To Translate Literally

Jason and I took the boys to Dallas to meet Charlie and Kim for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant, Alfredo's. (Alfredo's is closing and we're in the fetal position sucking our thumbs wondering where we're going to get great Italian food from now on, so if anyone has any suggestions, we're taking them. Please let me spare anyone from mentioning Olive Garden - that is NOT great Italian food - so let me just preface this request with REAL Italian food.)

Anyway, on to the point of this post.....

We were sitting at a round table which held all six of us comfortably. We were enjoying our bread, stuffed mushrooms, mussels, adult beverages and salad, visiting occasionally with Mario, the owner or someone else Charlie knew. Harrison was eating everything offered to him, with numerous extra helpings of bread. Jake wouldn't eat anything except the bread. I teased Jake a bit about Harrison eating all of his food and that he was going to get bigger than Jake. 

Jake never can quite wrap his brain around that concept - that his brother could potentially (and probably will) be bigger than he will - because he knows he is older and always will be older.

I continued to tease him a bit by saying, "Aw, come on, Jake, you're not going to let your brother eat you under the table, are you?" Jake had no clue what that really meant, but just shook his head in an effort to respond.

Meanwhile, Harrison had grabbed his bread, pushed his chair back and was sitting literally "under the table" eating his bread. I had no idea he was even listening to me.

I forgot 3 year olds are still just learning the English language. The literal parts are hard enough, but to throw in the slang phrases, its just too much. He didn't quite understand why Kim and I were laughing and pulling him out from under the table.