Look Mom, No Hands!

Look Mom, No Hands, originally uploaded by cheryl.

Sawyer has always done everything on his own terms. He has always been the most cautious of the three boys, slow to accept change and careful before trying new things. That's just him.

And look at him now - swinging, pretty high up I might add, with no hands.

He has come so far.

In fact, he's using those hands in more ways than ever, whether it's letting go of the swings or whether it's showing you what he wants or actually telling you something.

From the very early stages of intervention, speech therapy has been part of the twins lives. We worked early and often with teaching both of the twins basic sign language - things like "eat," "drink," "more," "all done," "please," "thank you" - you know, the basics.

Both boys have long understood the signs, as we usually speak the words and sign these simple concepts to them. Xander used them early and often, and has recently discarded them for words and sentences. We are still hopeful Sawyer will get to that point someday to, but for right now, we're celebrating the fact that he's started actually signing to us.

Keep in mind, the kid has always understood the signs. He would even take your hands and make the signs, but would hardly ever use his own hands to make them. He would allow you to do hand-over-hand with him, but he preferred to use your hands, as though his own did not work.

About a month or so ago, he started signing for us. And he hasn't stopped since.

We get lots of "more" and "please" together. He sometimes does "eat," always refuses to do "drink" and is usually unwilling to do "all done" because it usually is a preferred activity we're requesting him to finish.

But he's signing. He's telling us what he wants. He's pointing to objects, making choices between two objects, and clearly indicating "yes" or "no" when offered things. These are HUGE steps for him. Huge.

It's really quite adorable when he signs to you. But what's worse is that he knows it. He's seen the power of signs, and he's all for using them - ALL THE TIME.

Now we come to that critical point of finding balance - of rewarding him for using signs to make requests, but also not giving in to every single whim. He also happens to be our needy child. He wants something - usually food or snacks - pretty much all of the time.

This new development is eerily similar to Xander's path, just a little bit later. Sporadic words, then consistent signing. Like I said, he likes to do things in his own time and his own way. But we're excited for how far he's come, and so incredibly hopeful for the places he will eventually go.

Without Words

Three little boys, three different ways of communicating.

One of them, the oldest, talks all the time. He talks as though its part of breathing. Unless, of course, you take him to school where he won't say a single word, at least not yet, not in his new classroom with his new teachers and new friends (only two familiar faces from his class last year).

One of them, the youngest (by all of three minutes), talks a little, mostly when he wants to. That, thankfully, has been happening a little bit more lately. The words are sometimes perfect and sometimes not, and the ones he uses most often are generally paired with the signs for emphasis. But, he's making an effort, sounding things out and being pretty consistent and appropriate most of the time. He has words, and he's adding more of them all the time.

And then there is the last one, the middle child (by all of three minutes), the "quirky and cool" one. There are still no words. There is vocalization, jabbering that starts the minute he wakes up (usually around 6:30 a.m.) from the moment he crashes into sleep (usually about 9 p.m.). Sometimes the sounds even seem to be like the words you're saying to him. You might even hear a random word or two in the mix (or at least you think you do), but never with any specific meaning or consistency.

Sawyer communicates solely through actions right now. He pushes and pulls you places and points you in the direction of whatever he thinks he wants. He grabs hold of your hand and wraps it in his and leads you where he wants to go. He picks up an item (his backpack, for instance) to let you know he's ready to go (to school, of course). He wraps his little arms around you and squeezes as hard as he can to give you a hug, or he pushes his cheek as hard as he can into your to give you a "kiss" on his terms. He pushes away things he doesn't want or doesn't like. He falls down on the floor if you tell him you're going somewhere he doesn't want to go.

He understands what you're saying and what you're asking of him, and he "tells" you in his own way whether or not he's going to comply. He is determined and persistent, and he is also consistent and generally appropriate in his actions. He simply doesn't use words.

When we started this journey last year, our speech therapist began introducing signs to both of the twins. Both of them picked them up pretty quickly, meaning that they understood what the signs meant and how to make them. It did not, of course, mean that they were willing to make them. It has been a struggle for both boys. Xander finally came around, learning that if he made the signs he could better get the things he wanted (it's all about motivation for him).

