Monday March 24th, 2014

The exercise:

Write about: the copycat.

Much better connection to the world wide web this evening. I might even get to bed before midnight!

Natalie and her mom took us for a visit to their school this afternoon - Becky teaches while Natalie attends StrongStart there. Becky needed to get some prep work done before Spring Break finishes this week, so Natalie, Kat, Max, and I played in the gym with basketballs and exercise balls and bouncy balls and... I think you get the idea.

Other than that, it was more running around the house and playing in the snow. Good times, but I think we'll be ready to go home by the time our flight leaves on Wednesday afternoon.

Mine:

Having spent the vast majority of the last four days with his cousin Natalie, it's not particularly surprising that Max has picked up a few things from her. On the more endearing end of the scale is her love of running up and down the hallway, at top speed, over and over and over again. He's been going to bed at night rather easily since that began.

On the less charming side of things is her fondness for climbing up on things, like the box in her room that she uses to reach the light switch, and the exercise machine tucked into a corner of the living room. Oh, and how she enjoys getting up on the couch and crawling/jumping across to the armchair which lurks beside it.

There have been new words as well. Max knows that the smaller of the two dogs is Daze (Daisy to us) and the big one he calls Bay (that would be Bailey) - at least when he's not referring to him as woof woof.

However I think my favorite is one that he's picked up from everyone in the house. You see, the dogs are not allowed in the kitchen. So when one or, more typically, both wander in there the standard response is to point out of the room and say "Out! Out! Out!" Max has figured this out. So he has been joining in whenever the occasion calls for it (though he does tend to point at them).

Also: whenever he wants them to get away from him.

Also, also: when the cat comes into the kitchen. The cat, mind you, is absolutely allowed in there.

I think you can imagine Max's confusion and consternation when the cat utterly ignores him.

3 comments:

Greg said...

Heh, there's a lot to said for finding activities that kids (dogs) love that wears them out and gets them to lie down and be calm for a couple of hours :) I reckon Max is going to a climber anyway, with or without Natalie's encouragement, so you'll just have to make sure there's nothing lower down than three feet in your house. Max'll feel like a Lilliputian for a few years :-D
Why is the cat allowed in the kitchen but not the dogs? Cats are more dangerous than dogs as they contaminate surfaces and twine through legs.

The copycat
"Don't pet the cat!" The despairing wail came just three seconds too late, as Alice had already bent and stroked the cat's head. She stood up, looking puzzled, and asked "Why?" Then she stood up, looking puzzled, and asked "Why?"
There was a pause and then the two Alices looked at one another. Critical eyes scanned up and down, noting the rip in her skirt, the asymmetry of her calf-high white socks, the scuff on her shoe and the smudge on her nose.
"He's a copycat," came the voice from the other room. "As you can see."
Alice I sniffed disparagingly. "Not a very good copy," she said. "I look much better than that."
"Yet you're the copy," said Alice II with just a hint of triumph in her voice.
"I think not!"
"I'm surprised you can think at all, with just a poor copy of my brain."
A hand lashed out, and a copy of that hand caught it. "I knew you were going to do that," said Alice I smugly, and then doubled over as a knee caught her offguard.
"Pathetic copy!" snarled Alice II, looking for something heavy to brain her with.
The door the other room closed quietly, and the copycat was delicately placed, in gloved hands, in a cage.
"Every time," muttered the voice. "Every time, the copies go feral."

morganna said...

Copy me copy you
Over and over until
People can't tell who started it
You or me

Marc said...

Greg - eh, not my house, not my rules. My guess? The cat would just ignore that rule anyway.

Hah, great take on the prompt :)

Morganna - heh, sounds like a lot of kids I knew when I was younger, and a few that I've met since :P