30 Days of Thanks: Day 25

Today I am thankful for...my child's sense of humor.

Peanut's favorite phrase lately has gone from "No" to "I don't...". It started out as "I don't like..." or "I don't want..." but quickly was abbreviated to "I don't" to fit any situation or activity that he does not want to participate in.

Time to wash your hands. - "I don't."
Time to take a bath. - "I don't."
Let's go to the park. - "I don't."

The list is endless and it appears to be his first response regardless of whether he truly agrees or disagrees with any given request.

Luckily, for every 10 "I don'ts" he comes out with one statement or action that reduces me to a fit of giggles. It's like his own built in mommy-pressure-release-valve. A few silly moments:

* Recently during a visit to NC, High Heeled Sis was helping with the bath and bedtime routine. While na*ked baby was running around the upstairs, HHS jokingly told him he had a bottom like his mama (this is a long-running sisterly tease). He stopped and told her, "Mommy has a booty!" Then took off down the hall while HHS and I were rolling on the floor in tears.

* During lunch, peanut looks into his milk and tells me, "There are people in there."
Me: "There are people in your milk?"
Peanut: "Yeah."
Me: "Well, if you drink the milk, you must be drinking the people, too."
Peanut looks into his milk, takes a big sip and: "Mmmm. Yummy people!"

* After draping all the resistance bands around his neck during our stroller workout, peanut announces to all the mommies, "I am so cute!"

* While trying to prep dinner one night, I did a rough outline of a turkey on peanut's easel and asked peanut to paint in the feathers. After a few minutes he started asking "Where's the turkey? Where da turkey go?" I took a look and he had painted so many layers over the top of my outline that you'd never know it had been there. Funny enough on its own, but later he walked by the drying masterpiece, leaned in close and said "Turkey come back."

Typical kid behavior, I know. But these are the moments during these tumultuous toddler times that I cherish and look forward to daily. It would be so easy to get wrapped up in the negativity, the reprimanding, the repeated (and repeated and repeated) requests. Instead, I'm choosing to be thankful that peanut and I can take a step back to enjoy each other and share a giggle.

Laughter, after all, is the best medicine.