Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Earplugs Would Be Cruel, Right?

Summer is here.  The smell of sun tan lotion fills the air.  That... and the sound of my 4 year old's non-stop chatter.  It is one big run on sentence around here, and my ears are feeling... weak.  My two current personal favorites are when he says, "Mommy (or Mom, which he is sometimes now calling me - wah!), I have to tell you something".  Then, I sit, waiting expectantly while he tries to remember, or get out whatever supremely important thing he had to tell me at that exact moment.  "Uh... ummm... well... I...uh..."  Then there are "the jokes".  The jokes go on and on, something like this...
"Knock Knock?"
"Who's there?"
"Duck!"
"Duck who?"
"The duck said 'Quack'!"
"Ummm.... okay".
"That's funny, right?"
Now, I have 3 choices.  One, laugh hysterically and act like that is the funniest thing I ever heard.  The problem with this option is that it will only make him tell me more ridiculous jokes.   Two, give a soft chuckle.  The problem with this option is that it will make him want to try harder to get a bigger laugh, which will make him tell me more ridiculous jokes.  Three, say, "That's not really funny".  The problem with this option is that he will be even more determined to make me laugh, so he will tell me more ridiculous jokes.  Help me please.

I'm going to need to sign him up for swim lessons very soon.  You can't talk underwater, right?

6 comments:

The Girls' Mommy said...

1- that is an AWESOME picture
2- they talk just as much at the pool, and they splash in addition
3- get a book of jokes from the library. We finally had to do that with Maggie because I just couldn't deal with hers anymore. Now at least the jokes are funny, but we keep hearing the same ones OVER and OVER.

Wait, maybe that's not better...

Jen said...

I knew someone would say to get a joke book. My mom got him one, but he can only memorize so many jokes (just the one so far). "Why did the golfer bring along another pair of pants?... In case he got a hole in one!" Oh, and Dylan doesn't get that joke, so he says, "But why is that one funny?" each time.

The Girls' Mommy said...

Katie's favorite: Knock knock, who's there, Lionel, Lionel who, watch out or Lionel eat you!!

Our little cousin's favorite: What do you call a snail on a boat? A snailor!

My big cousin's favorite (she's 32): Did you hear that there was a fight on the train? The conductor punched a ticket!

Brooke said...

My kids do both of those things. Oy. It doesn't get much better as they get older, I hate to tell you! The jokes... OY... they are so bad. My strategy is to just give him a weak smile... with a little "Ha." And move along. Good luck.

Lisa @ Boondock Ramblings said...

My kid's joke: "Knock. Knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Aren't you glad I didn't say butt?" And he tells that joke all day long.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

Please tell me he says, "Mom! You know what?!" 97 times a day--because I lived through that and you should have to as well!