Me!

I had always thought that little kids spoke in the 3rd person until they were pretty old.  It turns out I know nothing about such things and should probably go back to reading some kind of parenting book (a hobby I gave up when Babykins turned 1).

Without brothers and sisters at home, Babykins is not particularly tough when it comes to defending herself and her toys, so I often see one of the other kids at daycare pull a toy out of her hands and run away.  She's never upset about this, so I just tell her to hold on tighter, then direct her to another toy.

Last week I went to pick Babykins up from daycare and arrived just in time to see her walking across the room with a toy clutched under her arm.  As I watched, another toddler zeroed in on the toy and started making his way toward her.  I started toward the projected collision point, prepared to intervene if necessary.  But just as the boy got close and started to reach his little hand out for the toy, Babykins grabbed the toy tighter, turned her shoulder to block him, and yelled, "No, ME!"

I couldn't decide whether to launch into a talk about sharing or clap with pride.  I settled on a big hug and an internal cheer.  Go, Babykins!