NO!

For a while, we had a new "word of the day" nearly every day. One day it was "yummy," another it was "bike," and another it was "tickle." Now the word of the week, or maybe month, seems to be "NO!"

Teshale started out communicating this concept with the Amharic word "ai," pronounced "eye." He eventually switched to "eh-eh, eh-eh," which I was grateful for at the time, because I much preferred being told "eh-eh" to being hit or punched. He was using his words, as we say so often to children of all ages.

Then for some reason it became "nay," which I always see in my mind as "nae," probably because it goes so well with his "thank-ee" which to me sounds so middle English or Scottish, or something along that line.

We worked long and hard to get him to make that long 'o' sound. "Ooooo," we'd say and have him repeat it with us. Once he'd get that right, we'd then put it with the 'n' in an Electric Company kind of way. "N, o -- no." We knew he was getting it the day he invented a 'no' song, with the word 'no' sung repeatedly to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

He finally got it got it about a week ago, and ever since then it's been the word of the day, every day. Our conversations go like this:

Me: You need to get dressed for school.
T: NO!
Me: Yes you do.
T: NO!
Me: I'm going to leave the room now and trust that you'll get dressed.
T: NO! (but he does)

Me: Are you hungry?
T: NO!
Me: Would you like something to eat?
T: NO!
Me: How about a banana?
T: NO!
Me: Ok, let me know if you change your mind.
T: NO!
(1 - 2 minutes later) T: Banana!

Me: What toy do you want to bring to school today?
T: NO!
Me: You don't want to bring a toy today?
T: NO! (but he gets one)

Or, we have scenarios like the one yesterday, where I picked up a happy child from school and had a nice drive home, until....we pulled into our neighborhood. No sooner do we turn the corner off the main road, then I hear from the back seat a defiant, "NO!"

Me: No?
T: NO!
Me: You don't want to go home to Teshale's house?
T: NO!
Me: Really?
T: NO!
Me: You don't want to watch tv?
T: NO!
Me: Really, you don't want to watch tv?
T: NO!

So, apparently he's not done vacillating between being one and being four. Like a one-year-old, he's discovered the most powerful word in a young child's arsenal; NO! Our social worker said the good thing about this developmental process is that he'll go through the phases much more quickly than they do when they go through at the typical age. We can only hope! In the meantime, I just try to keep a good sense of humor about it. "This too shall pass...." right?

NO!