We’ve been doing our best to teach the little guys good manners. Among other things, they are learning that they are not allowed to shout down whoever else is speaking. Instead, they are supposed to wait for a pause, and then say “excuse me”. Despite C’s insistence, they are not allowed to shout “excuse me”, but are supposed to say it.

You can probably imagine how hard this is for two toddlers. It’s very difficult for them to patiently wait for their turn to speak.

Lately, N has hit on a new tactic. Instead of waiting, he whispers “excuse me” very quietly over and over again. I can’t stress enough how quiet he is when he does this. It really looks like he’s just moving his lips and no sound is coming out. When there’s a pause in the talking, however, he raises the volume to a normal whisper.

We were at the dinner table the first time this happened, and his mom was talking. He was sitting next to her, leaning in and whispering “excuse me.” When I pointed out what he was doing, she looked down, leaned her head very close and whispered back “Yes, what is it?”

He smiled shyly at her and then opened his mouth and let out the biggest, loudest “BLLLLAAAAAAHHHHH!” you ever heard.

Momma almost fell out of her chair and both boys erupted into laughing.

I wish I could say that I planned that with them.