Anyone who’s a parent can appreciate this.
I B”H have a beautiful baby daughter, Leah, who’s turning 23 months and is fast approaching her “terrible twos.” Yet, even when she’s mischievous she’s the most adorable thing on earth. Here’s a case in point.
Over the past year, my daughter has developed a taste for Shabbos Challah. Whenever she would spot Challah she’d pipe up in an almost questioning tone “Challah?” Usually that meant that she saw Challah, and she wanted it. She would also say, for “Gut Shabbos,” “Shabbos,” and for “Shabbat Shalom” she would say slowly, though melodically, “♫♪ Sha-lo-mein! ♪♫” These are the things that give us such Nachas.
But then those things can and will be used for terror when we least want it. This year, in preparing the house for Bedikas Chametz, my wife and I took a loaf of bread and cut up golf-ball sized pieces of bread, carefully placing a piece of paper towel underneath each piece in order to mitigate the amount of crumbs being spread. While my wife and I were preparing, we noticed that my daughter took one of the pieces from the living room that were within her reach, paper towel and all, and started scurrying to her bedroom, nearly biting into the piece, while cluching it like it was buried treasure. My wife caught her JUST before little Leah reached her bed. When my wife came back, she and I were holding onto our hearts since the Chametz scare was a close one. All of a sudden, Leah, in a perfectly timed manner, called from her room “♫♪ Challah? ♪♫” The shock plus her absolute cuteness had me rolling on the floor in laughter.
Oh, I almost forgot, Leah now copies everything that we grown-ups do “to a T.” She can now say phrases in English and Hebrew, say “Wazzup!” and even imitate the gob-gobbling of a turkey, since most times she acts like one. Well, now, she copied me and started HERSELF falling on the floor, laughing her ever-cute baby laugh, and then saying “♫♪ funny, Abba! ♪♫”
Does anyone here have any cute pre-Pesach stories to share?