The Honey

When we were at the Aquarium gift shop, Sydney picked out a stuffed penguin for herself, and she had also picked out a smaller one (about 6"). Mom wanted to make sure we were getting something for the baby, so she asked Syd who the penguins were for. Sydney said the big one was for her. Mom asked about the smaller one, and Sydney said, "That's the honey." Mom nodded and moved on, carrying both penguins.

I have heard Sydney say 'that's the honey', or 'I'm the honey' a few times, so I made sure to ask my parents about it. It's just one of those things she does. There's always a mommy, and there's always a honey. I'm not sure where she picked it up. But if there is a big thing, that's the mommy, and the little one is the honey.

The way she says Honey is cute. It's not just 'honey'. It's kind of singsong, but her voice is so sweet and clear. I wish you could hear her. In the car as we came home from Boston, she was playing with her penguins, and from the back of the car you heard this 'Honey, it's time for dinner'. We all laughed, which fueled her. Sydney likes an audience, and she loves to entertain. If she makes you laugh, she will do the same thing over and over again, except she starts laughing too. So we laughed at 'Honey, it's time for dinner', and she kept saying it. She would say 'Honey, it's time for dinner', then wait for us to laugh, and then she would giggle and say it again. Eventually, the giggles gave way to laughter, and that stopped her saying 'Honey, it's time for dinner'.

Sydney takes after mom's side for that. All of us (my grandmother, mom, my sister, and I) run the risk of laughing ourselves senseless. We can laugh so hard that we won't be able to concentrate on what we are doing. Of course, with this comes a slight bladder control concern. My grandmother would truly laugh so hard she'd pee her pants. So far, knock on wood, the rest of us have escaped that, but maybe as age catches up to us we won't be so lucky.

Sometimes when Sydney is playing, she will tell you to be the honey. She tells my sister 'I'm the mommy, you're the honey'. She tells my mom 'I'm the MeMe, you're the honey'. Monday afternoon we were playing with her Melissa and Doug cupcake decorating set (which, by the way, is quite a lot of fun- the 'icing' is made of a surface that you write on, then wipe off. I was really enjoying decorating the cupcakes). Sydney told me 'I'm the mommy. You be the honey!'. She then proceeded to tell me HOW to decorate the cupcakes. "Honey, do it like this". When I did not listen to her, she leaned down, tilted her head in my face and said, "Honey, you're not doing it right!". I apparently was not very good at this game, because I continued to do my own thing (channelling my inner Sydney). Sydney does not like it if, when you are the honey, you act the way she does and show your stubborn, independent side. She got mad at mom & I because we weren't playing right, and she decided she didn't want to play any more. She stomped up the stairs- trying to make her little body bigger than it is and throwing her whole weight onto each stair, thus giving us the maximum effect. She went into her room and slammed the door. Mom and I just laughed. She opened the door and told us 'You made me very very mad!' Which made us laugh even louder. Then she shouted that she was serious! And we couldn't come to her birthday party. (Her birthday is three months away, and she's already planning it).

Mom and I were laughing so hard, the tears rolled down our faces. After a few minutes, Sydney must have forgiven us, because she came back downstairs. She apologized, and we resumed playing 'You're the Honey'. I need to record her saying "Honey, it's time for dinner" or "You be the honey". It would make a great ring tone!