Notice the furrowed brows...
And the tight lips to guarantee a smile won't escape...
He does have a silly side to him, too. We have a select few photos of him smiling and giggling, but for the most part, he is very serious. For the past month or so, he has picked up a new habit. From time to time, he will look directly at us, then raise his eyebrows as high as he can, slowly close his eyes, then with all the drama that a toddler can muster, methodically turn his head to the side and once again open his eyes. It very much reminds me of eye rolling.
I so badly want to believe that he is just being silly, but there was something about the way he did it when he was in trouble last week that makes me question his understanding of this little gesture. After a particularly difficult afternoon, I sat with him in my lap in the rocking chair in his room. I talked to him about whatever it was that he did to get himself in trouble. I asked him to give me a hug and kiss since he had been ugly to me, and he responded by very dramatically closing his eyes, turning his head and opening them again, with a look that screamed, “I don’t want to, and you can’t make me.” I was horrified since it seemed as if a teenage boy was sitting on my lap instead of my sweet little toddler.
This past weekend my brother and sister-in-law were in town visiting. Jake took advantage of a large audience and demonstrated his eye rolling over and over and over again. When he realized that roaring laughter came every time he preformed, he quickly decided that it was a very entertaining game. Uncle Dave would ask him to give him “five,” and Jake would do so the first few times. Then he decided it would be more fun if he shook his head “no” when Uncle Dave asked. When that left us chuckling, he began the eye rolling. He has definitely mastered the “toddler snub.” And snub he did. Auntie Bri got snubbed, Daddy and Mommy got snubbed. Lilly was just about the only one who was not subjected to this cold-shoulder look this weekend.
Last night, Cody and I were discussing this new habit Jake has picked up. Here’s how the conversation went:
ME: Do you think he knows what he is doing?
CODY: No, he does it because we laugh at him.
ME: I know, but remember the other day when he got out of time-out and rolled his eyes at me? Do you think he was being disrespectful?
CODY: I think it’s harmless. He does it to be silly.
ME: Well, I don’t want my kid to be disrespectful because we think it’s cute and laugh at him. Maybe he should go to time-out when he rolls his eyes.
CODY: I really think you’re overreacting. He’s fine.
ME: Well, I just can’t figure out where he picked that up. How does a nineteen-month-old learn how to roll his eyes with such seriousness?
An hour later, Cody said something to me. I can’t remember what he said, but all I know is that he sat straight up and started pointing at me when I didn’t respond. Here is the rest of the conversation:
ME: What?! Why are you looking at me like that? What are you pointing at me for?
CODY: That’s it!!! Oh my goodness, that’s it!! That’s where Jake gets it from!
ME: What are you talking about?
CODY: You just rolled your eyes at me and you looked just like him!
ME: (Insert dramatic eye roll) Whatever!
CODY: And there it is again!!! I can’t believe you are the one who’s so concerned about his eye rolling and you’re the one he picked it up from.
Nice. Still not sure I’m alone here, but Cody’s pretty insistent on me taking the fall. In fact, the man cannot let it go. This morning he kept harassing me about it, to which I pointed out that I am not the only one who rolls her eyes in this house. His response was, “The drama with which he does the eye roll makes me think he got it from you.” I am starting to grasp that having kids is a lot like looking into a mirror. And sometimes the reflection is not so pretty.
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