My Little Yes Man

I had him well trained, until a few weeks ago, to agree with everything that I said.

For instance, I would be talking to Summy or Kiran, and I would turn to Pranav, and say, "Right, Pranav?", and he would say, "Right, Amma."

A few weeks ago, I was telling Summy something, and said, "Right, Pranav?". He looked mischievous and said, "Left, Amma."

Sigh. It had been really nice to have a pint sized person who backed up all that I said.

Now not only has that stopped, but he is telling me what to say. Today, he toddled up to me while mumbling an incoherent question. When he got close, he told me, "Say yes!".

"What to?", I said.

"Just say yes, Amma."

"But what was the question?"

He looked at me like he couldn't see why the question would be relevant. Here he was, simplifying things for me by providing all the answers, and I was just wasting time.

"Can I have a balloon?", he says.

Relieved, I say, "Of course!"

After thinking, I realized that though this seems like an attempt to influence me, it was not.

He already knew that I would not object to his playing with a balloon. So he was not really trying to get me to say yes, but rather, was telling me what he already knew that I would say.

I know this because he sometimes says things like, "Can I pour this glass of water on the floor? Say no."

So he could have just bypassed me and played with his balloon, but he still wants to follow procedure: ask permission, then proceed. So he comes to me, more as a ritual, than on a mission.

This is Pranav all over.

No Distractions

Today he was throwing a tantrum about pouring juice into a cup "all by himself", when I distracted him by making jokes, tickling him, and so on.

He couldn't help laughing, but he suddenly remembered his tantrum and said, "Don't cheer up me, Amma."

Gross Misunderstanding

One day, we were in the backseat of the car, and I was busy talking to Summy. Pranav was busy picking pieces of lint and fluff off the seat.

He interrupted to point a small something on his finger at me, and said, "What's this, Amma?".

I said, "Oh, that must be lint, Pranav."

"Here, take it.", he said.

"Just drop it, it's okay", I said.

"Take it.", he insisted.

After he rubbed his finger onto my palm, I looked at my hand, and said, "Where did you get it?".

He answered, "In my nose."

I can still hear Summy squealing "Gross!".

Do Not Say A Word

Pranav was telling me one of his stories, and I kept saying, "Uh huh", or "Okay", now and then.

He paused, and looked at me. "Don't talk, Amma."

"Okay, Pranav", I said.

"I am talking.", he said.

"Okay", I said.

"Don't say okay."

"Mmmmm."

"Don't say Mmmmm."

So I stared at him quietly. He stared back and grinned one of his mischievous grins.