Right on schedule, Annie is in the “mine!” phase. My ball! My pen! My newspaper! MY car keys! MINE MINE MINE I hear it all day long. I can say something like, “Hey Mike, will you hand me my purse?” And Annie will yell, “NO! My purse!” or “Mike, the bill from the surgical hospital came, do you know where the checkbook is?” And Annie will holler, “MINE CHECKBOOK!”
Which, hey, you wanna pay my bills? Go for it.
Even Mike, with all of his endless patience, is over the mine talk. This might have something to do with Annie deciding that Diet Coke is property she can claim, so every time he brings a can to his lips she shrieks, “Dat’s mine! My Die Coke!” (yes, she calls it Die Coke, not a typo), and since he drinks 187 cans a day that means she’s yelling at him almost constantly.
You never know what this kid is going to deem hers. Two days ago she cried for an hour because I threw out the trash. “My traaaaaaaaash!” It would have been an Oscar-worthy performance if it hadn’t been frighteningly real.
My birthday is tomorrow, so Mike and I have been talking about it for a few weeks. Yesterday Mike said something along the lines of, “I made reservations for your birthday dinner!” And before I could even ask where, Annie said, “Ohhhhh! My birthday!”
Mike replied, “No, Mama’s birthday.”
Annie, getting slightly louder and more frantic, “No, Dada, MY birthday. MINE.”
Mike, “Annabel. It’s MOMMY’S birthday. Not yours. Yours is in January! It’s Mommy’s birthday and we’re going to sing to her.”
Annie, “NOOOO MYYYYYY BIRTHDAY MIIIIIINE!”
They went back and forth a few more times but the whole thing basically ended with Annie standing in front of me with giant tears rolling down her face, saying, “Pwease, Mama! Mine birthday? Mine birrrrrrthdaaaaaay!”
Sorry kiddo, but I already have to share my birthday with Uncle Kyle, Khloé Kardashian, and that attention hog Helen Keller. I’m not sharing with you, too!
Okay, okay, I will let her blow out my birthday candles. But I am NOT sharing the presents.
THOSE ARE MINE.
Becca_Masters says:
Ha ha ha! Bless her little socks!
Also? Love that she calls diet coke “die coke”.
Becca_Masters says:
Also? Seagulls from Finding Nemo.
Has she watched that yet?
Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!
Jayme says:
Our almost 2 yr old girl has also recently come down with a bad case of the “Mine’s”. Only she actually says, “mines”, as in, “No mama, das not for you, das miiiiiiiiiinesssssss.” It would be a lot more annoying if it wasn’t so damn adorable.
TonyaM says:
Hahahaha! I love this post! And I’m sure others will agree that it’s far more humorous when you’re at least a good five years removed from The Mine Stage!
alimartell says:
…and my sister!
Tracy says:
My daughter is 3 weeks younger than Annie and I am deep in this too. I also share Mike’s love of Diet Coke and have experienced the exact same “my Diet Coke”. Back it off, sister.
But, I am commenting to let you know that the “attention hog Helen Keller” forced me to spit out “my” Diet Coke on my keyboard. Very nice.
Adrianne says:
Haha, this sounds like a fun phase to look forward to! Has she already gone through the “why?” phase or is that yet to come?
Also I think she’s on to something with the “Die Coke”!
And lastly….sorry you have to share a birthday with that B, Helen Keller! She’s the worst. Happy Early Birthday! Hope you have a great one!!
Jen says:
Totally sounds like my daughter…the tears, the dramatics, the MINE MINE MINE all they time.
Have a great birthday…
Mrs Woog says:
Tell her it is MINE birthday next week and you guys can get on MINE plane to come celebrate with me!
Aubrey says:
Mine..I hear it all the time still from my 4 year old(her bday is today actually) My favorite from here is where/what?
MJ: “Where are we going, Mama?”
Me: “To the store”
MJ: “But WHERE are we going?”
