Sink Bath

When the boys were babies I often bathed them in the sink or bathed with them in the tub.  I am not sure how much they enjoyed it.  Sam loves to take a bath and will often jump in the shower with anyone willing (or even not so willing) to allow him to join.  He even gets upset if we weren't planning on bathing and he wants to.  He doesn't like to be cleaned with soap or shampoo.  He just really enjoys playing in the water.  He often plays in the sink with the water washing his hands, filling up cups and pouring them out, typical toddler/preschooler water play.  Today, we heard Sam in the bathroom giggling and making all sorts of noise.    We were so surprised to find him like this:

Silly Sam!!

Girls are from China

*warning this entry contains proper words for body parts. If you feel uncomfortable seeing words like that, then please stop reading now.*

I have always been of the mindset to teach my children the proper names for their body parts. I grew up calling girls parts po-po and boy parts peecha. I know people aren't comfortable with hearing the proper names: penis, testicle, scrotum, vagina, vulva, breasts (as Sam lovingly refers to as nurses – items that nursed him,) however the boys are going to learn the proper names at some point so why not be the ones to teach them and that our bodies are beautiful creations from our Heavenly Father.
Since Sam had surgery he was aware of his parts that had problems and were going to be operated on. He also recently was potty-trained and became fascinated with his penis in the process. He thinks it's amazing and everyone should have one.  A major problem is mom doesn't have one. He would often ask me where my peanut (he can't pronounce the 's' sound so what we hear is peanut) was. I would explain that girls do not have penis (even though he can't say it right, he gets mad if I call it a peanut because then I am not saying it right.) His brothers convinced them mine was cut off so he was afraid he'd lose his too. I told him girls do not have one at all. He was very uncertain about this and tried inspecting me every time he took a shower with me.

After months of trying to convince him, I finally broke down and explained that girls are not born with a penis only boys are. I explained that girls are born with a vagina and we have other parts that we use to pee (another concern of his.) He happily explained, "Oh!! Girls are from China!!" He has been content ever since.

I suppose if girls are from China, then boys are from Peanutville, it sure beats the Mars/Venus explanation. Since he really believes girls are from China, he says, "I want to go to China with you." Kids do say the darnedest things.

Sam’s Big Boy Party

Sam is having his “Big Boy Party.” I started this tradition with Adam. Once my child is potty-trained we reward him with a big boy party. To avoid embarrassment, if the child is too old, a party is not given. Ever since Sam had his first birthday party he has been fascinated with parties. He loves the candles, the cake, and the ambiance. In fact, he thinks every birthday party he attends is his. He started potty-training right after he turned two. He really liked the potty and whenever we thought he was going to be serious, he’d refuse to use it. He likes to flush the toilet (and other things along with it) and play in the bathroom so he didn’t have a fear for us to be concerned with. We couldn’t figure out how to motivate him. After Adam had his 12th birthday party and Josh had his 8th, Sam was excited and talked about his birthday party all the time. We decided to let Sam know about the Big Boy Party. We gave him two months to earn it and except for occasional accidents, he’s done very well. He picked the venue, Chuck E Cheeses. He has never been there, but has always wanted to go. I am not sure if the desire comes from commercials or his brothers talking about how cool it is there. So we have a Big Boy Party planned for this Thursday. We invited his friends from nursery (those on Facebook at least,) family friends, and family members.

Toddler Talk

Sam, 2, has been speaking for a while now. And yet, it seems I still can't understand him. For example, over the phone, I have absolutely no idea what he is saying. In person it's different. But lately, I've had difficulty understanding his words.

The other day we were playing Stargate. That's where he pretends to be Dr Daniel Jackson and I am Major Sam Carter. We ended up having a pillow fight, which was absolutely fun to do, mind you it was after midnight. However, I grabbed Dr Jackson and he said, "You tay me." So as annoyed as he was that I was questioning the word tay (play, take, etc,) he giggled with glee when I figured out he meant saved. It was funny.

Tonight he did it again. I am lying on the couch with my knees bent and the laptop is resting on my legs and the monitor is parallel to my raised head. He pops his head between my knees and yells, "peek-a-boo."

Playing along I say peek-a-boo back and move the computer to the side. He crawls up next to me and say he is playing in the the tro-ya. The tro-ya?? Hmm, is that troll? Could it be store? I ask Joe if he understands and he recommends turtle. Sam laughs and says, "no tro-ya." I am lost.

But somehow Joe asks, "stroller?"

Then Sam laughs and says, "Yes, tro-ya."

When will I understand this foreign language toddler's speak? Just as he improves his English vocabulary (or pronunciation,) it seems I lose my gift of interpretation of tongues. Sam is almost 3 so maybe turning three will make a difference in his pronunciation. I've learned apparently he can't yet pronounce 's' or any variation ('sh,' 'st,' 'sc'.) I am not concerned yet, it is just frustrating for me. Weird, one would think he'd be frustrated by it, but to him it's comical.

~Victoria~