Raising a two-year-old is awesome. And sometimes frustrating. To wit, the following exchange, which happens daily:

Braden (holding a book): “You read it.” [what he really means is he is going to read it]

Me: “Are you going to read the book?”

Braden: “Okay” [still not down with ‘yes’…but he is all over ‘no’]

Me: “Then you say ‘I read it’…you say me [I’m trying to point to him, but I’ve almost confused myself]

The 2.5 second window of opportunity for the book to be the center of attention has now expired…

Braden: “Play cars with you?” [meaning, you guessed it, play with me, whereas ‘me’ is Braden, not your humble author]

Me [now me = humble author]: “Braden, you say me and I say you”

Braden: “You” […with a look that says something along the lines of ‘Dad, we play cars everyday, this isn’t hard’]

Me: “Yes. Braden, you say ‘play cars with me’”

Braden: “Play cars with me.”

Me: “That’s right!”

Braden: “Play trains…with you.”

I’m sure there is a way to get this point across without digressing into a Who’s On First verbal ping-pong game, but I have yet to figure out how.