Teeth that is.  Yep, one Monday in the last two weeks Isaac lost a tooth and Ethan had one break through.  It was a pair of developmental milestones that were pretty cool.  But they aren't the only parallels these boys are displaying. 

Isaac has learned the thrill of what he calls "wipeouts" and what Rickey Henderson (that bum) called stealing bases.  He will run, jump, throw a foot out or go on his knees and slide.  You'd think it would be harder given that he is wearing shorts only, but as the scrapes on his knees will attest, he does this frequently at camp. 

In a similar vain, Ethan is starting to really get on it when he walks.  Its not exactly a run, but it is not a walk either.  Its more like a high speed waddle.  Anyway, there are times when he is sprint waddling when he loses his balance and goes all rubber legged.  In the end, it is a wipeout just the same as Isaac's but it comes from an entirely different place.

The parallels are striking--Isaac is pushing hard with his reading and Ethan with his talking, Isaac is testing the limits of what he can get away with Ethan and Ethan is doing the same.

What a delight...

So recently Ethan has started talking more.  Aside from his grunts, his "WOW!", and his Idik (for Isaac), he has added a whole bunch of new words, both ones he understands and ones he can say.  In the latter category, he really likes "bubba bubba."  Perhaps it is the "aww! cute!" reactions he gets, or it is the fact that his brother lights up when he says it, but he has been saying that phrase a lot.  

In the former category, he has really got the phrase "Ding Dong" down quite well.  Here is how it usually goes:

ME: "Ethan, who is a ding dong"

[long pause where he looks around]

Ethan: "Da da."

[Ethan with a big smile on his face]

It started out as a confusion between Ding Dong and Da Da, but when everyone howled with laughter, he made it clearer and now it's definitely "Da Da."

What a wonderful thing to see firsthand--the development of language, family bonds, and an understanding of insults.

There are so many ways to fill in that X.  Each one reminds me just how much I sound like a parent when I say them.  In fact, there are few things that sound more parent-y than that phrase.  But over time I have noticed a sort of taxonomy of "Isaac don't...." phrases.  Here is what we have so far.

Put phrases

As in "Isaac don't put that booger on your little brother."  There are a lot of "put" phrases.  These tend to come up when Isaac is trying to see what he can get away with both with Ethan and with us.  It's not out right hostility, more like ornery curiosity.  Other real life examples include:

"Bug"

"Noodle"

"Popsicle" (from last night, the phrase that inspired this post)

"Worm"

"Sand" 

"Dirt"

Physical phrases

These are probably the most common, especially now that Ethan is walking.  There are an abundance of these phrases.  The one we say probably five or six times a day is "Isaac don't grab your little brother."  Sometimes it is a wrestling-type grab.  Sometimes it is a hug-type grab.  Other times it is a fighting-type grab.  But there are other things that fill in this phrase other than grab.

"Punch"

"Kick"

"Headbutt"

"Lick"

"Fart on"

You get the idea.  Lots and lots of stuff goes here when you are using Mad Libs to determine how to verbally discipline your kid.

Taunt or language phrases

Now that Ethan is starting to understand language, we are getting a few more of these.  Just two months ago Ethan would have looked at Isaac and just squealed.  Now we get some real reactions.  "Isaac, don't tease your little brother" is a common and almost universally true statement, regardless of time of day.  If they are both away and near each other, you could say this and be right in doing so approximately 99.87% of the time.  Other common taunt and language phrases:

"Startle"

"Tease"

"Yell"

"Make fun of"

Deep down inside, I think these are interesting because they show just how much language little Beethan understands.  I don't like when these need to be used, but from a linguistic perspective they are fascinating.

Show phrases

Ah, the true beating heart of the brotherly relationship--learning moments.  It started with "Isaac don't show your little brother how to pick his nose" and it has blossomed into its own category of things.

"Throw food"

"Stick out your tongue"

"Fart at the dinner table"

"Throw things at mommy"

"Throw things at daddy"

If Isaac does it, Ethan wants to try it too, hence the myriad of things we have to warn Isaac not to do in front of Ethan.

Boy do I feel like a parent just writing these things.