If you want my two cents...

A couple of weeks ago, a nice elderly man at Chic-Fil-A gave Zachary a new, shiny quarter. Thus began our first conversation about money. You know, aside from the "you can't eat that until mommy pays for it" that I have repeated several times to a very impatient and economically-ignorant child. So, we told him that it was his money, and he could put it in his pocket. Well, that's all that kid needed to know. Since then, pockets have opened up a whole new world to him.

I remember wondering out loud to my husband, when Zach was younger, why they put actual pockets on 6-month size baby clothes...I still don't know why they do that. But at two and a half, Zach has plenty of pockets - most of the pants and shorts he wears have cargo pockets in addition to the traditional hip pockets.

Since then, I have heard many a jingle coming from my son as he runs past me repeating "money" and "pocket" and "mine".

Yesterday morning, Zach woke up and came downstairs to watch cartoons and eat breakfast. He refuses to wear pajamas these days - wants to sleep only in his briefs. Since it's summer, I don't mind. But he may change his mind once it gets cold. As he was eating his waffles, he announced that he needed to go potty, and started to climb down from his chair. I heard something hit the floor, and when I looked, I saw a penny. "Zach, where did you get that?" But he didn't have time for an answer - he was making a bee line for the bathroom, and I noticed he had a nice jingle to his step...

Sure enough, when he pulled down his underwear in the bathroom, a bunch of change fell out. I looked at Zach, and he smiled and said "Money. Pocket!" I guess when all else fails, Zach can use underwear as his pocket. It's a great way to make sure the money stays in his possession...not many people want a warm quarter from a 2 year old's whitey-tighties!