The obedience police...

I've been trying hard lately to teach Dylan what it means to obey. When he fails to listen to us, we tell him that he needs to "Obey Mommy" or "Obey Daddy," but at 2 1/2 years old, this message sinks in very slowly. With consistency, it does sink in though, and this week he proved to me he's learning the concept while making me laugh so hard.

On Thursday, we came home from bible study. While I was in another room, Dylan let Riley out of his crate, and the two of them were hanging out in the kitchen. I heard Dylan say "Uh oh! Uh oh!" --- a sound you never really like to hear coming from a toddler. I went into the kitchen to find Riley digging in the trash can and Dylan standing watch. I told Riley to listen up and get out of the trash can. Dylan, who was standing next to me, added "Aiiee, obey mommy! Obey Me!"

The very next day, we went to the grocery store for our weekly shopping trip. We passed a women who was pushing a buggy with kids hanging off every side. Her kids were running all around and getting into everything, and she kept telling them to get back to the buggy and be quiet. As we passed by, Dylan looked down at the boys who were misbehaving and said "Obey! Obey your mommy!" I pushed our cart very quickly past them, but not without chuckling to myself and thinking "He's really starting to understand what it means to obey!"