Sawyer has been slower. He knows the signs, recognizes them and even knows how to make them. He just doesn't do it very often on his own. He's much more likely to allow hand-over-hand signing, where someone else takes his hands and "helps" him to make the sign. He typically likes to take your hands and make the sign with your hands, which I'm told is quite common. He will, on occasion, spontaneously make an appropriate sign (usually "more," which was one of the first signs that the therapist worked with them on and that has long been a universal sign for both of the twins).

But, today, Sawyer had a moment at school that his teachers have not seen before. They were working on assigning the classroom jobs (one job for each student to help with that week), and Sawyer's name was the last one on the carpet (along with four other students who were absent). His teacher helped him, hand-over-hand, select his name and choose his job for the week, then signed "all done" to him and told him he could go play with the others. He apparently stood there, looking first at her and then back at those last four names. Then he signed "more," wanting to pick up another name and place it on the job board. He signed "more" for each name that was left until they were all assigned.

Sawyer has never independently signed at school, without either hand-over-hand assistance or using someone else's hands. He was independently signing, doing so appropriately and consistently until the activity was finished.

So there may not be words, at least not yet, but there are signs. And there is progress, moving a little bit further forward each and every day. And that's how we do things around here, taking things one step at a time, one day at a time. He'll get there, he'll just do it in his own time and very much in his own way.

Quoted & Noted

When Connor was first learning to talk, he had some pretty cute "words" that he liked to say to us. My favorite of his was probably "tuck" for "truck," because he was fascinated with them and said it all the time.

And since Xander is the one who's coming up with new words these days, trying more and more to talk to us, he is the one who's starting to say those cute things. I hear my new favorite at just about every meal. Picky little things that the twins are, they eat the same things a lot.

"More!" Xander both says and signs to me, looking down at his plate.

"More what?" I ask, knowing exactly what he wants and where this is going.

"Eat!" he says and signs, then combines the two using both words and signs. "Eat more!"

"Eat more what?" I ask, still knowing.

"Apple-some! More apple-some!" he says, with a big grin for me because he knows that he is telling me what I want to hear and what I have been asking.

It's not perfect, of course, because what he really wants is "applesauce," but it's there. Apple-some. And I know what it means. He says it consistently, as he's digging his spoon into the empty spot on his plate where the applesauce recently was.

Small steps, but big moments. Appropriate signs and words. Attempts at new words. Responding to direct questions with appropriate answers. All good things.

Words

Language has been elusive for our twins. They babbled and started saying first words around their first birthday, but sometime in that second year the words just faded until they were all but gone by the time they turned three. For Sawyer, there are still no words. But for Xander, the words seem to be coming back.

It's been there for a while, a new word or two here and there. Not always consistent, and probably not always clear to those who don't know him well, but they are there. And they're heard more and more frequently. At one time, I could have counted the words he used consistently and appropriately on my two hands. But after the last few months, I probably couldn't even list all of the words he's starting to say.

Part of me was kind of waiting and watching, almost afraid to talk about how well he was doing for fear that it wouldn't last or that it would disappear just as those first words did. But every single day I hear new words. Not always articulate, mind you, but new words. He's saying the beginning sounds, trying to sound out things that he hears other people say. And he's putting a lot of new words together that I've never heard him say before. Of course, like so much with our twins, his words are only things that interest him, things like "bubbles" and "juice" and "want" and "throw" or something along those lines.

Beyond the words themselves, he's also learning context. He's been mimicking me, saying "hush" to Buster and "share" to Connor when he's not cooperating. So he's not only speaking, but he's using the words in appropriate situations.

And, perhaps most important, he is saying them consistently. He's trying, he's actually making the effort to communicate, out loud. That's huge.

One of his therapists always thought he was just being a bit stubborn and a bit of a perfectionist, that he was too afraid of saying the wrong thing so he simply didn't say anything at all. It wouldn't surprise me. It would actually explain things like him randomly saying, quite articulately and appropriately, things like "apple juice" and "garage" and "helicopter" one time after hearing it, and then not repeating it ever again. That was frustrating, to know that the words were there and he could very clearly say them, but it seemed like he just didn't want to.

Ever since the words went away, we've always hoped that they would eventually come back. We've always joked that one day the boys were going to surprise us by just randomly speaking in perfectly formed sentences. And while that would be nice, to hear what they're thinking and what they want and what they need said out loud, at least they're getting better with communication in general. They're both using gestures much more consistently and coherently.

