ease.

"Tine, is there poopoo in your pants?" I questioned in the skeptical tone of motherhood.

"Yep."

I set down the baby and lifted my little mass of stank onto the changing table.

As soon as I opened his Luvs for teenagers (my son is quite large for his age and wears what my husband and I affectionately refer to as ginormodiapers) his curious, little hands reached down for some foul scented play-doh action.

I blocked him like a seasoned goalie, apparently alerting him to the substance that filled his diaper with my quick hands and panicked expression.

He looked at me excitedly and said...

"There's poopoo in there?  Nice!"

~



















We visited my parents this weekend.

It is a three hour drive and about five minutes from home the baby started complaining.  Nothing too serious, just airing his grievances and such.

My toddler detests the grating sound of Bady's cry.  I wonder if his reaction is anything like mine... racing heart, tightening chest, burning skin.  Probably not, but if so I can completely excuse his behavior.

When the baby used to cry The Tine would gaze sympathetically it his direction and croon, "OT, baby, OT" (translation: "It's okay, baby, it's okay").

Now he snaps his head around and with fire in his eyes shouts, "Stop trying baby, stop trying!" (I should note that in almost every other way he is a loving and attentive big brother, just not when the baby cries... which on days like today is ALL THE TIME). 

On this particular trip, however, instead of yelling at the baby he decided to match that annoying yelp with one of he own.

At the next pause he looked right in the baby's eyes and moaned a very deliberate "Ehhhhhhhhh!"

It wasn't very loud or fierce, but the baby's bottom lip quivered slightly before he burst, shedding hysterical tears and whipping his head from side to side in the carseat.

We turned up U2, which calmed the baby immediately and for two blissful seconds all was well with the world.

At which point The Tine, with a devilish gleam in his eyes stared him down and...

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Not even U2 could bring the screaming bundle back this time. 

As much as we both wanted to chastise our son we were too busy desperately hiding our laughter from his attention-seeking eyes.

And in a long life of brotherly quarrels and sibling strife, the teasing begins...

4 comments:

  1. It sounds like he has a witty, amusing, sarcastic sense of humor... LOVE IT!

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  2. You see, he was just waiting for THE perfect moment to use the word nice!!! I hope the baby stops crying soon and his brother resists setting him off yet again!

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  3. I think there is no greater thing in the world than watching my 2 girls interact.

    Have fun! This is just the beginning!!

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  4. Beautifully told. I love the keen observer you are.

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