The other day while Bella was hanging out with Grandma, she noticed Grandma’s tarnished front tooth and commented, “Grandma, your teeth look really bad.” Kids are brutally honest.
Grandma chuckled and asked, “Which tooth?”
“The front one,” Bella indicated by pointing to her front tooth. She leaned in closer and stared intently at her teeth as if to examine them. Her expression turned to surprise and she suddenly bolted from the room saying, “I’m gonna go brush my teeth now!” I’ve never seen a three-year-old run to brush her teeth the way Bella did that day.
All you mothers know that one of the perks of being pregnant is having a well-endowed bust line. Apparently, my growing bosom was noticed by Bella when she exclaimed, “Mom, I like your boobies! Is the baby growing in there, too?” Thanks, Bella. You just gave my normally A-cup self-esteem a brimming B-cup compliment!
Unfortunately, not all of Bella’s antics are full of fun and laughter. Her adept command of the English language is now accompanied with a growing knack for debating or negotiating her own terms for things she wants. Gone are the days when simply saying “No” was enough to appease her. Now, I find myself entrenched in creating detailed explanations for what seem like simple questions. Or drawn-out negotiations that oftentimes end in her getting her way anyway. I suppose this is a prelude to her teenage years.
Like the time when I asked her to take off her cheap, $2, made-in-China, lead-paint-based necklace (not sure if this is true, but it sure looked cheap). She proceeded to argue why she should be able to keep it on. First she asked her signature question, “How come?”
I explained that the necklace was loose and that I worried that it would choke her while she napped. Using the tactic of analogy, she countered like any skilled debater and asked, “Well, I guess you should take off your necklace at night” she said flatly, pointing to my necklace. The girl had a point. I had to think quick.
“Well,” I started slowly. “Only adults can wear necklaces at night because we don’t move around as much.”
“I’m an adult.”
“You are?” I asked. “Do you have a job?”
She thought for a moment, “Yes, I do jobs at school all the time.” Once again, she had a point. Her activities at school are called “jobs” so technically, she did have a job.
“Do you have a mortgage? Do you pay bills?” I continued, with Bella countering with an adamant, “yes” every time. The stand-off was becoming quite comical when I realized that Bella wasn’t going to back down. I used my final line of attack and said, “If you’re an adult, then you should know how to spell the word, so if you can spell ADULT, then I’ll let you wear the necklace to bed.” Aha! I finally cornered her into submission.
She looked at me with an indignant and determined glare and started to speak, “D…A…” I couldn’t help it, but I busted out laughing. In her little mind, she thought that ADULT was really a dult. She had tears brimming from her eyes from frustration, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Poor thing just wanted to assert her self; all she wanted was to find a reasonable answer for not being allowed to wear her necklace!
No matter how mature or quick-minded Bella may seem, I’m always reminded that she, like every three-year old, tries to push our boundaries, but also longs for the safety and comfort of our arms.
Last night we were playing pretend and I thought it would be funny to pretend to be a monster. Now that she was older, I was sure she was over her fear of monsters so I used a scary face and cackled like a witch. She looked at me and ran away crying. “Don’t do that!” she cried. “I don’t like monster!”
I felt so horrible for pushing my boundaries too far. I scooped her up in my arms to reassure her that I was only pretending. “Mommy’s just pretending. I won’t be monster ever again. I promise.”
“Why do you want to be monster?” she sobbed. “You’re Mommy. You’re my special friend...”
My heart melted. I guess she’s not as grown up as I thought…
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