Family Planning

Sophie is a very nurturing two-year-old. She is always playing "Baby" with her bears and other stuffed animals, wrapping them in blankets and putting diapers on them.

After spending a weekend with our friends (http://www.thecareyclan.blogspot.com/) and their phenomenally happy nine-month old, I decided the broach the subject of a new baby with Sophie.

(LET ME STATE FOR THE RECORD THAT WE ARE NOT EXPECTING AND HAVE NO IMMEDIATE PLANS TO INCREASE THE SIZE OF OUR FAMILY. I just thought Sophie would enjoy thinking about the possibilities for a minute. I've asked Will a few times and always gotten a positive response.)

Mom: Sophie, what would you think if we had a baby at our house? Would you like that?

Sophie: No!

Mom: Really? Why not?

Sophie: I don't like babies.

Mom: But what about Liam? You like Liam, don't you? Isn't he nice?

Sophie: Yes. But I don't like babies.

Then, yesterday Andy and I were oohing and aahing over our friends Jose and Carmen's three-month-old, who we were meeting for the first time. Jonathan is a very cute baby. But thankfully, Jose and particularly Carmen are not especially fluent in English and hopefully are not readers of this blog.

Mom: Sophie, look at little Jonathan. Isn't he so cute?

Sophie: No. No, he's not.

Mom (loudly): I know, I know... he is SO CUTE!

Moral: NEVER ask a two-year-old a rhetorical question.