Out of the mouths of babes

Aaron the Baron has been particularly amusing of late. He is one of those kids whose verbal skills developed early, and we are consistently shocked by some of the things that come out of his mouth. The little baby development books and websites tell us to expect two and three word sentences from him, so when he whips out entire verses to songs we cannot help but be surprised and often very amused (“I’m bringing home a baby bumblebee” is his current favorite–thanks, Auntie Anna…The song is really gross, and now every time any of the kids see any gooey or messy substance, like whatever Mercy got on the bottom of her shoe the other day, they are quick to announce that it is a smushed-up baby bumblebee).

The day after Elijah was born, Doug went to our house to spend time with Mercy and Aaron, and when he told Aaron that Elijah had been born, Aaron’s response was this: “Baby Elijah! Aaron pick him up, hold him.” And then he paused and with big eyes and arms thrown up over his head he exclaimed: “Kick him the ball!” Anyone who has played ball with my son can testify to the power (and accuracy) of his kicks. We’re going to have to be very vigilant…or maybe have Elijah fitted for a helmet.

One of Mercy’s birthday presents was a doll-house with little pieces of furniture and people and pets, etc. Needless to say it has been THE TOY since. Yesterday, Aaron came up to me holding the little man figurine from Mercy’s doll-house. Now, there is no shortage of weird nicknames and rhymes and general silliness that come out of my mouth on a daily basis, and the day before I had addressed Aaron by saying: “Aaron is the man, he’s the man with a plan…” So yesterday, when I asked Aaron who he was holding, he answered without hesitation: “The man with a plan.”

In addition to a new baby brother, the other object of recent and great significance in Aaron’s world is the Goodyear Blimp. Because of our proximity to USC, on game days we can actually hear the marching band at our house. We also lie beneath the flight path of the blimp. It was right before Elijah’s birth that Aaron saw the blimp for the first time. We were driving home from church (I had finally reached the point in my pregnancy where I could no longer push the double stroller that far) when suddenly, there was the blimp in all of its noisy, bloated glory right above us. It was like Aaron was paralyzed. He sat frozen, speechless while I excitedly pointed the blimp out and I drove around the block a few times so that we could continue to see it. Now, the reaction I would most expect from him would be: “see it”, or for him to comment about its size or noise or how it is like an airplane or helicopter. Finally, in a hushed voice Aaron spoke: “DRIVE IT.” Truly his father’s son.

Anyone who has spent time with my son can also attest to his absolute love for noodles. He can seriously out-eat any of us when it comes to pasta, so the other night when I had fixed salmon and a side of rotini, Aaron was quick to finish off his noodles and ask for more. “Eat your fish and you can have more noodles,” we told him. He frowned and grumbled about it and flat-out refused to eat his fish. We tried various methods of persuasion and play (“Aaron, here comes a fish-blimp…eat it!”) to no avail. The rest of the noodles were still in the pot on the stove, and as he started again to plead for more noodles, we repeated: “Aaron, eat some fish and you can have more noodles.” Frowning, he looked at us and, before complying, demanded: “Show me the noodles…”