Manners

Julie and Lyla went to the zoo this morning while I stayed back and graded papers. This time Lyla did not leap off any ledges.

"No big dump."

"Good. Now say it one more time so you don't forget."

"No big dump, peez. Fank you."

We've been doing a lot with manners lately.

Lyla's two-year checkup is Monday. She'll get shots, and I have a feeling it'll get ugly. When she was littler, you could use her ignorance to your advantage. You'd console her without acknowledging what exactly had hurt her. Now Lyla will certainly associate the pain with the big pokey things held by the lady dressed in white. She'll talk about it for months.

"Bad pokey lady."

"Lyla--"

"No bad pokey lady, peez. Fank you."