MONDAY MOMENTS: LISTENING

As Baby T gets older, I find myself talking more. Sometimes it’s more like barking. I try not to tell him not to do something unless it’s unhealthy (dangerous), immoral, or illegal. But lately it seems like everything he does is at the top of the stairs, precariously close to the edge of the pool, or involves a sharp object and his mouth.

He’s pretty good at reading my verbal and nonverbal cues. He knows I mean it when I yell to stop before he runs into the street or falls with a pencil in his mouth. Last night when Big T fell asleep on the couch and Bay T had a devilish look in his eyes and said, “I wake up daddy,” his eyes got big and he took me seriously when I explained how waking someone up while playing is much different than waking someone up for real. But I’m afraid the more I talk, the less he’ll listen. 

Today, while getting out of the car on a busy street, I parked little M’s car seat on the sidewalk and asked Baby T to watch Little M (AKA stand on the sidewalk). Thirty seconds later, Baby T was at my side by the car. This time, it was my turn to listen. 

“I not watchin’ Mason, mommy.”

Or, after his birthday party, when several of the adults were trying to kill all the flies that had come in with the guests (I know—what kind of company do I keep, right?) he whacks our dog with his hand and says,

 “I kill Sully, mommy.”

He is talking up a storm these days, and the more he talks, the more I listen.

This post is part of Capital Mom's Monday Moments series. Check out her blog at www.CapitalMom.ca.