Toddlers of the world unite!

Of late, young Samson has become obsessed with ownership. I don't know if this is some kind of developmental stage, wherein a young child recognizes the potential for possession or if it's in some way related to the broken-record admonitions we provide him in the supermarket, bookstore, library, etc [e.g., "Be gentle with that, it's not ours," or, "Samson, that's not ours, please put it back.]

Or maybe it's that new kids' book we got from the library, about Uncle Karl and his Busy Day at the Factory.

Whatever it is, Samson is on a mission to classify everything he sees and determine whether or not it's ours.

And I mean everything, from the lake we hiked around on Saturday to the train tracks and train we saw, to the cookies he couldn't have for breakfast.

This last one was particularly difficult for him, because after I said no, he kept pleading in these plaintive tones, saying "ours? ours?"

I could see the little wheels turning in his head, thinking, "Hey, what's the problem? If those are ours, why can't I eat them?"

I dread the day he finds his mother's box of Cookie Crisp among the cereals. I'm not even going to try to explain that to him...