No Thyself

It remains to be seen if we will experience the phenomenon known as the "Terrible Twos". We are at nearly the 18-month mark now, and, if anything, Benjamin is getting more easy-going. He's shed most of his (normal) infant-stage crankiness and he's now mostly just a happy kid with a burgeoning imagination and cheerful personality.



He knows at least 30 50 words now; we are compiling an up-to-date list (along with his pronunciations of them), and I'll post them when we think we have them all. One of the words he is making increasing use of is "no", and it seems that this word may come in handy for a Terrible Two phase, if one were to go through such as phase.

He uses "no" in two different situations. First, to deny the entry of undesirable food products into his mouth (picture a clenched jaw, then a turned head, then, when the spoon is at a safe distance, "no". He probably learned this skill at daycare. There are clearly some future occupants of juvenile detention centers in his class.

He also uses "no" in a more unusual situation. There are often certain items around the house that he can reach (my laptop, piles of work-related papers, breakable chachkies, etc.). When these items are in sight, he's on them like white on rice.



We politely take them away from him, waggle a finger, and say "no no no Benjamin". The punitive effects of this seem to be lost on him, however. Now, when he picks up the remote control or throws Daddy's journal articles on the floor, he dutifully says "no no no" while he's doing it. He is self-disciplining. Actually, "no" doesn't mean "no, don't do that", it's just what you say while you are undertaking certain activities with your parent's belongings. He seems to just be innocently mimicking us (like he does in just about every situation). Either that, or he's becoming an evil genius.