10 minutes to Wapner
"Mommy driving?"
"Yes, mommy is driving."
"Mommy driving?"
"Uh-huh, mommy is driving."
"Mommy driving?"
"That's right, mommy is driving and you're riding."
"Mommy driving?"
"..."
"Mommy driving? Mommy driving. Mommy driving! G-man riding. Mommy riding. Mommy driving? Daddy work? Stop sign O! Stop sign O! More stop sign O! See stop sign. No see stop sign! Mommy driving? Mommy driving. Mommy driving?"
Oh. My. God. It's like riding with Rain Man.
The G-man is a chatterbox, but that doesn't mean he has a lot to say. More like he has a few things he really needs to say all the time. Maybe he just likes hearing himself talk, because he certainly doesn't seem to be paying attention to the answers I give.
I remember when Scott was so anxious for him to start speaking. While I was of course pleased and happy that he was starting to communicate and meeting his milestones, I wasn't truly pushing for it too soon. And why? Because I knew that once he started, he wouldn't stop. Gee, it's like I'm psychic. Or maybe just that I read ahead in the books or started paying attention to toddlers around us before he became one.
He doesn't have an off switch. From the moment his eyes open to the last drifting notes of whatever he sings himself to sleep to, he makes himself heard. It's kind of exciting, and a little bit funny now that he is also beginning to parrot back everything we say to him. (Yeah, we really have to watch what we say now!) But let's face it, it can also be a little bit tiring. Answering the same question or hearing the same soundtrack from his single-focus mind over and over and over again can make time crawl.
I tried to play the quiet game with him one day in the car. Not a genius move. Guess how he plays it? "Quiet game? Quiet game! Mommy quiet. G-man quiet. Stop sign O! Quiet game. Mommy quiet. Mommy driving?"
In all honesty though, I love hearing the G-man's voice. It's sweet, especially when he says things like thank you or good night or I'm sorry. It's his. And he's ours. That said, I barely remember those brief few months between him crying all the time and talking all the time, but I'm pretty sure the silence was golden.
