Tom, Abby, Mia and I were all lazing around the playroom this morning when Michael awoke from his first nap. As his whimpers sounded over the monitor, I observed, "There's Michael. I guess we'd better get him." Since Mia was napping with Tom, I headed towards the stairs.
"Want to go get Michael," Abby piped up.
"Abby," I replied, "You're too little to bring Michael down by yourself. But you can come with me. Do you want to?"
"Yeah," she said, so I reached out my hand to her as I opened the gate.
She recoiled, having changed her mind. However, as I approached the steps, she began to protest.
Returning to the gate, and holding it open for her again, I prodded, "Okay. Come on, then!"
Once again, she became reluctant. Once again, I headed towards the steps, only to set off another round of wailing.
Growing frustrated, I turned and asked, "Abby, do you want to come with me, or not?"
"No!"
Considering that her final answer, I made my way upstairs. As I reached the upstairs hallway, I could hear Tom questioning Abby through her tears. "You said 'no,' Abby. What do you think 'no' means?"
"It means yes!" she wailed.
