Sippy Cup Cage Match

Well, at least there were no deaths to speak of in the family today.

My 1 year old boy Teague and I had a standoff this afternoon: Dad vs Son, Sippy-Cup Cage Match, the reverberations of which still hang in the air. My wife Mira and I have been trying to get Teague to graduate to drinking from some kind of sippy cup, which he so far refuses to do, for no real reason I can discern- but then, when did reason ever matter with a 1 yr old? We now have these "Born Free" cups which we just purchased for some preposterously high price off the Web, and while I think Teague understands that he can get juice, milk or water out of this very expensive cup, he insists that Mira or I tilt it back and hold it to his mouth for him; he refuses to grasp the handles with his own hands, or to hold it or tilt it back himself. Clearly he has the dexterity to accomplish this on his own, and he could, should he feel disposed to do so, but he just refuses, preferring that we cater to him. I've had the same sort of standoff with him before, over the cup, and I must confess that he wins every time. So today, I had him in the highchair, his face and hair caked in postprandial sludge, and I put the sippy cup in front of him filled with apple juice. Just to give him a brief taste of the prize, I tilted it to his mouth and gave him a sip, so he would understand the ambrosial reward within. Then, having set it there in front of him on the tray, he first tilted his head down and put his mouth on the cup's spout with his two hands out at his side. Realizing the inefficacy of this method, he took a broad swing at the cup, knocking it to the floor. Undeterred, I replaced it in front of him, evoking from him cries of annoyance and another swing at the cup and once again, retrieval from the floor. I tried to show him my own, fine drinking technique, demonstrating the utility of the two handles. I tried to affix his hands to the handles of the cup to influence him to pick it up, but this generated ever increasing cries of rage and annoyance. And lest you think he simply wasn't thirsty, of course, when I held the juice-cup up for him, he was happy to drink all day. I wasn't trying to torture the poor boy. I mean, I wanted the young Master Teague to have some apple juice, but must we forever peel his grapes and pour the wine down his gullet? Oh well, he cried voluminously and then went down for a nap. I'm sure the scene will repeat itself in the days ahead.

Finally, I will mention the Curse of the Spaniel. My wife and I have an annoying dog named Mumi, of which I am sure you will hear much more in these posts. She awakened Teague from his afternoon nap after only 30 min today, when she flew into a canine rage of barking and snarling directed at the dangerous UPS man who had the temerity to ring our bell with a package. Of course, once the door was opened and the threat in Brown revealed, our hound was all licking and sycophantic tail wagging. Teague, of course, by then was screaming madly one floor above....