Actions Speak Louder Than Words, right?

Yesterday was a big day for Kaleb. One event that I have conflicting feelings over, and one event that I’m very proud of.

I get a daily report sheet from his day care, detailing things like what and when he ate, when and how long his nap was, diaper change info, and some notes in the comments section about fun things he did that day. Usually the comments are benign little things, like “Kaleb colored a picture of a fire truck today!” or “Kaleb had fun singing songs with his friends today!” and other cute stuff. Here is what yesterday’s comment section said:

Today @ snack a friend spilled his water and Kaleb said “s**t”

How do you react to that?? The deviant side of me thought “haha! Kaleb’s first swear word!” and then the growing-stronger-every-day Responsible Mom side of me thought “oh my goodness! what a horrible influence Kyle and I have been on this poor innocent little boy!” Since that first reaction of both extremes, I have settled somewhere in the middle. I’m not exactly proud that my kid swore at day care at the tender young age of 15 months, and I don’t particularly care for the testament to my parenting that this little incident represents. However, as they say, shit happens (sorry, couldn’t help myself!) and there is nothing to do now but re-commit to the eradication of all curse words from my and Kyle’s vocabulary at home.

Now, for the news I AM very proud of. We have those cardboard blocks that look like bricks, a favorite of kids everywhere! Kaleb has graduated from chewing on them to actually playing with them. Last night we were having play time in the living room and Kyle asked Kaleb if he could build a tower. That amazing little dude started building a block tower and wound up with one that was taller than he is, standing up! All by himself! I remember as a little girl being extremely impressed with the “taller than me” tower of blocks. To see Kaleb build his own, with no help from anyone, at only 15 months old, that was a very proud moment for this mama!

So, I'm going to invoke the "Actions speak louder than words" doctrine while I reflect on yesterday's events. I'll be very proud of his actions (building a big tower all by himself) and allow that to speak louder than his words, at least in my memory.