If you have been around Audrey for longer than 30 minutes you have heard her say “uh oh”. It is one of the first things she learned how to say, as well as one of the things she says the most often. It has been a joy to see her use of the phrase evolve.

At first she would say it if she fell over or dropped something. As she had just learned to walk she had many chances to use it.  It was fun to see her learn and express what was going on.

After a few months she started to use it when she did things on purpose. She would look me in the eye, say “uh oh”, and then drop her milk. She was acting like a toddler mean girl. It didn’t take long for us to stop picking up the milk for her so that doesn’t happen as often now.

My favorite way she uses “Uh Oh!” is when she is concerned about Elliot. When we go for a walk with the double stroller she will peek around the canopy to see if he still has his pacifier. When he doesn’t she says “Uh Oh!” over and over again until I correct the issue. I’ve tried explaining to her that Elliot is little and hasn’t decided if he wants to be a pacifier baby or not, but as a pacifier loving toddler she doesn’t get that at all (and can we pretend that I don’t try to reason with a toddler? Thank you in advance for your cooperation).

I’ve started to use the Elliot “Uh Oh” to my advantage when we are going anywhere in the car. As I have mentioned before we have a small house. A feature of small houses is small garages. We have a one car detached garage. It is small. Very small. It is so small you cannot get into the passenger side of the vehicle when it is in the garage. That means when we leave the house I can’t put Elliot in the car until I back out of the garage. Getting the kids into the car becomes a multi step process that is much more difficult than it was when it was just Audrey.

Going to the store with Audrey:

• Step 1: Leave house.
• Step 2: Put Audrey in car seat.
• Step 3: Get in car.
• Step 4: Drive.

Going to the store with Elliot:

• Step 1: Leave house with Elliot in car seat and holding Audrey’s hand while carrying diaper bag the size and weight of a third child.
• Step 2: Put Elliot in car seat on patio where he is in the shade.
• Step 2: Put Audrey in her car seat.
• Step 3: Get in car.
• Step 4: Back up car 12 feet.
• Step 5: Say “Uh Oh! We forgot Elliot!”
• Step 6: Get out of car.
• Step 7: Pick up Elliot and put him in car.
• Step 8: Get back in car.
• Step 9: Drive away.

It’s really amazing I ever leave the house.

You may be wondering why Step 5 in going to the store with Elliot exists. I do it because I’m a tired mom of a toddler and baby. I forget things all of the time. I don’t want one of those things to be Elliot. I started saying “Uh Oh!” because I knew Audrey would start saying it and I figured it would be a good reminder to not forget the baby.

What I didn’t know is that I have made it much harder for myself whenever I go anywhere with just Audrey. As we back out of the garage she starts saying “Uh Oh”. As we back out of the driveway her Uh Ohs get louder. By the time we are a block away she is crying because she thinks we have forgotten Elliot. The first time it happened it got so bad I had to call John to have him tell her Elliot was with him. She wouldn’t stop crying for her brother.

It is my favorite “Uh Oh” to hear. I love that she is showing empathy and love for her baby brother. I also love that I’m not likely to forget the baby on the patio while Audrey is in the car.