Rubber Rain Boots

What is it about toddlers and boots – especially rubber rain boots?! Elizabeth rediscovered her rain boots from Auntie Monika today and had to put them on! Never mind that they didn’t at all match what she was wearing – or that it’s not raining and we’re inside anyway! She was very proud to be wearing her boots and informed me: Papá tiene botas también (except that she says /tambén/). (Daddy has boots, too.) He does – he has work boots! ¡Es cierto! I replied. Pero Mamá no tiene botas… (That’s right! But Mommy doesn’t have boots…)

We were getting ready to eat lunch. I asked: ¿Querés comer con las botas? ¿O sin las botas? (Yes – we use the Uruguayan vos form at our house!) (Do you want to eat with your boots on? Or without your boots?) Rubber boots must get hot and sweaty – especially without socks! She looked down at them and then back up at me. Sadly and hopefully, she said: Comer con las botas… I picked her up and hugged her! (She’s SO cute!) As I was kissing her, she said: Elizabeth tiene botas – y Papá también (except that she says /tambén/). I replied: ¿Y Mamá? Mamá no tiene botas… I pretended to be very sad. She took my face in her little hands and very earnestly said: ¡No quejas, Mamá! (She should, of course, have used the imperative quejes – and added the reflexive pronoun te, too.) (Don’t whine, Mommy!) Can you tell what other lesson we’ve been working on at our house?!

Oh… By the way… I heard the boots clatter to the floor as I was dishing up the soup… Apparently, rubber rain boots do get hot and sweaty – especially without socks!