"I need a fork"

I've mentioned my nephew, Owen, on prior occasions. He's now two-and-a-half years old, and he's precocious to say the least.

A while back, he started speaking in full sentences, and he's never been shy about speaking his mind. That goes for his actions, too. Even compared to kids much older than he, his manners are excellent. There are occasions, however, when he simply focuses on his needs as he sees them.

Today, we had a family event. My cousin's baby daughter was being christened. At this moment, I am sorely tempted to say something about the strange rituals of the Catholic Church, but I think I'll let that go for another day. After all, the real fun was at the party afterward.

After a couple of hours, we'd all had a nice meal and were looking forward to dessert. I'd spent a fair amount of time playing with Owen and chasing him around. The high point of that was when I put him on my shoulder and twirled him, then set him down and watched him stagger like a drunk (yes, I'm that kind of uncle--nephew torture is a free service, but he loves it).

As the time for dessert approached, various sweet things were being set up by the catering staff. In the midst of this, Owen came over to the table and said to his father (my kid brother), "I need a fork!" Without waiting for an answer, Owen spotted a fork on the table, grabbed it and turned away.

As Owen headed away from the table, a few people saw where he was headed and started yelling to my cousin's wife, who was near Owen's path, "Kristin, stop him!" She didn't realize what was happening fast enough to do anything to stop the charging child.

After a moment, I also realized what was going on, just in time to see him plunge the fork into the sheet cake that had just been brought out. Owen then withdrew the fork and shoved it into his mouth, as several of us tried to suppress our laughter--we didn't want him to think we approved (but it was very funny)!

That made the whole day worth it! :)