At lunch yesterday my friend Iván, father of a 1-year-old girl, remarked on how she’s uncannily similar to him in her mannerisms–things she hasn’t been taught & almost couldn’t have observed. When his mom sees her granddaughter pout or make certain faces, Iván says, she says “It’s you!!”
Our guys can be similar. I’ll sometimes catch Henry chewing on his knuckles or forearm. “I’m not eating my arm!” he’ll declare, but guess what? It’s just like my weird habit (which I caught myself doing while writing this post!)–and my dad’s for that matter.
Finny, meanwhile, has taken a keen interest in his often banged-up feet. “Check out my blood toes!” he’ll crow. Taking off his Crocs he declares, “A flock of blood toes is on the loose!” Offered some itch-busting eczema lotion, he shakes his head: “I’ll just play with my blood toes.” Let’s just say, the old man can relate. 🙂
When I asked Margot if she thought the boys mirrored any of her mannerisms, she had to think about it for a minute. “Oh yeah,” she said, “Finny’s definitely inherited the ‘I’m ready to go home now’ declaration from me.” (A rather well-known story about 2-year-old Margot concerns her wandering out into the middle of a grown-up Christmas party with her mom’s purse, finding her mom, and very definitively indicating she was ready to leave. NOW.)
Oh yeah, and there’s the stubbornness that both boys evince pretty frequently. We have no idea where they get that…!