The little naysayer

So within the past week Ethan has gone from saying "yeah" to every question we ask to saying "NOO" to every question we ask. How did that happen? As my way of coping I have started to call him the naysayer...trying to find humor where humor is nowhere to be found. And today we hung out with a neighbor boy for about an hour and suddenly Ethan learned "mine" and said it in the correct context and constantly for the next hour afterwards until nap time. Why is it that he doesn't learn the words I am trying to teach him? And what happened to my sweet, obedient boy? He has gone from darling to terrible twos right before my eyes...for some reason I expected this to be a gradual change not an all-at-once thing. Ahhh! Needless to say it is driving me crazy.

Here, however is a ridiculously adorable photo of the little naysayer. Multiple things add to that cute pose. First of all, this shirt has the name of my dad's business on it (Advantage Water Conditioning). This was my shirt when I was a kid. So cute. Also, hanging on the fridge is something that Ethan "colored" during nursery at church. "Heavenly Father Has a Plan for Me." They say he is really good at nursery. Even people who drop in to see their own kids comment to me how good he is. Well, at least he is polite to strangers.
Yesterday I saw Ethan playing make-believe for the first time. He handed me a cup from the table and then proceeded to pinch "something" (air) between his fingers and hand it to me. When I took it he laughed and did it again and again. Then I pretended to eat it. So he ate it too, and fed me some more. It is moments like this, and nap time, that make me still love the little monster.