What will he say?

Spike doesn't ask the stereotypical "Why?" like most three year olds.

Instead, he's constantly asking, "What will he/she/they/it say?" Perhaps it's connected to his love of stories. Everything in his little imagination is a dialogue between characters--Woody, Buzz, and the aliens; the momma penguin and her baby; his carrots and himself ("Don't eat me, Izey!" "But I'm hungry, Carrot!")

Here's a typical conversation that I might have with Isaac:

me: Isaac, we're going to be taking you to the dentist soon!
Spike: What will he say to me?
me: I don't know. He might say, 'Hi Isaac, nice to meet you.'
Spike: And what will I say?
me: Um....you will say, 'Nice to meet you too.'
Spike: And then what will he say?
me: He'll say, 'Let's see your teeth.'

...and on, and on, and on. And "I don't know what he will say," is not an acceptable answer! He'll get frustrated and insist, "TELL ME!" until I make up something.

Often, Isaac tries to use this kind of questioning to prepare himself for upcoming unknowns. Like when we're going to have visitors over, or he's going to someone's house, he'll start the, "What will she say to me?" conversation.

I think he's pretty verbal, and he wants to know the appropriate way to express himself in any situation. Once we went to a friend's house and he had to go potty. When the friend came in the bathroom with him, he got pretty rude, yelling, "Go away! Leave me alone!" When he was done, I told him that was rude to talk like that and he said, "Okay. What do I say?" I was really proud of him for understanding that he needed to be able to say something to express his needs. I told him, "You can say, 'I need privacy.'" Now when he wants someone to go away he kindly yells, "I NEED PRIVACY!!!" Uh, not exactly the tone we were going for, Bud.