You can't say that he isn't learning.

Recently we've been working with Chase on how to be kind to animals...mainly our pets...whose tails he loves to yank...and whose fur he likes to pull. Now I'm not going to point any fingers but I know a certain cat who has some patches of fur missing. So when he's being rough with them, we'll firmly tell him, "No, Chase. Be nice to kitty. Niiiiiice to kitty." as we are showing him how to pet nicely.

One of Chase's favorite games right now, other than pulling on our pets, is to pounce on his father. He counts to 3 and then jumps onto Chuck usually getting the desired result of an "oomph" from Chuck as the 1 year old lands on his gut. Chase loves this. It always makes him laugh so of course, he does it again. and again. and again. And when he's finished, I make him do it some more because I think it's funny too. And really, it's giving Chuck's abs a workout if you think about it. Chase gives him fair warning with a 1, 2, 3 count so he has time to prepare for the pounce by tightening those muscles. It's a win-win situation.

So last night, Chase was making his nightly pouncing rounds and all was well until he missed. He pounced a little lower on his father's body. Needless to say, this did not go over well. The sound that came out of Chuck's mouth sent Chase looking for cover. He found my lap and I held him as his dad assumed the fetal position and tried to catch his breath. As Chuck was in his own world of pain, Chase just watched with big eyes and the saddest little frown. I held him close, told him it was ok and repeated a few times that he needed to be gentle with Daddy. After a few minutes of rocking himself back and forth, Chuck finally came back to Earth. Chase went straight over to him, looked him in the eye, and petted Chuck's leg while saying, "Niiiiiice Daddy".

I think he's finally catching on.