beth woolsey

mess maker • magic finder • rule breaker • kindness monger

The Number Nine

Miss Aden turned 9 years old today.

Waking Up Nine

Here’s something you should know about Aden:  She was born without a verbal filter.

Aden says what she thinks and plows ahead at full speed into conversations the rest of us would avoid.

(Or maybe she wasn’t born this way and it’s a learned behavior, but since that implicates me, I’m going to go with genetics.)

Truthfully, the things Aden says are one of the reasons I love being her mom.  I never know what I’m gonna get next, but I count on the fact that it’ll be entertaining.

In honor of Aden’s day, I offer you these verbal vignettes, all courtesy of Aden and all from the time our vacation began on Monday:

……

The Presence of Presents

Aden:  Excuse me.  Mom?  I do not think that four presents was enough for me today.

No, excuse me, Aden.  My sincere apologies.  (This is why I need a rolling-my-eyes smiley icon.)

Aden and "only" present #2

And this is what Aden looks like when she’s getting a lecture about gratitude and appropriate responses to receiving gifts:

Complete with drooping Mouse ears

……

Hey, Good Lookin’

Aden walked in the bathroom to talk to me while I was showering.  (Totally normal for our family.)

Aden: Hey, Mom! Guess what?!

Me: What?

Aden:  I can see you through the shower door!

Me:  Yep, that’s what a glass door is for.  Seeing things through it.

Aden:  Lookin’ gooood!

Me:  Aw, Aden, that’s so nice.  Every mommy likes to hear she looks good.  Thank you!

Aden:  No, Mom.  I mean I’m good at lookin’ at things.

Me:  Oh.

……

The Scent of Aden

Cael (4): Something stinks in here, Mom.

Me: What do you think it is?

Cael: I think it’s Aden.  She toots a lot.

Me, worried that Aden would feel criticized:  Aden, how do you feel about what Cael just said?

Aden, cheerfully:  Yep!  I think it’s me!  I do toot a lot.  Sorry, Mom.  Sorry, Cael.  I’ll take my butt somewhere else.

Cael and Aden

……

The Dangers of Drinking

Aden has spent a lot of time on our Disney trip talking to random strangers, something that’s pretty common for her.

Mostly, her conversations have consisted of things like,

Hey, you!  It’s my birthday, ya know!

This child doesn’t struggle with shyness.

This morning, Aden explained to her brothers that Mom has to drink coffee every day.  Cael chimed in with, Yep!  That’s so Mom can be nice and not mean.

Isn’t it sweet how well my kids know me?

I grabbed coffee as soon as we arrived at the park this morning.

Upon walking out of the coffee shop, Aden looked pointedly at me and said loudly for all the passers-by to hear,

Oh NO!  Mom’s drinking again.

Mmmm… coffee!

Thanks, Aden.  Thanks a lot.

……

Here’s wishing my funny girl a very happy year full of honesty and joy.

I think we’re headed the right way already.

Don’t miss a post. Subscribe here


5 responses to “The Number Nine”

  1. Oh man do I miss that kid! I am glad she is sharing her joy with many others at Disneyland 🙂 Happy 9th Birthday Aden!

  2. I’m not sure I actually heard Aden say “Hi” or “Hello” to anyone today – I think she just substituted “It’s my birthday!” for her outgoing greeting today. I call it her outgoing greeting because it was automatic – anyone with a white name tag (Disney cast members) triggered this, whether or not they had made eye contact yet.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.