And Xander, sneaky little Xander, is even beginning to use new words and familiar sign language to help get his point across. The words have not come easily for him, but I'm so incredibly proud and amazed each time a new one appears. It gives me hope, for him and for his brother, that one day those sentences will come, that we will be given the gift of seeing the world through their eyes and hearing it through their voices.

Totally Random

Often there are little things that the boys say or do that I think I will find time to write about. It doesn't always happen. Here are some of the better highlights from the last few weeks.

"It's cute-i-ful!" My four-year old has apparently combined the words cute and beautiful and made up his own new word. So last week when we were out shopping with Mommy's birthday money for a new swimsuit and summer sundress, he was in the dressing room with me. I would try something on and ask him what he thought. It was either "It's cute-i-ful!" or "No, I no like that."

"Mean Girls!" My four-year old's favorite anthem is apparently this song by country duo Sugarland. He doesn't know all of the words, but he certainly knows the chorus and sings along loudly (at the appropriate times, even) whenever the song comes up in my truck (it's one of our CDs). When you ask him what kind of music he likes, he's more than likely going to tell you "Mean Girls!" and sort of sing it rather than actually say it. Kind of cute.

As a three-year old, you obviously have very little embarrassment. Or at least my boys don't seem to. One day a few weeks ago, I was in the car pool line at preschool, waiting on the little guys. Xander came out first, which is rare, as his teacher holds him in the classroom until she sees our truck. Neither one of our boys do well with waiting for Mommy to move up in line. So I wonder what happened to Sawyer, who can usually be found waiting rather impatiently at the gate with the teachers. Apparently he had a little potty accident, because he soon came out walking in his tennis shoes with just a pull-up and a t-shirt. And he couldn't have cared less. If only we all cared so little!

Connor is notorious for running full speed at all times. He often has so much energy it feels like he's just running in circles in the house. (Just don't ask him to take Buster for a walk, or you'll hear "Shew, I tired!"). He also tends to be a bit careless. He runs into things, often because he's too busy seeing who's watching instead of looking where he's going. And he's actually learned Mommy's standard response, which is to simply "Be more careful!" The other day he was running around and slid across the laminate wood floors. He got right up, looked at me with an exasperated face, and said "I know, I be more careful!"

Most of the time, Connor is in a hurry to get bigger. Whether it's to play t-ball (actually baseball now, but Connor doesn't get that yet) like his big cousin Austin or to go to the big kids' school that we drive past every day on our way to preschool. He's always telling me that "I do that when I get a lil' bit bigger!" Like all of us, I suppose, in a hurry to move on to bigger and better things. But the other day he did a total reverse on me, and I couldn't help but laugh. The little guys have digestive issues, which means they get a laxative added to their juice every few days. It's a white powder that looks kind of like sugar. Connor always watches me as I'm pouring it in, and one day said very solemnly, "I have that I get a lil' smaller. One day I be smaller." Of all things to go back for, kid, that's not one of them!

One of the new signs that we've learned this year is the one for "wait," which the teachers use often and our kids certainly need. My boys are masters at using signs with sarcasm (and I can't imagine where they would get that trait from). They have long had their very own angry sign, which is essentially a short, hard clap with an accompanying short, hard sound. It seems the equivalent of a teenager mouthing off. Well, my little Sawyer, who doesn't usually even do the signs himself (he's far more likely to take your hands and make the sign with them), was taking a walk with one of his teachers down the hallway. They were getting close to the classroom when he decided he wasn't ready to go back just yet. So he stopped in his tracks and signed "wait" to the teacher, proceeding to go back in the other direction. He liked his one-on-one time much better, thank you.

And last, but not least, my stubborn little twin. You know, the one who can and sometimes does use real words but does not do so consistently. Well, the other night he was apparently too tired to remember that he doesn't speak to us. He was the first to get sleepy, so I carried him upstairs to give him a bath and get him into his pajamas. As he was laying there on the floor for his pajamas, he started rubbing his eyes. I said, "Poor baby, Xander's tired. Ready for night-night." He stopped rubbing his eyes, climbed up in to my lap and said, "Nye-nye."

Letters Out Loud

Would you believe that one of my nearly three-year old twins actually knows some of his letters. Yes, that would be one of the very same twins who are largely non-verbal and who rarely use the sign language that they know and understand perfectly well. Those twins, but I digress . . .

