1+2+0=4?

1 is fine, I said.

2 for me, he said.

any for mommy, he asked.

none for mommy, i replied.

2 for me, he re-stated.

very good, i retorted-amused by what was becoming a game. Sticking his head back in our bedroom, he was just making sure, '1 for daddy?'

that's right-1 for me, 2 for you, zero for mommy.

What could be worthy of such a drawn out discussion of distribution? Only pacifiers. This came on the tail-end of a naptime 'need to go potty' bonanza. Sunday afternoons are much needed down time for Christy and I-and the boys generally take good naps. Not today. Every time I would sink off to sleep, we would hear 'daddy, need to go potty.'

When you hear parents talk nostalgically about the times when they would hear the pitter patter of little feet down the hall, do not suppose this is the sound that we hear down ours. Rather-the fast-paced, ground-pounding of Jayden's happy feet send the seemingly peaceful timbers of our floor into a frenzy when they hear his door open and the race begin.

Your toilet may not make electronic noises when in use, but Jayden's does. And his potty, i believe, has gone haywire-and even when it does not collect its intended product, it still emits its celebratory noise. This noise became an irritant this afternoon when we were trying to take a nap and every 15 minutes heard the celebration music of the little potty that could.

Let me finish where I began. Eventually, Jayden brought me a cache of pacifiers-obtained from an assortment of squirrel nest locations such as under the bed and in the tiny crevice where he sticks his legs in his bed (we can never find them, but he can)-eventually 4 of these precious items were places neatly on my resting chest. Christy and I laughed as I received 400% more pacifiers than requested, and Christy received her desired zero-and Jayden continued to run from room to potty to bed and back again repetitiously for what seemed like the entirety of our nap.

We are grateful for times to laugh together at the little things in life.