One Smart Cookie

I’ve been noticing more lately how smart Charlotte can be.  We’re able to tell her to do some things where she performs on command.  Kind of like a monkey.  Eric will say “blow kisses! wave bye bye! clap hands!” and she will do her whole routine.  I’ll ask her to point to my nose and my teeth and she points them out perfectly.  I’ll ask her where the clock is and where the light is, and that little finger points with reckless abandon to the objects in question.  She also seems like she is trying hard to sound out certain words.  The other day she pointed to the back of my sweatshirt and I swear she said Mickey.  And who was on my sweatshirt?  MICKEY.  It is moments like these that I swell with pride and think “my baby is SO smart.”

And then I realize to shut my damn mouth.  Yes, she’s smart in a way because she’s taking in the world around her at a rapid pace and doing smarty pants things all the time.  But by no means is my child a baby genius, and I’ll never brag about her accomplishments at this stage in her life.  Sure, I am proud of the fact that she points to the light and will say “ight” and that she knows where my teeth are.  But two seconds after she did that last night, she crawled over to the bin of our shoes on the floor and started violently licking the bottom of my sneaker.  So there’s that.

Lesson of the day: be proud of the shit your kids accomplish, but remember the sneaker licking when you want to brag about it.  Always remember the sneaker licking.