Article Contributed on: 7/23/2007 11:40:03 PM
It was a Sunday night and we were having dinner. The boys were having dinner that is; the girls were out preparing a week's worth of VBS snacks. This meant that Daddy Dinner Rules were in full effect, so everyone was in good spirits.
(I should explain 'Daddy Dinner Rules;' the main course is protein and that doesn't rule out large amounts of cheese. For legal purposes, the vegetable can be - but isn't limited to - cheese puffs or potato chips. There is still no playing at the table, but 'passing' 'vegetables' is considered sharing. It is well known that I will punish every belch... shorter than 3 seconds in duration. And you have to finish your 'vegetables' before you get ice cream.)
As the boys ate I turned around to check my e-mail, (another Daddy Rule - TV and electronics are generally approved rather than generally denied), when I heard D-Man say, "yay - didit" from behind my right shoulder. Recognizing his usual cry of conquest, I immediately turned to see what it was he had "did:"
D-Man: "Yay - didit."
D-Man: "What did you do?"
D-Man: "Made the noise."
I should point out that learning one or both of my boys had "made noise" is akin to discovering that dogs bark.
D-Man: "You made a noise? What noise?"
D-Man: "Dis noise." I watched as he looked into his lap and feared the worst/funniest. He then moved his fingers in a strange way and I suddenly caught on to what was happening: he was snapping his fingers.
At 31 months and a handful of days, my son was already snapping his fingers and making a noticeable sound while doing so. That's impressive enough. But what really takes the cake is the fact that he learned it entirely on his own.
Nobody had yet "worked with him" on it - he had only seen me doing it in order to direct the dogs in where they should go. And he learned it that easily.
It both impresses and intimidates me, frankly...
Chris Stone is a slightly different - hopefully better - Father and man than he was yesterday...