Oh My Goodness!

Lately my 2 year old, Kyleena, has taken up the nasty habit of citing the words "Oh my G**" under her breath whenever she feels a little exasperated. Mommy and daddy have tried explaining patiently that we say "gosh" or "goodness" because that makes Heavenly Father happy. We've tried disciplining TV characters out loud in front of her if we catch them saying it, etc, and yet still, our little angel continues to take the Lord's name in vain. I'm not as frustrated as I may sound. In fact, I think it's rather cute and I often find myself scolding her and then turning my head to laugh. I know she'll grow out of it or else finally grasp that we're serious about not having her say it. However, all of this leads to my little anecdote:

 

This morning while baby Ryker napped, Kyleena and I were about the house on our various bits of business. I had already punished her two or three times for this little faux pas, and as she walked over the threshold leaving her bedroom, I overheard her muttering again "Oh my G**I need to…." and she casually stated the next thing on her two year old to-do list. I immediately sat her down for a time-out, once again stating that Heavenly Father didn't like it when we said that. This time, we said a prayer so that she could tell him she was sorry. Swiftly following the word "amen", she unbowed her head and, holding up a wrist she had placed a bracelet on during her time-out, said, "We say, 'oh my goodness that's a pretty bracelet!'" I smiled. "Yes we do." She continued to expound, "And Heavenly Father says 'oh my goodness.'" Laughing a little I replied, "I'm sure he does, sweetie."

 

As I walked off on my way, feeling that perhaps I had finally gotten through to her, I heard Kyleena shouting over and over again as she returned to her toys,

 

"We don't say 'Oh my G**!"