Sunday, October 12, 2008

"When Tobin be big..."

Tobin is developing an awareness of little and big, or youth and age. We often explain to him that he can't do certain things until he is bigger. For example, he's quite interested in knives, which he's encountered by watching meal prep, spread butter, cut up his food at the table, etc. We've warned him that knives are dangerous, so he can't touch them. He always asks, "When Tobin be big, he can touch a knife?" We tell him yes, and this seems to satisfy him. A few weeks ago, we were over at some friends' who have two preschool-aged daughters. They had a kitchen play set and Tobin came over to me with wide eyes and a smile, holding a yellow, plastic play butter knife. He said, "This is a knife?" I said, "Yes, and you can touch it because it's a play knife." Just to confirm, T asked, "Tobin can touch it?" I told him it was okay, and he walked away looking at the knife with a big smile on his face. Since then whenever he tells me he can't touch the knife I'm using, he informs me that he CAN touch "the yellow knife." I suppose this little story could sound a bit creepy--a two-year-old fascinated with knives--but we find his interest quite entertaining and innocent, especially since the most dangerous thing he's seen a knife do is finely dice celery.

Tobin's sense of big and little isn't exactly, um, linear. He told Matt once, "When you be little and cry, Daddy, Tobin hold you." (Sniff.) And just this evening at bath time, he asked Matt, "When Mama be little, you give her a bath?" Matt smiled and said, "Well, no...but Mimi and Grandpa did." The other day, Tobin saw a picture of me pregnant with him and he was quite fascinated. I explained that was Baby Tobin in my belly and then showed him pictures of him as a newborn. I went on to tell him that he was very little in my belly and grew bigger and bigger and then Daddy and I went to the doctor and came home with Baby Tobin. I think this was satisfactory, although he looked a little confused. Tobin continued the conversation by telling me he would keep getting bigger and bigger and then "be so tall," while holding his hands way above his head. And then he explained that he would get smaller and smaller until "I be like a sandwich." !!!

As always, we're having fun. Matt and I often joke that it's not a matter of IF he'll be smarter than us, but WHEN. And then we wonder how we'll handle that. :)