Mirror, Mirror On the Wall...

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the order in which they eat a gingerbread man. If you eat the legs first you’re sensitive, if you eat the left arm first you’re creative and if you eat the head first you’re strong willed and independent.

I think I’m usually a left-arm-first-gingerbread-man-eater but this season I’ve definitely been a legs first person. Must be the hormones.

Toby, on the other hand, goes straight for the head every time. Grinning as he munches savagely on the head, there is nothing that so accurately sums up the current stage we are facing -- that of independence and stubbornness. From what socks he wears to daycare to the location of the squirt of ketchup on his dinner plate, there is no step in any process that cannot become a hot topic of debate if it at all deviates from the master’s plan or liking.

Washing his hands and face, for example, is a regular struggle. He’s not QUITE thorough enough to pass mommy or daddy’s standards in terms of cleanliness but yet he INSISTS on walking to the bathroom, turning the light on, soaping up and rinsing all by himself and it’s not until we are granted permission to join him in the bathroom that we can quality control.

Just writing that paragraph makes me roll my eyes and think, “Get a grip, parents. Do you REALLY have such little control over your kid?” It’s ridiculous to think I have no power over the hand washing process until his royal highness grants me access to the lavatory. But I promise you, I’ve lived through the alternative scenario and it’s just not worth it. In general it’s a smooth (although often unnecessarily prolonged) process that sometimes even allows Rob and I a few extra moments to ourselves at the dinner table while Toby takes his time washing up. But every now and then it backfires on us.

The other morning, for example, as I cleaned up the breakfast dishes, I heard the water running and Toby laughing away while saying to himself, “Don’t DO that! Don’t DO that!” Why I didn’t think to go in earlier I will never know. Blissful thinking. When I eventually DID go in I found him splashing water ALL OVER. Not an inch of ht mirror, sink or countertop was water free. And to top it off he was SHOCKED and HORRIFIED when he was rewarded with an immediate time out.

Yesterday night, however, was a different story. He was in a silly mood and took his sweet time getting to the bathroom. We were getting exasperated with his dawdling and frequent attempts to touch the walls with his dirty hands until at last he decided it was time to wash up and as we finished our supper we heard the little prince marveling to his reflection, “Oooh la la! Oooh la la!”

Not only is he independent - - he’s gaining quite the ego as well. We’ll need to work on the French accent, however, if he ever wants to impress Grandma with this new saying…