Out of the Mouth of Babes

Ayden is three and he is your typical threenager.  We are ornery, moody, and really want to do everything by ourselves!  However I have noticed that his vocabulary increases daily and he is going to be a talker just like his sister.  He even has mastered the polite way to interrupt you by screaming, "Excuse me!" at the top of his lungs.  Probably not the most tactful way, but he's learning right?

Recently Ayden has begun finding his own niche of making us laugh.  The other day he yelled, "Oh (blank)!"  I say blank because I couldn't make out the word, but it sound like he said, "Oh dammit!"  This kinda set me over the edge and I freaked out and said he should never say that again.  Of course he had tears streaming down his face because I had scolded him, but he got it together and asked why he couldn't say, "Oh (blank)!"  I finally listened hard to try to figure out what he was really saying and come to find out it wasn't, "Oh dammit!", but "Oh Woolly Mammoth!"  Now why he chose to say that is beyond me, but it got me thinking that I really need to stop and listen.  

I need to listen to the conversations my children are having.  Enjoy their imaginative play and stories.  Listen or rather reflect upon the conversations Tyler and I have around our children to see what we may have influenced them with.  They are always listening and you know what I probably could learn a little from that feature they possess.  Listening has a lot more learning to go with it than just jumping to conclusions on what I think I heard.  We all make mistakes, but I could have prevented my mistake if I would have just taken the time to listen, rather be reactionary in what I thought I heard Ayden say.  

With all that being said, I think I am going to get ready for the day and set myself with the goal to just listen.