"Hold it"

When Jeff and I offered Caleb words to say or sign, in place of screeching, we never dreamed they could be used against us.  It seems we have reached that point.  With everything that comes in contact with Jeff or my fingers, Caleb says "hold it." This, obviously, means that he wants whatever we have or whatever he sees.  This could be the glass vase in the pantry, the hot coffee in the morning, shiny lip gloss or a crisp $1 bill.  "Hold it."  We hear this phrase all day long in the most precious voice ever and we chuckle, realizing we have done it to ourselves.  Today, Caleb's buddy Karissa had a toy that Caleb desperately wanted.  I had already coached Caleb on the importance of sharing and used the upbeat Love and Logic (great series of books!) "Uh oh" when he reached for it.  Then comes his last resort.  "Hold it," he says as he grabs for the toy.  And so another lesson begins.  Even when you ask nicely with the proper words you don't always get what you want.  Even Jeff and I are still working on learning this lesson.