Teasing me?
The other night I picked Colin up from school, we came home, and he was playing on the kitchen floor as I cooked dinner. I expected him to play with the magnetic letters, the empty box (*sigh*), an occasional dog toy, his car/bus, and/or his balls. I even thought he might make a run for the dog's water dish.
I did not expect him to taunt me.
I was wrong.
The cat was, rather unwisely, laying in the middle of the kitchen floor. Again. Not really the brightest move, since we have a mobile infant in the house, but he made his choice and I had to live with it. (I tried getting the cat to move, and even carried him into the other room a few times, but that was pointless as he kept returning to the kitchen floor. Cats? Stubborn? NEVER!)
Anyway, I heard Colin crawling... his little hands making a SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! sound as he motored across the floor. I turned to see what trouble he was getting into, and saw that he was about to grab the cat's tail. Now thankfully Colin does not pull on the cat's tail, but he does have a tendency to hold it with a vise-grip which probably doesn't feel great.
So there's Colin, with his hand poised over the cat's tail. I firmly, in a deep, mean, unhappy mom voice said "NO" and wagged my finger at him. Colin paused (hand still over the cat's tail), and smiled from ear to ear, then sat up with his hand blissfully away from the cat.
I turned around for a moment, and heard... nothing. Which, with Colin, is worrisome. Sure enough he was right next to the cat again, hand poised over the tail. Me: "NO" Colin: Giggle. This time I stayed watching the boy. He looked right at me, and got his hand near (but not touching) the cat. Me: "NO!" Colin: giant sunshine smile, with a giggle.
We kept this routine up for a few minutes, during which I was equally flabbergasted and frustrated, and Colin was quite simply amused. Then I gave up. The cat was picked up and deposited in an open window for safekeeping, and I held the boy while I cooked, just to be on the safe side.
What blows my mind is that he never actually touched the cat. Never grabbed his tail, or a handful of fur. I don't even think that was his intention. The entire exercise was designed to tease me. To get a reaction out of his poor, sleep-deprived mother. He's not even one year old yet, and already he's learning how to push my buttons! Teasing me for his own amusement. This is a trick his father has perfected, but I didn't think Colin would start this early.
I am SO in trouble.
I did not expect him to taunt me.
I was wrong.
The cat was, rather unwisely, laying in the middle of the kitchen floor. Again. Not really the brightest move, since we have a mobile infant in the house, but he made his choice and I had to live with it. (I tried getting the cat to move, and even carried him into the other room a few times, but that was pointless as he kept returning to the kitchen floor. Cats? Stubborn? NEVER!)
Anyway, I heard Colin crawling... his little hands making a SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! sound as he motored across the floor. I turned to see what trouble he was getting into, and saw that he was about to grab the cat's tail. Now thankfully Colin does not pull on the cat's tail, but he does have a tendency to hold it with a vise-grip which probably doesn't feel great.
So there's Colin, with his hand poised over the cat's tail. I firmly, in a deep, mean, unhappy mom voice said "NO" and wagged my finger at him. Colin paused (hand still over the cat's tail), and smiled from ear to ear, then sat up with his hand blissfully away from the cat.
I turned around for a moment, and heard... nothing. Which, with Colin, is worrisome. Sure enough he was right next to the cat again, hand poised over the tail. Me: "NO" Colin: Giggle. This time I stayed watching the boy. He looked right at me, and got his hand near (but not touching) the cat. Me: "NO!" Colin: giant sunshine smile, with a giggle.
We kept this routine up for a few minutes, during which I was equally flabbergasted and frustrated, and Colin was quite simply amused. Then I gave up. The cat was picked up and deposited in an open window for safekeeping, and I held the boy while I cooked, just to be on the safe side.
What blows my mind is that he never actually touched the cat. Never grabbed his tail, or a handful of fur. I don't even think that was his intention. The entire exercise was designed to tease me. To get a reaction out of his poor, sleep-deprived mother. He's not even one year old yet, and already he's learning how to push my buttons! Teasing me for his own amusement. This is a trick his father has perfected, but I didn't think Colin would start this early.
I am SO in trouble.
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