Our little parrots

Here are some new phrases that the boys have been spouting out lately:

• Stop it!


• Go away!


• No! Uh-uh-uh! Uh-uh!


• I said no!


• Let's go!

And spoken as an internal monologue:

• This, or this? Ok!


• Milk, or juice? Milk! Alright.

You have no idea how often you say certain phrases until you have two young toddlers who follow you around all day and repeat everything you say like parrots. At first I was taken aback when they started saying "go away," wondering from whom they had learned such harsh language. Then I realized that I was to blame! Whenever I'm in the kitchen trying to load or unload the dishwasher, they will flock to it and I have to repeatedly tell them to "go away!" so that they won't grab a knife, break a glass, or get soaked with water, etc. 

The inflection and tone of Joshua's voice when he says "Uh-uh-uh! Uh-uh!" is hilarious b/c he sounds exactly like I do when I am warning him against doing something naughty. And by the way, the boys don't say "No! Uh-uh! Stop it! Go away" to us or even each other, but rather when they are off playing on their own, as if they are incorportating these simple dialogues into their imaginative play. They do, however, say "let's go!" when they actually do want to go somewhere.

Sadly, the boys aren't picking up on more edifying language, which I presume is because it isn't spoken nearly as often in our house these days. Just think, by now the boys could be memorizing scripture if we spoke it to them all day long! I guess I should at least try to start by weaving some more uplifting language into my daily dialogue with them.

One edifying thing the boys have learned is to ask each other to "share!" when they want something that is in the other's possession. They usually take this peaceful approach first, and if it doesn't work after the first couple attempts, they resort to taking the coveted item by force. It's interesting to see how strategies employed by twin toddlers are mirrored by world leaders on a global scale!

In other news, the boys can now not only identify, but also sing their ABC's! They can also count to 10, and whenever they have an opportunity to count how many of something is in their presence (like how many people wearing eyeglasses are in the room) they will.

And last but not least, Happy Birthday Papa! :)