He may seem sweet and innocent...

...but my baby is turning into a conniver. It's true, he's mastering different ways to both postpone the inevitable and speed up the unbearable.

For example, at one point this weekend, Eric and I went to Target just to go. Pretty much what happened is I said, "Eric, what do you want to do?" He said, "Wanna go bye-bye." So I asked, "Where do you want to go?" And he told me, "Wanna go Target." OK. So, we went to Target. Since I didn't really need anything, we started out by looking at all the things he wanted to look at. So, after 97 million hours of looking at bikes and helmets and TVs and baseballs and basketballs and footballs AND soccer balls, not to mention trucks and cars and choo-choos, I finally managed to trick him into going to look at something that I wanted to look at. And do you know what the little stinker told me?

E: Wanna go home.

Me: Just a minute, Eric, I'm almost done.

E: Hungry! Want something to eat!

Me: Eric, you just ate a little while ago. We'll leave in a minute.

E: Thirsty! Want milk!

Me: Soon.

E: DC! (DC is a ratty old bib that Eric hauls around everywhere.) Want DC! DC WHERE AAAAAAARE YOUUUUUU?

Me: Eric, DC is in the car. We'll go out to the car in just a minute.

Eric: Want to go get DC! Let's go get DC! Yay!

Me: Eric! Knock it off!

Eric: (insert pouty lip and fluttering eyelashes) Tired. Wanna go home go night-night! [at 4 p.m.]

OK, so there's one example. This next example is similar but different--a stall tactic. Yesterday afternoon we were at my parents' house and Eric needed a nap. My parents and grandma were sitting on the patio outside the basement door--two levels below the bedrooms. I think Eric and I were inside playing on the main level when I finally managed to wrangle him for a nap and take him upstairs. I got him up to the room where he would be napping and I changed his diaper. He then told me, "Want to go say night-night to Daddy." OK, like a sucker, I totally fell for it, not foreseeing the chain of events to follow. We went back downstairs to say night-night to Daddy and which point he told me, "Wanna go say night-night to Gigi," (my grandma). Then I thought, "Well, that's kind of sweet--Gigi will appreciate that, especially considering the not so warm reception he originally gave her." So, I took him outside and down the rock-stairs, where he proceeded to completely ignore Gigi and tell me, "Wanna run down the hill." I wouldn't let him, so after that tantrum subsided, he told me, "Wanna go see the fishies in the pond." At that point, I insisted that he take a nap and carried him kicking and screaming up two flights of stairs back into the bedroom. I sat down on the bed with him and he immediately said, "Wanna go say night-night to Poppy and Nonny," who were all the way back down stairs. Not only that, but he also wanted to watch TV, play basketball and go outside. Oh, and he was hungry too. Probably starving.

Seriously, it's no wonder I'm exhausted.