Xander has been fascinated by letters and numbers lately. He loves to point at them, one at a time, and have you tell him what they are. We've been handed books and magazines and anything else with letters for weeks now, with that little stubborn (and insistent) finger pointing to things and that cute little face turned up in expectation. He does not like to be denied either, if you're wondering. His usual tantrum (angry sound and/or angry sign, and then running away to beat on something, like the door, in frustration) follows.

But, back to the progress. Today, we were sitting in our usual corner spot with Miss Kellie, who actually comes to work with Sawyer, and he was requesting his new favorite game - Mommy writes letters on the MagnaDoodle and then he points to them and Mommy tells him what they are (best gift ever, he says, with a big thanks to Uncle Brian, Aunt Andrea, and cousins Austin and Kyndal for his early Christmas present).

I mentioned the stinker mouthing the letters under his breath last time Miss April was over, but today with Miss Kellie he actually said the letters out loud! And they were mostly correct! He started with the MagnaDoodle, but actually did better with the wooden blocks that Sawyer got from Grandma and Grandpa at early Christmas. He said about 12 different letters as he picked up the individual blocks, only confusing the "B" and the "D" - which even Connor does at times! And when he got to one he didn't know, "W," Miss Kellie whispered it behind him and he actually repeated it! Letters and sounds - that are correct!

Of course, it could be fleeting, as many of his words are. He will say a complicated word or phrase once, usually under his breath or away from you, and then you cannot make it reappear. No amount of prompting, pleading or even bribing will work. He's stubborn and adamant in his refusal. But today he was vocal, receptive to encouragement and modeling, and even repeating things on request. He even asked for "juice" numerous times with the word!

Today was a good day . . . right up until Sawyer stuck the M&M in his nose. That story will come tomorrow.

Toddler Proofing

There was a time when I thought that I might be done "child" proofing my house at some point - you know, like when the boys were old enough to know better and to understand the difference between right and wrong. They're there in some ways, especially Connor, but not so much in others.

And some might argue that all this toddler proofing is only making it harder on them when they're not at home. It's a valid point, one I might concede. But, truthfully, as the one who spends as much as 12 hours each day at home with them (you know, pretty much all day every day), often trying to accomplish a few things here and there between meeting their needs and spending some quality time with them, well their everyday safety and my convenience is just going to win. Sorry.

Here are just a few of the things we've had to do recently, on top of all the gates and outlet covers and other safety features that have long been a part of our home decor.

Raising the light fixture over the dining room table. You know, the one Sawyer is notorious for dangling and trying to swing from - that one. Josh noticed after one of his swinging adventures that the light had actually come off of the base and was hanging up by only the bare wire, not even by the pretty, decorative chain that is supposed to support it. So up it went, pinned to the highest point where our little climber can't reach it (at least not yet).

Locking the refrigerator and freezer via bungee cord. It sounds and is ridiculous, but my quirky and cool little guy also happens to be quite determined. Trying to do something (anything) in another room is near impossible when he's determined to line up ice cubes on the counter. He apparently LOVES this more than anything, because it's the first thing he does when your back is turned (which just goes to show that whole knowing better theory). We also have a smaller problem of Connor helping himself to drinks - his milk cup is fine, but Mommy's Mountain Dew is another thing entirely.

Turning off the light and fan in the little guys room (as in the switch is now useless, and you have to have a large step ladder to turn on the light or the fan). Sawyer is not much of a sleep fan, and his newest trick is to climb on top of the dresser and play with the light switches - for hours, if you will let him. I know what you're thinking - just move the dresser. Well, we could, but the switches are low because of a half wall in that room and moving it will only solve half the problem. He can reach them standing up, without even going to tip-toes. So at 6 a.m. when he decides it's time to be up, he starts playing with switches. Sometimes it's 2 a.m or 4 a.m. You know, whenever the mood strikes him. Sometimes it's even fun at night, when he's not ready to go to bed and it's near midnight - which, of course, is not so much fun for Xander. And lest you think he's completely innocent, I must add that he also likes to play with them when he's not in the mood for an afternoon nap.

Removing the hanging blinds from the sliding glass doors. These things have been annoying since day one. The boys, even when crawling, have loved to play with them and pull them down. They're expensive to replace over and over again and no amount of hand-slapping or time-out really seemed to do any good. They're just gone, and we're not putting anything back up. Feel free to look in our windows at night - you'll see a wall and a staircase that rarely gets used.

