Need a Helping Hand?

About a month ago, Ben started playing a game we simply call Hand. He gets stuck, puts one little hand in the air and yells, "And! And!" We say, "Oh no, are you stuck? Do you need a hand?" and help him out. It's a very suspenseful game and there's a collective sigh of relief when he's unstuck.

I should mention that Ben's version of getting stuck is rarely never really stuck. Sometimes he lays face down on the floor, sometimes he's on his back on the steps. He's been known to put one leg behind a piece of furniture or simply cross his legs. But if you heard his pleas, you'd believe we were dealing with a life or death situation, but we promise he's fine.

One more point before we go on, Chuck also likes to get "stuck" and Ben takes his job as emergency responder very seriously.

I love this game... at home. It's fun to see his imagination working and let's face it, a little drama breaks up the monotony of our days. I do not love this game at the grocery store. People can give you some pretty nasty looks when you have a toddler laying in your cart with one leg and one arm up in the air yelling in a panic. I also do not like this game at the doctor's office.

One morning we were waiting to see our family practice doctor and had to wait about 45 minutes (basically an eternity in toddler time). After about two minutes all the snacks were gone and we'd read Cat and the Hat - twice. So Ben started his game. He'd scoot under a chair and yell, "And!" When the nurse finally called us, the receptionist said, "He's the wild one over there."

Thanks.

Despite my best efforts to quell the game in public, it continues and is expanding. Yesterday, Gary was rolling around on his cat back and Ben yelled, "Gaga, and! Gaga and!" and reached out to take Gary's paw. Gary bit him, but Ben seems undeterred in his mission as first responder.

And this morning, I was contemplating taking down the Christmas decorations, when Ben started playing with the Little People Nativity set. We were talking about Mary being Jesus' mama and the next thing I knew, baby Jesus was face down and Ben was yelling, "And!" Luckily Mary came to Jesus' rescue.

I have nightmares of Little Sister (what I'm currently calling the new baby) face down and Ben shouting for rescue. For now, we'll enjoy the antics.