For a long time now (well over a year) Sebastian, who will be four years old in ten days, has been nappy free at night. As long as we monitor fluid intake close to the bathroom, he can make it through the night without incident. We maybe have one accident per month. We also have the occasional morning where we ask Sebastian if he has to go to the bathroom prior to breakfast, to which he replies, "No, I already went in the middle of the night." This typically sparks debate between Tess & I about how and when that happened when the entire flat was in darkness. Maybe he dreamt it.
If Sebastian is VERY tired when he goes to bed, or has had a lot to drink late in the day, we might take him to the bathroom before Tess & I go to bed to avoid any middle of the night mishaps. (When this happens, Seb is always half asleep and we have to make sure he doesn’t topple off the toilet as he is weeing.)
To counter this, Seb often asks for water when we put him to bed. Usually we give him a small cup with a lid (i.e. sippy cup so it won’t spill in the middle of the night) with about an inch of water. Any more and we risk a middle of the night mishap. Okay, hopefully by now you have the context for this whole thing… now the story… kids have an amazing memory.
The other night as I was putting Sebastian to bed he asked for some water. I nonchalantly said, "okay, I’ll get you some later." Meanwhile, he brushed his teeth and went to bed. After praying, Sebastian claimed that he was "soooooo tired." I took that as a signal that he didn’t really need some water. We talked a little, exchanged hugs and kisses, and a short while later Sebastian was sawing logs.
Cut to next morning, when Sebastian often comes into Tess and my room to wake me up for breakfast… usually around 6:45 AM. I saw him come into the room and said in a quiet voice so as to not wake Tess, "good morning, Sebastian." He replied…
"You…" and I thought, "Okay, me, yes…"
"didn’t" and I thought, "Yes, I didn’t wake you up because normally you wake me up. So I am fine."
"bring" and I thought, "Bring him what, a toy from my business trip?" (I had just returned the day before… "what is he talking about?")
"me water…" and I thought, "AHHH… I am SO busted. I can’t believe the memory this kid has… I thought FOR SURE he would forget!"
Apparently not.
I apologised profusely, Sebastian sheepishly said, as he crawled into bed for a few minutes next to me, "that’s okay" and I made a mental note, "never break word with little kids regardless of how tired they are when you make the promise." Actually, never break word with anyone (but especially little kids.)
It’s Saturday night in Hong Kong and we just had a fantastic day with the team, including going to a fair in Hong Kong where everyone lasted until 3:30 PM (!) without naps with few if any complaints. Trips went to bed at 7:30 PM but we let Baz stay up a little later to watch a smidgeon of Buzz Lightyear. He is now in bed… with an inch of water in his little cup. Break my heart, what a great little guy.
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14 Replies to “Busted by Baz!”
Great post, Charles. I really enjoyed it.
Michele sent me this way.
Thanks for the reminder.
Michele sent me
Maggie
Kids have pheneminal memories for what they think is important. evn very young children will remind you how you promised cake/pizza/movie last week! And their trust is so easily lost, so never make promises you’re not going to keep:-)
Here from Michele’s
Nice description of Sebastion and his night rituals. I have a little boy who just turned four and I wholly agree about doing what you say and memory…
Thanks,
mw
Michele drove me here to visit…
Thank you for another great story about my dear-almost-four-year-old grandson. Good lesson reminder for all of us 🙂
Love, Mo xox
Kid’s don’t ever forget. My sister, who is now 24, keeps reminding me of a promise I made to her when she was six to take her to an amusement park. *sigh* 😉
Hello, Michele sent me! (and what an adorable picture, I might add!)
thanks! that reminder should come in handy when the time comes that i get to have my own children. 🙂
michele sent me today. enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Yeah, they have memories like elephants until you ask them to clear the table or clean their rooms. Then it’s “What?” when you ‘remind’ them. Cute story.
Gotta love the dear little rugrats!!! Hello via Michele.
Kids don’t forget much, do they? He’ll probably remind you about the water incident when he’s 21 🙂
Popping in from Micheles!
Boy I remember those days, and nights! Cherish them, they go by quickly!
Oh… kids never forget ANYTHING!!!
They always remember the cups of water you neglect to supply.
Michelle sent me
heh heh. just this morning sagan was telling me that the shark-boy was my guy because his guy was in the garbage can. this is an incident from back in june! but he can’t remember to keep his voice down while zali is sleeping 2 minutes after i have asked him to lower his volume. go figure.