Can We Snuggle?

I'm sure many of you will agree that one of the more fun elements of parenthood is recalling the amusing things our children say. There are the repeat sayings that we're sure we'll always remember, but years later are sometimes merely a faint memory, like Clare's 15-month-old phrase of "No fine! No fine!" when things were most definitely not fine in her book. A mere year later I can barely recall how toddler Danny used to frequently express either distaste or frustration with something by proclaiming, "It's weird!"

We vow to write these things down. Sometimes we even do...but not as often as we'd like. So today, as we near Danny's fourth (!!) birthday, I want to be sure to jot down two of his recent sayings. The first was a one-off that took place over spring break, and I think has permanently settled itself into the family lexicon. As you can imagine, as the youngest of four grandchildren, and the only boy, Danny is occasionally the odd man out, or skunk at the picnic as my mother likes to say. I don't know what exactly transpired on this particular day to disturb Danny, and I'll never understand the timing. But I will (hopefully) always remember sitting at my parents' dining room table, having just enjoyed a delicious feast, when a previously-excused Danny approached us all and announced, very sorrowfully, "I'm a little bit sad, and I'm a little bit angry." The peals of laughter from every single one of us were surely not the response he was going for, so I still feel a little bit bad about that - but I'm grateful for this most useful phrase!

I'm also grateful for the numerous times of late that I hear Danny ask me, "Can we snuggle?" Danny is definitely our more cuddly kid, and I'm trying to absorb every moment of that before he's too big and cool to snuggle with his mom (and is mortified by my even mentioning how he used to love to do that). Okay, maybe I don't appreciate it every time he asks, as he's clever enough to use this as a ploy when I'm angry with him. No flies on him, either, because who can resist such an offer?