While spelling his name with foam letters in the bathtub tonight, Miles found the M and the I, but needed a little help spotting the next letter. After some minimal guidance (which — great news — Miles knows the difference between his right and his left), he plucked the L out of the water.
“Hey,” he said, sounding a little distraught. “This isn’t the L.”
“Sure it is,” I said.
“That’s an L,” Jaclyn agreed.
“No,” Miles persisted. “This is a 1.” He flipped the L over and, yes, it looked like a 1.
“I see what you mean,” I said. “But no, that’s an L. See?” I flipped it back around.
Miles continued. “But no it’s not. L goes like this.” He raised his index finger, holding it straight.
“Oh!” we exclaimed. “You’re talking about a lowercase L! This is an uppercase L.”
Miles wasn’t having any of it. “Well I need a LOWERCASE L!”
My kid, the letter snob.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 