TexasMama

Conversations with G-

More on school later, but for now, some G- funnies.

Woman at adjacent table: Well, aren’t you just a cutie.  You are going to be quite a heart breaker when you grow up.

G-: Yes. Yes I am.

_______________________

His (4yo girl) cousin C-:  William, what do you want to play?

G-:  Let’s play ballerinas.

C-: OK!

A little later

G-: utterly distraught  Maaaammmaaaa!  C- says ballerinas can’t have tools!

_______________________

G-:  Can I building and fixing as good as new? (a line from the Bob the Builder theme song)

Me: Sure, honey, build as much as you want to.

G-: I’m not honey.  I’m Bob!

_______________________

G-, upon walking into his new classroom: Look Mama, a kitchen. Cool!

_______________________

G-, looking at the tail of a camel drawing on his wallpaper border:  Mama, why does the camel have a penis?

_______________________

G-: Mama, I love you in the whole world.

_______________________

G-:  Mama, I love your armpits!

_______________________

G-, mostly asleep and reaching towards me as I lay him in bed:  Armpits!  I want armpits!

_______________________

G-, as I pick him up: Get me out of these arms!  Mama, can you get me out of these arms?!

_______________________

Me:  G-, would it be OK if Mama left now?

G-: Mama, would it be OK if you stayed with me?

_______________________

Apples and Milk

Shameless mommy post. 

Tonight while G-  ate his dinner he started saying his apples were tired.  He decided a bowl he had was their bed, and he went through a little putting them to sleep process.  Then he announced it was time to get up.  I said "Oh, it's morning, apples, time to get up!" G's  face immediately brightened and he said "It's morning!  Apples want mommy milk!"  So then we picked a mommy apple and the baby apples "sat on mommy's knees" for milk.  Then the apples were sad and crying and they needed some more mommy milk.  Then they fell down and scraped their knees (which happened to him today) and needed some more. He pretended the apples were drinking mommy milk for a long time. It was really funny.

Oh for the love of Armpits!

My son has an armpit fetish.  Seriously, the child was saying armpit at about 14 months.  He loves them, and absolutely cannot nurse without digging his little fingers in.  Usually, it's both hands on the side he's nursing on, but sometimes he like to have one hand on each side.  And he frequently says things like "Mommy, have armpits in bed, please." Or to tell me he's ready for a nap, "Have milk and armpits, go to sleep." 

I'm trying to figure out how to get him to stop, but if I dare tell him armpits are off limits he cries and carries on as if I'm killing him.  "Mommy's armpits are closed.  Need armpits!"  I know, I know, I should never have let the habit get started but sometimes you'll do anything to get you child to go to sleep.   For a time it was my belly button and I foolishly thought the armpit thing would be less annoying.  What was I thinking?

But you know, I have it good.  My husband used to give me a really hard time about this.  He'd say things like he couldn't imagine why I'd let him start doing that, that it was my own fault if I complained about it, and that I was a total wimp not to make him stop.  But I got the last laugh. 

G- recently designated his daddy's nose as his comfort item of choice.  And not just his nose, but his nostril.  He wants to fall asleep with his finger in S-'s nostril.  And you know what?  S- let him!  He let G- stick his finger in his nose to fall asleep.  His response to my incredulous laughter at his exasperated explanation of how G- fell asleep, "Well, at least he fell asleep."  OK, who's really the wimp, here?  And how good am I feeling about the choice of armpits, now?

Signs point to trouble.

We signed with my son starting at about 6 months.   I thought it would be a really good idea since I'd read it can really help pre-verbal kids communicate therefore cutting down on the frustration and temper tantrums.  And especially since boys typically talk a little later, I thought it would be a great tool.  And how what a wonderful tool it was, just not in the way I expected.

  At 8 months he signed back "milk"* and "light" and "fan" quickly followed.  By 12 months he signed about 11 signs and said 6 words.  By 14 months he signed 35 words but said almost 200.  Shortly after that, I lost count of his spoken words and we pretty much gave up signing.  He just learned the words much faster than I could learn the signs and teach them to him.  I really credit signing with him for his verbal skills.  When you sign, you say the word over and over.  You do it at times that are particularly ripe for learning, like when something has just caught their attention, etc.  You do this so they will learn the sign, but it only makes sense that it helps them learn the word as well.  I also believe it helped my son make the connection that everything has a label.  And once he got that, nothing was going to stop him from learning the labels for everything around him.

So now I have this kid that NEVER stops talking.  He narrates everything as he does it.  Generally he refers to himself as you (Mommy hold you) or by his name (G making lattes with Mommy).  I've been working with him on the I/me concept and he is starting to get it.  He also speaks really consistently in 4 or 5 word sentence, though they aren't always grammatically perfect.  (hmmm... where do you suppose he gets that? Good thing he doesn't have to spell yet.)

But today just took the cake.   He asked to go potty. **  I was at my parent's house and they don't have a little potty.  So I tried putting him on the regular toilet, to which he said, "I'm too little to sit on the big potty."  Clear as day, I swear.  My mother and I about fell on the floor laughing.  Good grief, the child is not quite 20 months old.  What am I in for?

*I really don't suggest using the word "milk" for nursing if you intend to nurse after your child can speak.  It makes it really hard to talk about regular milk with out getting an instant plea for "milk, milk, milk.  No MOMMY milk!"

** We are not potty training, we just have a little potty in our bathroom that G- occasionally likes to sit on while I use the big one.  He'll pee in it every once in a while but he really prefers the floor.

Blowing Bubbles in the Potty

I have a terrible cough.  Whenever I get a cold, it turns into a cough that inevitably lasts 4-6 weeks.  I'm on week 3 now so I have hope it will end soon.    Combine a particularly bad coughing fit with an upset stomach (brought on my taking glucophage the night before way too long after a crappy meal and more than 1 glass of wine), and you get a pretty yucky result.

So as I dry heaved over the toilet, my son comes running in.  He takes a look in the toilet and says with a look of absolute glee, "Mommy blowing bubbles.  Mommy blowing bubbles in the potty!"