No yaffing allowed

I was talking to my friend today about Violet's developing sassiness.  Even though it frequently frustrates me, there are times that I also find it very funny.  My friend agreed that hearing something saucy in that cute little voice out of that cute little face is so incongruous that it's hard to take her seriously.

This morning, for example, we did our usual irritating dance where she lollygags washing her hands after going to the bathroom.  It really is hard to decide what part of the whole bathroom-going operation is my least favorite, but the hand-washing is right up there.  She puts soap on them, turns the water on full blast, but then doesn't rub the soap off as the water is running.  The sink will quickly fill up with bubbles and water, and still her hands will remain unwashed.  Or she'll put her hands right underneath the faucet so that the water sprays all over the counter.  Either way, it takes forever and often makes a huge mess.  Every time this happens, I have to tell her, "Violet! Rub your hands together! Come on! Finish up!" Sometimes I have more patience for this than others, but this morning was not one of those times.

Afterward, Violet said to me, "Mommy, you are nice!"

"Oh, thank you, Violet," I said, surprised, considering I had just scolded her.

"But...you yelling at me is not nice!"

Oh, heh.  Fair enough.

It makes Violet so angry when we laugh, though.

She'll be complaining about something in the car, and sometimes what she says and the way she says it makes Jack and me giggle. 

"Stop yaffing!" she'll yell imperiously.  "Don't yaff at me!"

Yesterday she said something that I thought was funny, and I started chuckling.  Once again, she demanded, "Stop yaffing!"

I tried to turn my head away so that she couldn't see me smirking.

She grabbed my face in her little hands and turned me back toward her.

"Don't yaff!" she bossed.  "Stop being happy!"

Which made me laugh even more.

Sorry, Violet, I have to laugh while I still find this funny. And be careful what you tell me to do.  If Mommy's not happy, nobody's happy.