Copy Cat

Every day my boys do at least one thing that catches me a little off guard. But today they dished out a double whammie. One surprise was adorable—worthy of imitation and duplication. I hope that the other never, ever happens again. I’ll start with that one.

While we were getting ready for bed tonight Atrain shifted into “super silly/ignoring/defiant” mode. He thought it was funny to slap me on the back again and again and say silly things to me while I changed his brother’s diaper. It probably is a fun game to get a rise out of me while I’m trying to focus on something else: fun, and tolerable, until he says something like, “Holy Cow! You’re so stupid, mom!” I stopped mid-wipe and looked at him with shocked, confused eyes and asked, “Where did you learn to say that?” He thought it was very funny and continued to happily chant the phrase until I put him in his bedroom and closed the door. Sad thing is, as I’ve thought about where he may have picked up on those words I can’t help but point all fingers back to me. I rarely—if ever—call other people stupid, but I’m sure that Atrain has heard me call myself stupid. Like when I loose my keys or my phone or [fill in the blank] I occasionally let a frustrated, “I’m so stupid,” phrase slip out of my lips. How stupid of me. I don’t really want Atrain thinking his momma is stupid or—even worse—believing that it’s ok to think of himself as stupid. Oops. Stopping the stupid phrase starts with me.

And, on the more adorable side of the spectrum, Jdog has learned to crinkle his nose and snort. This one, I don’t think he picked up from me. Maybe from the husband, but even that’s a stretch. I think the snort is completely a creation of baby J. It’s also completely adorable—the way he gets overexcited, kicks his jiggley- soft, chubby legs, flaps his arms, scrunches his nose and then breathes quickly in and out, producing a number of quick little snorts. I just love it. The moment he began it, I couldn’t help but copy it—which of course, amplified the production of his new, token gesture. Hope I don’t regret egging it on. I doubt that I will regret copying. But I do regret being copied.