Earlier today, I took Ari to the library. He said hello to Athena the turtle, played a couple of computer games, and then made a bee-line for the trains. After playing with the trains, we read a couple of train books. Before we left, I insisted on a bathroom trip. While Ari initially fought me (and insisted he needed play with the kitchen RIGHT THEN AND THERE), he eventually accepted that we were going to the bathroom.
I rolled Ari’s sleeves up so he could wash his hands by himself. After I realized he couldn’t get the soap out of the dispenser, I gave him two pumps of soap. Ari scrubbed his hands, rinsed them, and dried them with an excessive amount of paper towels.
We walked back to the chair where our coats were resting. “Time to put on your coat,” I said.
“NO!” He replied. “My hands are soapy.”
“You just washed your hands. How could they be soapy?”
“They. Are. Soapy.” He replied.
Oh-my-gosh, I thought. This is going to be a thing, isn’t it?
“If you rinsed your hands and dried them, then your hands can’t be soapy,” I said reaching for his jacket. As I went to help Ari’s arm into the hole, he moved away and insisted, “My hands are still soapy!”
I decided to prove him wrong. I took hold of his small hands and discovered… they were slick!
“You’re right. They are soapy! I’m not sure how they’re soapy since I watched you rinse your hands, but we can rinse them again.”
I didn’t bother to look at Ari’s face since I was confident it was a mix of smug satisfaction and triumph. Alas, we walked to the bathroom together where I proceeded to help him rinse his hands. Ari still took an excess of paper towels, but at least his hands were soap-free AND dry this time!
Raising Literate Humans 
Sounds like Ari stood up for what he knew was right. May that be a recurring thing throughout his life.
Sometimes it amazing how even water and a load of paper towels just isn’t enough. At least he didn’t fight you about rinsing again!
Sometimes it takes a second round! And Ari knew what he needed. Life with toddlers is always fun and never dull.
He knew. Good for you for giving him the opportunity to be correct.
I love your posts about Ari and Isabelle! Thank you so much for sharing these slices!
It sounds like Ari is quite at home in the library–no surprise! 🙂
Heh heh – kids LOVE it when we’re wrong!
Welcome to the world where your children are right. Get used to it.
I can imagine his little smirk and possible delight in re-rinsing those hands. Overall it sounds like a pretty perfect library trip. Trains, books, and soap!
I love reading your posts about your children. While my daughters are in such a different place than yours (college students 19 and 21), they too also relish when they are right about something. That sentence about the “mix of smug satisfaction and triumph” made me chuckle and think about what that looks like on my own daughters’ faces.
Yup, pretty much the same as your son! 🙂
Thank you for sharing today!