Memory Bank

I can't count the number of times lately that I've looked at Matt or my mom and said, "Camden just said the funniest thing..." There are so many lines that come out of his mouth that make me pause and think where on earth did he hear that?! before bursting into laughter. And I don't want to forget any of these little things about him at two-and-a-half. So, here's a deposit into my memory bank:

"Be nice!" Camden loves this line. He uses it if I pick up a Matchbox car that he had his eye on ("No, me play too Mommy, be nice!") or if he wants to do something like close the garage door on his own. He doesn't even give me a chance to say yes or no; he just adds the tagline "be nice" onto every request: "Me close door all by me self, BE NICE!"

"Love to!" Honestly, I suppose I say this myself, but that was news to me. That's the funny thing about kids: they're a mirror into who you are; they reflect things about yourself that you don't even notice. Most of the time when I ask Camden if he wants to do something ("Want to come sit on the couch with me?", "Want to help me clean up?", "Want to help make dinner?"), he'll respond with, "Love to!" and come running. And I love that kind of enthusiasm.

Speaking of love, Camden has begun making random declarations of love lately. He'll enthusiastically say, "Me looooove..." and I wait with anticipation for him to name the latest object of his affection. On his list lately? Ham. Potatoes. Lexy (my mom's dog). Grasshoppers. Zebras.

Whenever we're out on a walk through our neighborhood, Camden stops and picks "flowers" for me. He'll pause and say, "Get you some flowers, Mommy," and upon handing me a handful of weeds, he'll command, "Smell them!" He'll make a sweet boyfriend some day, I'm sure of it.

He's also beginning to master the art of manipulation with the ladies (namely: me). The other day, I was trying to coax him into taking some more bites of his turkey at lunch time. He was trying everything in the book to distract me or delay having to eat the disputed bite. My favorite? He got right in my face and told me, "Give you a smooch first". He's also been known to say, "Love you,  Mommy!" when he can tell I'm getting frustrated with him. And I fall for it every single time.

When manipulation doesn't work, he'll turn to negotiation. "Play cars one minute!" is a line I hear at least 75 times a day at our house.

"Where is you?" I have no idea why I find this line so ridiculously cute. But any time I've walked out of a room for more than a minute, it's guaranteed that I will hear a tiny voice asking, "Where is you, Mommy?" Or, if he's hiding, he'll immediately give himself away by asking, "Where is me?!"

He's already a bit of a backseat driver. Whenever we're on our way anywhere, I hear a voice commanding me from the back seat: "No turn this way, Mommy; go that way!" Once, I even heard, "Drive too fast, Mommy."

He's already working hard on his manners, saying "Excuse me" when he needs to get by someone and "thank you" whenever I help him with something. 99% of the time this is unprompted, which makes me happy.

A few of my other favorites? "That's neat!", "That was fun!", and "That right, Mommy?"

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid?