I'm raising a teenager

Or so it feels lately.

First, he eats like a teenager. 9 times out of 10, the first words out of his mouth in the morning are "I'm hungry!" This phrase is repeated all day long. He's like an even shorter version of Pippin: "What about breakfast? What about second breakfast? What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?"

Snacks. Never leave home without them.

Second, he's a phone hog. Already! Any time I try to talk to any of my family or in-laws on the phone, he's right there at my knee. "I want to talk, I want to talk, I want to talk!" And once he gets his hands on the phone - oh boy. Good luck getting it back! Sadly, it often devolves into a wrestling match around these parts. This doesn't bode well for when he's bigger and stronger than I am.

Third, ahhhh, the contrariness. Fortunately, this is far less common than his all-day hunger and his phone hog tendencies, but he definitely has his grumpy moments of needing to repeat back the exact opposite of every little thing I say. "It's bedtime." "It's NOT bedtime!" "We're going out now." "We're NOT going out now!" "Mommy's tired." "Mommy's NOT tired!"

Wanna bet?

Little stinker. It's a good thing he's so cute - and usually very good-natured and not at all contrary. Still, those days only push him further into the "it feels like I'm raising a teenager" category.

Ah well. I should be well prepared, at any rate.