Gabriel has come to understand what “No,” paired with Mommy shaking her head means. He frequently takes off, army-crawling across the floor in the direction of a “No-no” item. When he arrives, he looks up at me expectantly. When I say, “Gabriel, No. …No. ….Gabe, no.” He will stare at me with his big eyes open wide, weighing the decision, and then he’ll turn his little repentant self away with a big grin and head for me while we celebrate his good decision. …Except for the times when he makes the other choice. (Then he grips the no-no item tight while I chase him down.)
Cary and I don't think Zeke has fully caught on to the concrete idea of yes or no, right or wrong. When he’s splattering rice cereal all over his head and hair, and I say firmly, “No,” he just smiles and carries on. We’ll wait for him to show he understands, and clean up a lot of messes in the meantime. The only times Zeke exhibits signs of conviction are in the middle of attacks on his brother. Those times, when I call, “Zeke!” he sometimes jumps, like he’s startled he's been caught. When I call, “Zeke, no.” He pauses his attack, turns to look at me, and grins like I understand the fun in donkey kicking or smacking your brother’s head.
A catalog of our favorite "No" items and activities:
-Pulling up on the coffee table to reach Mom's camera or computer (Gabe), most likely because of the panic it causes her
-Pulling open the drawers of movies that could smash little fingers (Gabe mostly likes to put his hand on the handle to get a reaction and practice his decision making...)
-Sitting behind Mom while she changes brother's diaper and pulling out as many wipes as humanly possible in 30 seconds. *A new favorite as of this morning*
-Smacking our brother in the face until Mom says "gentle," and we pat nicely. (The hilarious thing is both brothers do this, and both brothers allow this offense against their face while waiting for Mom to intervene.)
-Pulling items out of brother's hand (Recent addendum: if the item is dropped, it's fair game. I'm raising boys here.)
-Donkey kicking our brother if ever he accidentally passes through the kicking zone (Zeke)
These days there is a lot of creative playing. We've started to practice taking turns, finding new uses for the same toys and even better, making toys out of things Mom and Dad never knew were so valuable. Mischief has it's place, but these boys are smart and good natured. Watching the wheels turn in their heads is a great full time job. These two are too much fun.
Cary and I don't think Zeke has fully caught on to the concrete idea of yes or no, right or wrong. When he’s splattering rice cereal all over his head and hair, and I say firmly, “No,” he just smiles and carries on. We’ll wait for him to show he understands, and clean up a lot of messes in the meantime. The only times Zeke exhibits signs of conviction are in the middle of attacks on his brother. Those times, when I call, “Zeke!” he sometimes jumps, like he’s startled he's been caught. When I call, “Zeke, no.” He pauses his attack, turns to look at me, and grins like I understand the fun in donkey kicking or smacking your brother’s head.
A catalog of our favorite "No" items and activities:
-Pulling up on the coffee table to reach Mom's camera or computer (Gabe), most likely because of the panic it causes her
-Pulling open the drawers of movies that could smash little fingers (Gabe mostly likes to put his hand on the handle to get a reaction and practice his decision making...)
-Sitting behind Mom while she changes brother's diaper and pulling out as many wipes as humanly possible in 30 seconds. *A new favorite as of this morning*
-Smacking our brother in the face until Mom says "gentle," and we pat nicely. (The hilarious thing is both brothers do this, and both brothers allow this offense against their face while waiting for Mom to intervene.)
-Pulling items out of brother's hand (Recent addendum: if the item is dropped, it's fair game. I'm raising boys here.)
-Donkey kicking our brother if ever he accidentally passes through the kicking zone (Zeke)
These days there is a lot of creative playing. We've started to practice taking turns, finding new uses for the same toys and even better, making toys out of things Mom and Dad never knew were so valuable. Mischief has it's place, but these boys are smart and good natured. Watching the wheels turn in their heads is a great full time job. These two are too much fun.
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