My Mom says I should write these down

so here are some of the things the boys have been saying lately.

Benjamin is a boy who loves structure. So for a while we could get him to do just about anything by explaining that "those are the rules." If it was a rule, he understood and would do it. Then he started making up his own rules...

"Oh, and I have to drink some milk, those are the rules!"

"You don't come here, Mommy. Those are the rules, Mommy."

"No more, Daddy, those are the rules, Daddy!" (upon Frédéric turning the water back on when Benjamin had already finished filling the tub)

"No feet on the table, those are the rules, Noah!"

"If you want TV, you have to pick one [DVD]. Those are the rules."

"If I am all done with my milk, I can have water for me."

"No sandwich in the cup."

"No swings in the mouth."

And one of his dinnertime favorites, which started out as us saying, "You have to try it, but if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it." He translated that into: "If you don't try it, you don't have to try it!"

Some other, more recent ones we've heard:

"Don't say that, that's rude!"

"I don't know what you're talking 'bout, Mommy."

Well, at least we know he's listening to us, right?

He also likes to show off his prowess in English/French translation:

Me: How do you say "cow" in French?

B: "La vache!"

Me: How do you say "baby" in French?

B: "Noah!"

And like many kids, Benjamin's having a hard time with him/her, himself/herself, and his/hers. The other day he came out with "Daddy is going to do it by daddy's-self." He hasn't quite gotten the connection yet, and says things like, "We say 'his,' because Noah is a baby!" Today's conversation also related back to those pronouns.

Me: "Is Noah a boy or a girl?"

B: "Boy!"

Me: "Are you a boy or a girl?"

B: "Boy!"

Me: "Is Mommy a boy or a girl?"

B: (hesitates) "Girl!"

Me: "Is Daddy a boy or a girl?"

B: "Daddy's big!"

And let's not forget Noah, who is definitely having his language explosion. He can repeat just about anything we say these days, but these are his favorite and most-often-used expressions:

"Whaaaaat?" (said in a surprised tone of voice)

[What are you] "Doing, Mommy?" (repeated every 7 seconds, ad infinitum, even if you answer every time)

[Where are you] "Going, Daddy?"

He didn't want to put his coat on the other day. I told him he had to put his coat on, because we had to go get Benjamin from school. He said, in true little brother style, "No more Ben!!"