We All Like a Little Affirmation

Jasper is a nut. He cracks us up all the time. This has been going on for some time, and I should have been documenting it (I'm playing catch up) ... but Jasper really likes acknowledgment of what he's said.

• Half-hearted "ah ha's" won't do.
• "Yes, honeys" are overlooked.
• "Yep," "Yes" and "Um" are all summarily discarded.
• Nothing short of complete regurgitation of what he's just said is considered acceptable.

If I happen to be on the phone in the car (yes, a frequent activity), I have to stop what I'm saying to the person on the other line to say "Yes, honey, it was a tanker truck. I saw it too! Awesome!" And yes, exclamation marks are necessary because while this boy creates his own positive feedback, he expects it in return.

Another example of this is when he's said thank you for something. Somewhere along the line we ended up instilling manners enough that he's good at saying "thank you" when he receives something or when someone does something for him (minus a complete stranger - at which point he's still mute). But when he says "thank you," he expects you to say "you're welcome" in return.

For instance, I might give him his milk cup from the refrigerator, and he'll say "thank you." If I don't immediately say "you're welcome" he'll stop running out of the kitchen (on his way to toys), look at me and say "okay, thank you," nodding ever so convincingly as he does. Only when I look him in the eye, say "you're welcome" (once or twice) does this courteous verbal exchange end. It's hysterical!

When I put him down for a nap, he'll say "I love you. See ya later. Good bye." If I don't repeat that and happen to close the door before I've said all that, I'll hear him through the door saying, "say I love you, mommy!" Oh, what a hoot!

And, what a blessing!