The Third Child Syndrome
In our case, it is the third child. I presume in many other households, that do not have twins, it would be the second child. Not really sure if it is a syndrome or not, it just sounded good.
Today we are talking about our third child, Spencer. He is a very observant and persistent little bugger. And well, we think he is darn cute too.
This boy knows exactly when he hasn't been given fair and equal treatment. He has eagle eyes and can tell when there is something on the table that he hasn't been offered. He then begins grunting, like we are supposed to be able to decode it. If we don't respond appropriately or in a timely manner, he takes matters into his own hands. He is so much like Ellie in this regard! Fortunately Ellie is at an age where she can clearly request things and go about helping herself in a relatively safe manner. Spencer though, not so much. You can't turn your back for a second without the threat of him climbing out of his highchair and walking onto the table to reach whatever object he feels that he needs.
He also has had the pleasure of experiencing things far sooner than the girls ever did. We could have things, like dip, in front of the girls and they didn't seem to care or need it. Spencer needs dip. He likes dip. Carie was nearly mortified to find out that "I" had given him dip. She reminded me that the girls surely didn't get dip until they were almost four. Okay, well I don't know when the girls first had dip. It was well before the age of four (which they won't be for another week), but also well past the age of one.
But, I proclaim... The boy knows how to use dip, mostly. That is, until the remaining dip becomes smeared over everything within reach. That would be the mostly part that Carie has legitimate issue with. That is the part that makes us want to remove all dip from the house. Unfortunately, I don't think that tactic would set well with the girls. Especially Ellie who dips everything, literally!
Oh yeah, he has had many other things that the girls wouldn't dream of getting at his young age. But alas, he is the third child.
However, this past weekend I did put my foot down!
As we were preparing to leave on a road trip, the girls and I ran out to get a few things. On our way out the door Mommy made a request for "chocolate covered round things". I guess that was her code for peanut M&M's, hoping that the girls wouldn't figure it out. Surely they didn't, since I didn't. After further explanation the proper item was added to my list. How I was supposed to distract the girls while in the candy aisle selecting such an item escapes me. So, they totally helped pick out the perfect bag. They then took turns carrying it through the rest of the store and onto the belt at the checkout. They of course were interested in sharing such a treat while we were driving. Carie carefully and discretely distributed a few to each of us. She was being so so careful to keep the bag and its contents hidden. But eagle eyes spotted something he wanted. He couldn't have known what they were, but he wanted them. He began grunting at us and escalating his anger. I said absolutely not, he does not get peanut M&M's. Thank goodness they had peanuts in them or I may just have caved. He ended up thoroughly enjoying a granola bar instead.
The girls decided to "save" their M&M's for the party. When we arrived they took their cups with them, but they never ended up eating the candy. Wouldn't ya know, Spencer later spotted a cup with M&M's in them and he looked at me as if to say that he knew we were hiding something. I quickly got his attention directed elsewhere and I popped down the remaining candy pieces. Sacrifices, I know! He then discovered the empty cup, looked in it, looked at me, and grunted.
Today we are talking about our third child, Spencer. He is a very observant and persistent little bugger. And well, we think he is darn cute too.
This boy knows exactly when he hasn't been given fair and equal treatment. He has eagle eyes and can tell when there is something on the table that he hasn't been offered. He then begins grunting, like we are supposed to be able to decode it. If we don't respond appropriately or in a timely manner, he takes matters into his own hands. He is so much like Ellie in this regard! Fortunately Ellie is at an age where she can clearly request things and go about helping herself in a relatively safe manner. Spencer though, not so much. You can't turn your back for a second without the threat of him climbing out of his highchair and walking onto the table to reach whatever object he feels that he needs.
He also has had the pleasure of experiencing things far sooner than the girls ever did. We could have things, like dip, in front of the girls and they didn't seem to care or need it. Spencer needs dip. He likes dip. Carie was nearly mortified to find out that "I" had given him dip. She reminded me that the girls surely didn't get dip until they were almost four. Okay, well I don't know when the girls first had dip. It was well before the age of four (which they won't be for another week), but also well past the age of one.
But, I proclaim... The boy knows how to use dip, mostly. That is, until the remaining dip becomes smeared over everything within reach. That would be the mostly part that Carie has legitimate issue with. That is the part that makes us want to remove all dip from the house. Unfortunately, I don't think that tactic would set well with the girls. Especially Ellie who dips everything, literally!
Oh yeah, he has had many other things that the girls wouldn't dream of getting at his young age. But alas, he is the third child.
However, this past weekend I did put my foot down!
As we were preparing to leave on a road trip, the girls and I ran out to get a few things. On our way out the door Mommy made a request for "chocolate covered round things". I guess that was her code for peanut M&M's, hoping that the girls wouldn't figure it out. Surely they didn't, since I didn't. After further explanation the proper item was added to my list. How I was supposed to distract the girls while in the candy aisle selecting such an item escapes me. So, they totally helped pick out the perfect bag. They then took turns carrying it through the rest of the store and onto the belt at the checkout. They of course were interested in sharing such a treat while we were driving. Carie carefully and discretely distributed a few to each of us. She was being so so careful to keep the bag and its contents hidden. But eagle eyes spotted something he wanted. He couldn't have known what they were, but he wanted them. He began grunting at us and escalating his anger. I said absolutely not, he does not get peanut M&M's. Thank goodness they had peanuts in them or I may just have caved. He ended up thoroughly enjoying a granola bar instead.
The girls decided to "save" their M&M's for the party. When we arrived they took their cups with them, but they never ended up eating the candy. Wouldn't ya know, Spencer later spotted a cup with M&M's in them and he looked at me as if to say that he knew we were hiding something. I quickly got his attention directed elsewhere and I popped down the remaining candy pieces. Sacrifices, I know! He then discovered the empty cup, looked in it, looked at me, and grunted.
Labels: The Boy
posted by Sonya at 11:04 AM
4 Comments:
You better tighten the straps on the high chair and start buying the chocolate candies without the peanuts.
Is it really bad to give dip to your kids? Isaac loves all sorts of dips! Sam, well, his favorite dip is catsup.
Nope... we don't think dip is bad. Ellie loves to make her own dip by mixing several flavors together.
It is just over the top messy when smeared everywhere by a 1 year old. When feeding 5 young children a meal... you try and avoid the unnecessary messes.
Sonya
Even feeding 5 OLDER children it's still messy! Conlan has the fifth child syndrome. He wants to do everything that an almost 17 year old does and the other 3 older ones.Dips here are pretty weird here as well some of what the 16 year old mixes the 5 year old tries. Robbie has a hot taste for stuff which has sent Conlan for water more than once in his life.
Oh yeah - we have this same situation going on at our house. Only thing is...I cave. I bite the peanut M&M's in half and make she she is only getting the chocolate shell but still - I cave.
:)
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