Hiding the blind cords on top of the blinds and removing the handle to open and close them. Sawyer was driving us crazy standing on the dining room chairs and just swinging those handles back and forth, back and forth. Tell him no and send him on his way, and he would be back five minutes later. He loves that motion. So we just took them down, and now we twist the little metal hook at the top to open and close them. A little more work for us, a lot less annoyance on a daily basis.

Fruit snacks removed from the counter and put in the pantry. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Sawyer - he of the "have chair, will climb and get whatever I want" mentality - finally pulled a chair over to the counter and started pulling down fruit snacks. He can't open them himself yet (or we haven't waited to find out, anyway), but we decided the safest bet was to put them out of reach. It's also had the bonus effect of being out of sight, out of mind. Xander, who's known to request fruit snacks every 10 minutes with his adorable "eat" sign, has been a little less obsessed with them.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a normal house again, where furniture isn't bolted into the walls and there aren't child safety locks on every cabinet. But, I also know that I like being able to do something in another room and not worrying about three rough and tumble little boys getting into trouble every five seconds. That's the trade off.

Can We Say Stubborn?

How do I know that one of my two-year old twins is stubborn?

Both of the boys have been diagnosed with a speech delay and have been receiving weekly speech therapy since early this summer. Xander has done far better with it than Sawyer, who has some other things going on.

For me, Xander signs three signs pretty consistently ("more," "all done," and "no"). He refuses to do those for the therapist without a lot of prompting and modeling, and he even gives her some of his angry signing instead - clapping that also includes an angry exclamation of "Ah!" He also follows basic commands and directions from me during the week, which he promptly ignores from the therapist.

And lately, he's getting even worse. We can actually hear him saying words. It's usually immediately after he's heard someone say something, and he will only say it once and not repeat it for any amount of prompting (or even bribing). Just this last couple of days we've heard for the first time "up," "garage," "apple juice" and "get you" from his mouth.

He is saying more things and making more new sounds. But those random words, they just keep popping up. Here's hoping that's a good sign for his language development. I think we can just say stubborn and leave it at that.

Art Therapy

Today the boys had co-therapy, where the speech and developmental therapists came over at the same time (mostly to accommodate Connor's field trip yesterday, but also to see how it would go having one therapist work with one child at a time). It would have went really well, except for the fact that we have a rather needy and demanding three-year old in the mix on Wednesdays as well. But it still went pretty well . . .

We did some of our usual play things, where we try to get the boys to speak or sign for certain things, like saying "go" to get help jumping off the chair (good behavior, I know, but you have to do something that actually motivates them and Xander loves this). He wouldn't say "go" for us, even though he can say it and does for me pretty consistently (he likes to play dumb with his speech therapist), but he did sign "more" before each jump to me, which is his universal sign anyway. You know, as in "Here, I'll do this stupid thing if it will get me what I want!" kind of signing. Sign with attitude, is how I see it.

We also tried some "crafty" stuff. Miss April brought over some Play-Doh tools, so we sat all three boys down at the dining room table (strapped the two little guys in so they wouldn't run off), and got out the Play-Doh that I think Aunt Kelly gave to Connor several birthdays ago. Still good, as each of the boys got a little red and a little blue to experiment with. They were all a bit apprehensive at first, not having seen it much before (once, to my knowledge, and it was not favorable). They eventually used the little knife tools to stab at it a few times. Sawyer liked the smell and even tried to eat a little bit of it, but it wasn't to his taste and he quickly spit it back out in Miss Lisa's hand. Always nice. Connor tried all of the tools, but was quickly bored when he'd gotten through all of them. Xander wasn't much of a fan, though he did play for just a little bit with help from Miss April. He mixed the colors together, which apparently bothers some people (Miss Lisa said she doesn't like it, and Miss April said her husband doesn't like it when her daughter does it either). But, surprisingly, it didn't bother his OCD mother.

We eventually gave up on the Play-Doh and decided to break out something Xander has always liked - painting. It's actually finger paint, but we use brushes and paper and it works well. It's also the washable kind, which makes cleanup nice (because you know it's all over the table, little hands and little clothes when we're done). Xander and Connor went through sheets of the expensive watercolor paper (the only kind I've found that's thick enough to handle the paint) like there was no tomorrow. I have seven pieces of paper and one paper plate (which I thought would be the palette, but no) drying behind me as I type. We painted for about 10 minutes. Sawyer contributed one, with a lot of help from Miss Lisa, because painting isn't really his thing. Xander paints on the front and the back of each of his pages (hence the mess on my table that is, thankfully, easy to wipe up).

