Kids become obsessed with the weirdest things, and Annie is no different. Recently she was obsessed with monsters (which, uh, I may have had a little something to do with), and at her pool lessons she told her teacher that there were monsters in the filter. I just shrugged and flashed the teacher my best, “Where do they get this stuff!” smile.
Annie has new obsession now though, one she will not. stop. talking. about.
It all started when I was watching a teen movie from the Eighties where some classic Eighties-style bullies (with blonde hair, dark shades, and sweaters tied around their necks) were harassing a couple nerds. Annie strolled into the room, and upon seeing the nerds being picked on, watched with great concern. She finally pointed at the bullies and asked, “Who them?”
I said, “They’re… the mean guys.”
Annie considered this a long moment, turning it over in her head, then narrowed her eyes and repeated, “Mean guys.”
Ever since then she has talked about mean guys constantly. The other day we were at the supermarket when we happened upon a man arguing with his wife. Annie pointed and yelled, “Mean guy!” That was awkward.
Later, while on a walk around the block, a dog appeared in a window barking its head off.
“Mean guy!” Annie shouted.
Then there is her new favorite book, Tacky The Penguin, which she likes to have read to her before bed. In it some big, bad hunters come after our hero, Tacky, and Annie insists that we call them mean guys.
“The penguins heard the thump… thump… thump… of feet in the distance,” Heather read the first night we got the book. “This could only man one thing. Hunters had come.”
“No!” Annie shouted. “Mean guys! Mean guys had come!”
Annie’s biggest “mean guys” moment came last night, and it is something you will either find cute or creepy depending on how you look at it. Annie stood at the window, looking out into the darkness, and said matter-of-factly, “Mean guys out there. You gotta be careful.”
To shake off the heebie-jeebies I was feeling about all the mean guys in my backyard, I asked Annie to show me what she thought mean guys looked like. She was game:
Mean guy.
Mean Guy!
MEAN GUY!!!
After Annie went to bed I thought about what she said about mean guys being out there, and how you have to be careful, and it struck me as pretty sage advice. Here’s hoping Annie doesn’t have to deal with too many mean guys in her life, and if she does, she puts them in their place just like Tacky The Penguin does.
Jay- The Dude of the House says:
I’m constantly amazed by the things my Little Dude picks up on that I never expect. Of course it’s rarely the things I try to instill, but rather something like in his new favorite movie Madagascar when one of the animals says to another “You’re biting my butt”. Even though he’s watched it at home with only his parents in the room, he figured out that that was a punchline. And now repeats it at the most inopportune moments, like at Ralphs.
Heather says:
NO MEAN GUYS OUTSIDE EVER NONONONONOOOOOO
TonyaM says:
Something tells me that Miss Annie will handle mean guys juuuuuuust fine……
Jana says:
I agree!! That girl of yours is gonna hold her own.
Molly says:
The grocery store comment is cracking me up! That was awkward. Ha ha!!
Molly (different Molly) says:
I love her “mean guy” face. It’s more like a “just saw someone wearing white past labor day” face…
Annie is definitely awesome. I hope she put the grocery store dude in his place! Nothing like getting shamed by a toddler.
Leslie says:
I, too, am laughing at the grocery store moment!
Aubrey says:
Some of the things kids remember and say are hilarious. Sometimes it is rather embarrassing. One day when my son was abou 3 we were at the store and had just come out of the restroom. When we walked out there was an employee standing there who had a rather large scar across his face. My son just stood and stared. I ushered him past and out of the hallway quickly because I knew he was going to say something. As we walked away he rather loudly stated “Oh Mommy! That guy looks like he is having a BAAAAD DAY!” At those moments you don’t know what to do. I try to use them as teaching moments but sometimes I just don’t know what to say.
Annie’s mean guy faces are great! Also my daughter (who’s birthday is today) has that shirt/jacket combo and it is her favorite. She would wear it every.single.day if I let her. Her and Miss Piggy are kind of BFF!. Hope you are having a great day and all the mean guys stay out of your yard.
Amber says:
My husband is a bit obsessed with zombies, zombie apocalypses, etc. So much so that my 4-year old has become quite versed on what a zombie is after he walked in on an unfortunate scene on the tv of a guy being eaten.
Sunday my husband and son had went to a video game store where my son asked the clerk why there were zombie walkers on the counter and did he know to blow the zombies heads off when they attack because just “cutting their throats won’t work”. He then went on to act out a scene as well.
*sigh* Pretty sure we won’t be getting parent of the year award anytime soon
Meg says:
She’s so adorable. I remember having a sort of “mean guys” obsession as a kid, too. It was around the time my parents began reminding me not to talk to strangers, etc., so I considered anyone “strange” in the mean guys category!
PattyB says:
It’s amazing that little ones can comprehend so much at such a young age. I love the “mean guy” faces. At least she knows what to look for. I suggest, Mike, you never make those faces at her. I have a feeling if she ever called you a mean guy, it would break your heart.
Kristen @ The Chronicles of Dutch says:
Wow! She is so smart! It is amazing what they pick up!
Kristin says:
That’s the cutest little mean guy impression I’ve ever seen. And yes, their are lots of mean guys out there, but she’s right. You just gotta be careful.
I literally laughed out loud when she called the guy at the grocery store a mean guy. I bet the wife liked the comment.
Annalisa says:
I was thinking the same exact thing. Here’s hoping that the guy went “Well, I guess I was being mean. Sorry hon!” after that.
neal says:
My daughter has started to call all old people “mean.” I think it’s got something to do with their wrinkles. We were out the other day and an older woman sat down near us on a bench, and Addison exclaimed, “Mean lady!” It’s hard to explain your way out of that one. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s not just you…we try to teach her that EVERYONE is mean.”
Denise says:
It’s so fun to see what they hang on to at this age. When my son was two he saw the movie, “Osmosis Jones”. This started the “GERM” phase. Everything he saw, touched and ate had germs. That got super interesting in social settings.
I think I would rather have the “Mean Guys”. Great faces, Annie!
Angela says:
OMG. All she needs is a sweater knotted around her shoulders.
Elizabeth says:
That’s funny about Annie yelling ‘Mean guy!’ at the grocery store (not for you though, of course!!) My little guy is obsessed with mean guys, but he calls them ‘bad guys’ and it seems the badder, the better. It has been a phase for quite a while now…probably going on for close to a year maybe?! Not sure when he’ll get over it! He makes them less scary for himself by saying that they’re totally bad guys, BUT they’re HIS friends, and they’re not bad guys to HIM, just to everyone else. Not sure that makes it OK, but that’s what he says!
Jessica Makuh says:
Oh, my gosh! One of your funniest posts! I will laugh about this for days. My 3 year old is obsessed with the saying, “Hey! What’s the big idea?” I have no idea where she picked this up. She says it constantly and only uses it correctly sometimes.
Auntie_M says:
I literally spit out coffee when I got to the part about Annie pointing at the husband at the store and calling him a mean guy! LOL
Maybe Annie will go into law enforcement. Undercover: I can see the mean guys never suspecting the pretty girl w/the huge smile is just about to take ’em down and haul their booties to jail! Just like Bampa!
Auntie_M says:
Oh! And the monsters in the pool filter? LOVE it!!!!