Those are fightin' words . . .

I took the kids to the pool the other day, and I'm afraid that Sophia just about started her first fight with a non-sibling. Being the social little tyke that she is, Sophia loves to engage the other little kids playing in the shallow end of the kiddie pool. On this particular day, Sophia saw a little boy who was quite a bit bigger than she is. I would guess that he was around two and a half years old. As I had watched him play I noticed that he as a tough little guy--almost a bully towards the other little kids. My guess is that he has older brothers who have toughened him up a bit. Regardless, this little boy caught Sophia's attention.

Having chosen her guy, Sophia pointed to the boy and called to him, "Baby!"

The boy spun around, looked at her with the most serious face, and informed her, "I am NOT a baby!"

Sophia, thrilled that she had his attention, replied, "Hi, Baby!"

The boy took a step closer and again informed Sophia, "I am NOT a baby!"

Still excited to be holding the boy's attention, Sophia clapped excitedly and cheered, "Yeah, Baby!"

By this point, the boy was livid as he yelled at Sophia, "I SAID I AM NOT A BABY!!"

While I was enjoying watching the interaction up to this point and admittedly was curious where it would go without adult intervention, I decided that the time had come for me to step in. The boy had had as much as he could handle, and I really didn't want to see my daughter pummled at the pool. I simply told Sophia, "He's not a baby, he's a big boy."

Sophia just looked at me, and the very much relieved Big Boy seemed satisfied and turned to walk away. Not wanting her friend to leave with out a good bye, Sophia called after him, "Bye, bye Baby!"

When I told my mom this story, she commented that Sophia has much to learn about the sensitive male ego!