Me: “To the Store”
repeat for about 20 minutes or until I say “I don’t know. Where are we going?” Then she will answer with “to the store, you just said” Same with What are you doing. It gets frustrating. I try to laugh it off as much as possible but when trying to get into the car with a kid who won’t until all of her questions are answered is a little crazy.
Laura says:
Mine birthday is this Sunday and I share it with Pwincess Diana. Talk about attention hogs ;-/
Lisa says:
Happy Birthday!
Lanie says:
Happy Birthday! Hope that all the presents stay yours. xo
Melli says:
Happy birthday!
Shannon says:
Lol..Helen Keller. I can’t wait to see what you get!
edenland says:
ROFLing like a silent lunatic because it’s 12.44am here and everything’s quiet.
Wait. 12.44am? Heather it’s been your birthday down here for 44 minutes. Sorry to you and Annie …. .but I’m in your birthday right now.
MUST MEAN IT’S MINE BIRTHDAY.
PattyB says:
So funny! Happy Birthday, Heather! I let my two year old granddaughter blow out my birthday candles this year. She was so excited to get to eat cake, she didn’t care it wasn’t actually her birthday. Just show Annie some cake. It totally works.
nicole says:
Me too!
Gale @ Ten Dollar Thoughts says:
Ugh. I sympathize. Know that she’ll get through it and so will you and Mike. … On a more practical note, when our older son went through this we made a rule that any time he proclaimed something was his, he had to tell us who he shared it with. As in, “This is my ball, but I share it with Daddy.” Not sure how much it helped, but it made the whole situation feel a bit less obnoxious!
Kristen @ The Chronicles of Dutch says:
Damn that Helen Keller for stealing your thunder!!!
Miriam says:
‘attention hog Helen Keller’ that has to be one of the funniest things I have read in awhile.
Happy Birthday!
Kristin says:
Happy Birthday to you!!
Jaime says:
So sorry to hear Annie is going through this phase. My daughter is 2 1/2 is doing the same thing. I hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow and your family plans something very special for you.
lilcg says:
Happy birthday!
And I feel your pain. My just turned three year old daughter (who managed to persuade her grandfather to let her blow out his candles and open his presents) cried and screamed for a good 15 minutes yesterday because I insisted on using my keys to start the car and not her imaginary ones.
Annalisa says:
Happy birthday in advance!
I had to laugh, but then again, at least she articulates it well! My child is already having a case of the “mine”, but she doesn’t really know how to articulate that something is hers, and hers alone, so her MO to get just about anything that she deems hers out of my hands is to come up to me and start yelling at me incoherently until I give up whatever she wants. ;_;
(I had to hide HER iPhone because we only wanted to play with it, and we got quite upset when people tried to call me and dared to interrupt iTunes).
Nanette says:
Oh, I remember when Em hit this stage. The most awkward ownership claim came when we were driving past a homeless man who was eating someone else’s leftovers, I presume. “Hey! Those are MY noodles!”
Cheryl says:
I’m jealous of your birthday-mates. I’m on Saturday and I get Mike Tyson (my exact birthday) and Lena Horne.
Amy s. says:
Thanks for the laugh and Happy Birthday!
Jessica Makuh says:
“I already have to share my birthday with Uncle Kyle, Khloé Kardashian, and that attention hog Helen Keller.” Hilarious! I am still laughing!
karen says:
My friend recently celebrated her birthday and had to ‘share’ it with her nearly 3 year old too! She was unimpressed,
Kat says:
Happy birthday Annie!!
Courtney says:
I love following your blog, because my son is only two months younger than Annie, and they often go through these phases together. I definitely feel you on this one! My husband and I are both so sick of “MINE!” all the time!
Auntie_M says:
Those presents may not be “hers” but a buck gets ten that she’ll be the one opening them! LOL
I see you now crouched down in the back of your closet secretly trying to unwrap just one present on your own to truly make it just yours.
Enjoy your day! (And Kyle’s day–Happy birthday Uncle Kyle…oh, and Khloé Kardashian, and off course that serious attention hog Helen Keller.)
(You kill me!)