Nature and Nurture, v2

A while back, Krista posted an entry about Nature and Nurture. It was a comical post about Caleb's intolerance of creepy things even approaching our house (nurture against nature?) and his astute observation about how birds fly over and poop on our car (nature against the automotive industry).

I would like to comment that there are more things that appear to be nurture than just disdain for insects and bird poop. Sarcasm is also nurture. Tonight, Krista was shuffling about and knocked something over. Caleb's comment was, "nice, mom." Pretty sarcastic for a soon-to-be three-year-old.

This is not an isolated incident. Earlier today, they were playing a game of tag in the kitchen where the object was to hit the other person with a soft, Nerf-style basketball. Krista tossed one in Caleb's direction only to miss him and send the ball rolling along the floor. Caleb's response? "Nice miss!" Sarcastic beyond his years.

A competitive spirit may also be nurture, whether you are nurtured to have said spirit or to avoid it. In our case, you may have guessed that Caleb is adopting that spirit, seemingly to no end. Here is a list of daily competitions:
- Caleb vs. dad: who can use the bathroom first
- Caleb vs. mom and dad: who can buckle the seat belt first
- Caleb vs. dad: who can touch the car first (mom may qualify once she can move above a waddle's pace)
- Caleb vs. dad: how good he can hide without dad being able to find him
- Caleb vs. mom and dad: full-contact Candy Land
- Caleb vs. dad: who can put their shoes on first (he even cheats - if I am a threat [aka out of the shower], he'll pick up my shoes, run them to the stairs, and laugh as he hurls them down 'cause he knows I have a long trip to make before I can compete!)
- Caleb vs. mom and dad: who can finish eating first
- Caleb vs. mom and dad: who can clean up after dinner first (this one is awesome!)

If anyone has any questions about nature vs. nurture, I will be the first to say that sarcasm, competitive spirit, and a disdain for creepy crawlies are observed and modeled. Now, I gotta go kill a spider before my shoes disappear down the stairs.