My four babies are almost exactly 18 months apart. This means that one will finish a developmental stage, and six months later the next one down starts it. It's just enough time to remember how much I did not enjoy that stage. Learning to rhyme, for instance. It starts with nonsense (do gaga and boom-bom rhyme?), moves to related non-rhyming words (do waffles and syrup rhyme?), transforms to a word and a nonsense (do boat and nonoat rhyme?), and ends with your child chanting "scoot, scoot, like a voot" until your ears bleed. Each phase tend to develop during 20-40 minute car rides.
Some stages are even less magical. One of Princess's favorite rad games 18 months ago was to go upstairs and NOT get her pajamas on, then have a fit while I put them on for her and took her downstairs to brush her teeth. Then she would sit in the bathroom and NOT brush her teeth while I read a bedtime story. When I finished she would scream, "but I want a STORY!!! but I want a STORY!!! while I brushed her teeth. She'd scream in bed and kick the walls for a while, and eventually fall asleep. She let this lovely game go about six months ago, I and was so, so very happy.
Enter Peanut. Her motives are a little different. She's working on rad too, but she exhibits it totally differently and must be handled totally differently. Totally fun. Her main thing is impulse control, and that includes a state-of-the-art motor mouth. So last night I realize she has been upstairs a little too long, and I realize I can hear her yapping away. I go up, tell her naked self, "time to brush teeth," and ferry her downstairs while she yells, "but I want PAJAMAS! I don't want to be NAKED." She grabbed her robe, sending the hook flying, and we marched downstairs with me thinking, "sheesh, I didn't miss this at. all."
She never takes things as far as Princess, though, and as she was sullenly brushing her teeth, I took the opportunity to speak to the Cuddle Bear about this recurring situation. "Cuddle Bear, pay attention. In six months you might start wanting to try this too. Look around. This didn't get Princess anything good, and it's not getting Peanut anything good, either. Don't even think about it. Just don't. Two is my limit."
Cuddle Bear turned, looked me lovingly in the eye, and said, "Mommy, I'm going to eat my booger now."
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Oh yeah, we have super sonic mouths here too. My girls love to repeat a monotonous rhyme, for sure. But what they really love is to make up repetitive songs using nonsense words to blend in where they can't think of one. Then repeat and repeat again.
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