And that's where we ended things today. The therapists gleefully running out the door with the boys covered in paint (only kidding, we'd already wrapped things up). The boys seem to be doing better with the therapists lately. Xander actually condescended to engage with Miss Lisa today, rather than be his normal standoff-ish little self. We were extremely impressed. Sawyer is always happy once he warms up to Miss April, even allowing her to cuddle and tickle with him after a good game of stacking up the sorting blocks (one of his favorites of late). She plays on his terms, and that always helps with him. A good day . . .

A Little Sign, A Lot of Attitude

"More" was the first sign that our speech therapist introduced to the boys, and the first one that Xander started using consistently and correctly. It is still his most frequently used sign, and is generally considered universal by him. It still means "more," but also "gimme" and "I want" and "let's play" and just about anything else you can think of that he might attempt to communicate. He has only recently added a few other signs, like "no" and "all done" to his daily interactions.

Sawyer has long watched and understood the signs we have been practicing (just as he knows and understands the words we use), but he wanted no part of any of it. He finally, after weeks of trying, did condescend to allow us to do the technique known as hand-over-hand, where I take my hand and help him use his hand to perform the sign. Stubborn little man that he is, he even resisted this part at first. Well, last week the therapist had a "breakthrough" moment with him, when she got him to consistently sign "more" during a little game of organizing markers (during an attempted art session). It was cute and unexpected, and a completely welcome sight to see him actually communicating, even with extensive verbal and physical prompting from the therapist.

And it was also extremely funny, though we both tried very hard not to laugh. Leave it to my son to find a way to show attitude with his first ever sign language. It was quick, angry and abrupt. He clearly was not pleased to be making the sign, and he absolutely let us know it, each and every time that he signed it. Attitude, from the quiet one. Good times.

Toddler Signs

One of the main reasons we started our little guys on therapy was their lack of communication. At two and a half, you would generally expect a lot more than what they do. One of the strategies that we're trying is teaching basic signs while we continue working on the verbal side.

Connor, my little sponge who doesn't need the signs but is just dying for something to learn, has picked up nearly all of them with amazing ease. He already knows about 10 to 15 words pretty consistently, and is very cute to watch. Little ham that he is, he loves the attention and the praise when he does it right. Last night, Josh got him to sign "More milk, please!" by simply showing it to him, slowly and in order, first.

Sawyer has been extremely reluctant with the signs. He doesn't use any consistently or correctly, though he's started to do a sign that looks very much like "more" after he claps (it's a similar motion and the way Xander initially began that sign, too). But he has been communicating more - simply pulling and pushing and leading me to what he wants, and even usually placing my hand on the item he wants, especially if I offer choices. So, it's at least moving forward, if not quite in the direction we would have hoped. Perhaps it will come in time.

Xander has not been fond of therapy in general (he's slightly stubborn, and I can't imagine who he gets that from), but has finally mastered one sign - "more" - which has become his universal sign for everything. He knows it makes Mommy happy, so he uses it at will. Mommy has candy and he wants some. "More," he signs. Mommy has chips and he wants some. "More," he signs. Brother has a toy and he wants it. "More." His toys are cooperating and he wants Mommy to fix it. "More." Time to go night-night and Mommy's about to leave. "More." And, you get the idea. Smart little boy, he knows how to get Mommy.

And, I think he's even smarter than he lets on. The other day our new word was "milk," and we'd been working on it most of the day. We use a modeling technique in the beginning, where you do it hand over hand (with your hand on top of his) to help "see" the sign. He kept refusing to do it when he wanted milk, using the universal "more" instead. I eventually gave in, knowing it's a work in progress and it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of praise on the mere attempts to communicate. I walked away to do something else. When I came back a few minutes later to get Connor some milk, Xander, my little sneak, was hiding in the hallway to the office. He was drinking his milk in one hand and standing there with his other hand in the exact position of the "milk" sign, which he quickly dropped when he spotted me.

It could have been a coincidence, I guess. But knowing my little man, his mischievous personality, I really don't think so. Why am I imagining that sly grin I know so well showed up on his face the minute I turned back around? Or that he actually knows so much more than he's willing to "say" right now?