Last Name = No No

Perhaps the funniest moment of my 21 months as a parent happened this weekend.

Over dinner with family, my brother-in-law asked my son Reece, "What's your name?" 

Reece answered with his correct first name.

Then followed the question, "Do you know your last name?" 

To which Reece replied, "No No." 

World, please meet my son, Reece No No.

Immediately we all burst out laughing and my husband and I quickly caught each others eye as we were equal parts amused and horrified that we say "Reece, no no" so much that he thinks it's his last name.

After the dinner, I sat-down at the computer with my husband to show him an old Cosby bit I remembered from many moons ago. It's the one in which Bill Cosby talks about how he thought his name was "Jesus Christ" and his brother's name was "Damn it" because his father would say things likes "Jesus Christ! Get in here right now!" and "Damn it, I said don't do that!"

In the company of Cosby, we continued laughing just thinking about the ways our little toddler was becoming a person who truly does absorb the things we say and do like a little sponge. Something I suppose we had begun to notice over the past months, but perhaps chose to also ignore because it's an indication that things are going to get more complicated. Gone are the days of just trying to get him to hold his own head up. Currently, we're in the stage of using to-go hot beverage cups for  morning coffee. Not because we're going anywhere, but because they have a lid and are less likely to spill and burn a wee one.  

Perhaps this is one of those funny things about parenting -- just when you get one thing down, it changes. Like doing the perfect burrito swaddle only to later realize you need to ween your child from a swaddle. It's like putting a safety lock on the toilet seats at home, only to later wish your child could have made it to the potty a split second sooner so your bathroom floor wouldn't be a puddle of....pee, I hope.

As we really began to think about it, we do say "Reece. No No." quite a bit. "Reece, no no. Don't touch that." or "Reece, no no. Mommy and Daddy don't like when you [fill in the blank with your pick of dozens of things].  So now, how do we undo something we didn't even realize we had taught our son?  Thank goodness for the parenting handbook that gives you step by step instructions on how to be a perfect parent and raise a perfect little citizen. Oh wait. That's right. There's no guide. No manual. Just this little bit of feedback we get from our children to let us know we need to course correct. What we were doing has not be working. So on to the next thing.

Now of course, I know there are dozens of "how to" books for parents. But as soon as there is more than one book, I view that as an admission that there's no one way. No right way. Just the best we can do.

So for the time being, we shall refrain from "Reece no no" and will try to be more specific with what he may not do at a given moment (like eat paint; draw on the walls; climb onto a table; attempt to jump off furniture, etc.).  We need to adapt our parenting to meet our toddler's savvy sponge skills. And actually, I plan on reveling in this stage because I know the next one to follow is the one where parents no longer talk to each other, but just spell out words. But perhaps with that stage, I'll be able to stop using a to-go coffee cup.