The Telephone Game

Our kids have learned to love the phone. They particularly enjoy calling their grandparents. It's very hard to tell who Norah's talking about when she wants to call her Grandma and Papa, since she uses the same name for both sets of grandparents. If you keep asking who she wants to call, she will name off all the family members on that side of the family. The aunts are always the first giveaway. If she wants to talk to my parents she will ask to call Gumma, Papa and Sara, and if she wants to talk to Heather's parents she will ask for Gumma, Papa, Alyssa, Phillip, Russell, Patrick, and Matthew.

Problems arise when she is on the phone with her grandparents and decides she wants to talk to an aunt or uncle that no longer live at home. She gets really mad when she is talking to my mom and asks to talk to Sara. I am pretty sure she thinks we're trying to trick her when we try to explain that she is at "her house" not Grandma's house. Norah cannot tolerate watching somebody talk on the phone. She wants to hold the phone and do the talking. The problem is that she generally refuses to speak above a whisper, if at all, which creates some pretty one-sided conversations.

Justin doesn't want to miss out on the fun either. He fusses until he gets the phone, which initiates a 5 second countdown (That is the average time it takes for him to push the red button to hang up the phone). He is enamored with the buttons on the phone, but especially so with the end button. When Justin takes over, Grandma normally hears about 3 beeps followed by a click.

He normally continues pushing buttons for a few seconds, then finally holds the phone upside down to his ear and repeatedly says "Bye." If you try to retrieve the phone to give a call back he will turn red with anger, because he wants his full turn too. You have to pick your battles.