The Look

Apparently I have perfected "The Look." Now anyone with parents knows the look I'm talking about. Yes, yes you do. Its that one particular face Mom or Dad always made that let you know you were in trouble. That one specific glare that said more than words. It was enough to stop you in your tracks and sometimes, to even get you backpedaling. And now I have it.

Logan's most favorite phrase recently has been "I do it myself!" This is followed closely by "No! I try!" Of all the places he likes to exert his independence, he's most consistant about our basement stairs. Living in a raised ranch, this means everytime we leave the house, we're using the stairs and since he's so very much obessed with "do myself" we tend to use the seemingly safer basement ones over the brick stairs out the front door.

Today Logan decided he would scoot down the stairs on his butt - the same butt he was refusing to put his blue jeans on. Yes, we were running out to the bank drive-thru and to gas up the van with a diaper-and-shirt-clad toddler in the middle row of the van. As his butt bounced down the first two steps towards the landing I said to him as sternly as I could while trying not to laugh at him nor drop Megan in her car seat, "Logan, do not go down the big stairs like this. Its walk or be carried."

He got to the landing, stood and took the two or so steps towards the larger stretch of stairs down. Then he sat. . . wiggled to the edge and placed his feet on the top step. He looked up at me with a sly smile that said it all "Yeah, ha ha, I not only do myself, I do it my way no matter what you say." And so I gave him a look - I don't even know if I can summarize what is, this look. Its a sort of head dips down, eyes flare wide, eyebrows arch, mouth set firm, sort of face. I made it. Apparently I've been making it often with all the testing limits he's been doing lately. (He's big on hearing you say "Do not touch that." or "We don't put the dog's food in the spout for the water cooler!" and thinking it means "Go ahead, give it another try!"

Anyway, I made the face. Logan, without missing a beat, quickly scooted back safely on the landing and said very frantically "No, Mommy, I no go down that way. I stand up and walk. I was just resting."

Ahhh, the look.