Tonight K, Bug and I went out to dinner. We see such outings as very educational for Bug. She's very well behaved; her worst infraction is talking a little too loud when she's excited, so we're working on that. We also try to teach her from the horrible examples of behavior that we consistently experience when going out. Tonight there was a screeching baby at the next table. Bug would comment that the baby was loud, and we reminded her that she isn't a baby, but a big girl, so she should use her indoor voice.
Kids are generally given a bad reputation when it comes to eating out, but the worst behavior we see is usually from adults. Usually it's loud cell phone use. Tonight we experienced loud talkers. A party of two came in, saw some friends as they were shown to their table, and proceeded to start their greetings from several feet away. Mind you, they were across the room from us and their friends were not quite between us (we formed a triangle), but they were loud enough for us to hear their conversation clearly. Bug was compelled to twist around in her chair to watch the spectacle (the first time - when more friends of these people came in, Bug was able to ignore them).
::tangent::
I know that kids reach a stage where they are likely to repeat anything they hear, regardless of how mixed the company. So be it. If she calls rude people on their behavior after hearing K and I gripe about it, more power to her. As K said, they should be embarrassed that a 2-year-old knows her manners better than them.
::end tangent::
We leaned over and started the commentary. Those people are really loud, aren't they? They're so loud, you turned around. That's why we don't talk loudly in restaurants. It bothers other people. It's rude.
Bug seemed to soak in the lesson. When we got into the truck to head home, Bug started hooting in the back seat. We asked her what she was doing, and she said, "I being loud in the car!" K praised her for choosing a more appropriate place to be loud.
At one point during our dinner I was compelled to pull out the camera. Bug had been munching on a roll and was down to the bottom half. K and I were both finished eating so we witnessed the strange occurence. She held the roll in her hand, and quickly poked the index finger from her other hand into it. She then put the roll to her ear and said, "Hello?"
K asked her if her roll was a phone. "Noooooo!" (See also Mommy and Daddy = Idiots.)
I tried to get a picture of her with her phone-roll without success. Here's what I got when I asked for a big smile, the ham.
Yes, that is a little booboo on her left cheek. It was caused by a fall off K's leg as they played a game Bug told me was called "Up and Down." Playing seems simple enough: K sits on the couch and Bug clutches onto his leg as he does leg lifts. She rolled off and landed face first on a matchbox car. The cars were picked up and Bug was squealing with glee again when I came into the room.
