They say it’s 7. Hmmm…

This evening, as his wont, almost 22-month old Michael was climbing around on the couch in front of the built-in bookcase, trying to Get Stuff. Who cares about toys – I mean really.

(Although earlier today at the library, he had rather unexpectedly become engrossed in one of those roller-coaster bead toys – ubiquitous in all the doctors’ offices – in a way that he absolutey never had before. He was totally absorbed for minutes. I told him it was time to go. He just looked at me and said, "Bye-bye, Mommy!" It took a reminder of the fish (Wrfish to him) in the tank on the way out of the children’s section to get him away from it. And even then, it was a struggle.)

Oh, tonight. Yes – he was climbing, trying to get behind me, and all of a sudden…my back was soaked. He’d gotten a hand on my glass ("gink" in his language)  and started trying to drink it, and dumped half of it on me. Well, that was it (a long day – Michael’s in Florida on his own annual Schülerkreis, and so it’s just me against them ’til Monday) – pick up the living room, baby in play yard, me upstairs with Joseph to read him stories.

I left Michael in the play yard downstairs while I read to Joseph – I could hear him whimper, then settled down to play, and then by story #4 was wailing. So goodnight Joseph, down to get Michael going to sleepytown.

He stood, on tip-toes, hanging onto the edge of the play yard.

"Are you sorry?" I demanded.

"WOWWY!"

"What did you do that was bad?"

I could see his eyes immediately flick to behind me, where I’d placed the glass next to the stairs.

"Gink! Wowwy!"

It’s just amazing to me, honestly – how fast they learn, how these glimmers of understanding just build up, day after day. It’s what some people don’t understand about the appeal of parenting..if you have eyes to see and ears to hear, it’s the greatest lab in the world for those of us who are obsessively curious about human nature – 24/7…it just never stops.