Baby Poop and Business Suits

This morning before school while kids were eating breakfast:

Me:        Kyra, let's go over your spelling words, spell bell for me.
Niko:     B-E-L-L!

The kid can spell most of his sister's second grade spelling words. Now only if he could get through one night without peeing the bed...

 

A four year old brain... ON FIRE!

While driving to Kalamazoo, within about a ten minute time span, Niko shot these questions at me:

Mom, how do trees grow? 

Mom. Where do flowers come from?

Mom, who made this town?

How do you make cars?

Mom, how do lights work?

Mom-ma! How do you make a flag like that one in our yard?

How do you make a mailbox?

Mom? How do you make a skateboard?

My response:

"Well, uuuuh, er, ummmm, you see, things are alive on the earth because of oxygen and dirt, the earth makes -

um, cause bees pollinate and buzz from plant to, well, a few hundred years ago there were just Native Americans here and Michigan was all woods, and then European people came over on ships and -

well people made buildings and then they started adding more buildings and it became, well, then there were roads -

but back then there weren't any cars, you know, really it wasn't THAT long ago, you know, just a hundred years or so, like just before Grandma Arnsman was born, people rode on horses and had carriages pulled by horses, but then -

well, you know Benjamin Franklin? He figured out how lightning, I mean, he flew a kite and figured out how electricity was in the air and how to make things light up -

oh, that plastic flag? The one for the buried electrical cable, I think? Is that what you mean? Well, that's plastic, and plastic is made from a chemical process -

well, mailboxes, um, metal ones like THAT ONE THERE, are made in a factory too, by people, and machines -

Oh! Wood is what makes skateboards, yes wood from trees! Yes I know that one! You take a tree and cut it, saw it, shape it to make the shape of a skateboard, and then you use rubber or plastic for the tires, I think? Rubber, um, rubber comes from..."

Email message I just received from my friend Ellen (the day after Kyra's dance recital and dinner at our house afterward:)

"We really enjoyed yesterday.  The dance recital was great and the time spent with you all afterward was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed my conversation with Niko about his penis."

 

Niko - 3 years, 11 months and 6 days old

Since Niko was born I've been shocked by the fact that he is NOT a big eater, like the rest of us. "Are you sure he's really OUR kid?" I'd comment to my husband, Jeremy, as the rest of clean our plates during dinner and he takes a bite and then loses interest. This behavior is very opposite of his sister (we used to watch her in amazement at a baby/toddler during feedings and comment that she had no "turn off valve".)

We're just all eaters, and he appeared to be different. Until recently.

For example, this morning. It's 9:00 am.

Niko: "I want lunch now."

Me: "Niko! It's nine in the morning. We just ate breakfast!"

Niko: "But I want a sandwich! I'm hungry!"

So I make him a turkey sandwich with a side of cottage cheese. I call him to the table and he crawls up on the chair, eyeing the food.

Niko: "YEEEEE HAWWWW!" he says, preparing to dig in, his mouth watering.

He eats, and then sits down to play some Wii. He then turns to me five minutes after finishing his lunch-breakfast and says,

"So, what's for dinner?"

I guess he really IS mine.

Niko - 3 years, 6 months and 24 days old.

Situation: Yesterday morning, like any other. In Niko's bedroom discussing his wardrobe for the day. As usual, he is attempting to dictate what he should wear...

Niko:        "Not THAT shirt. I wanna wear something cool."

Me:           "Well, here's a cool dinosaur shirt, and... here's some cool pants to match."

(He glances at the khaki cargo pants I've laid out for him next to the dinosaur shirt.)

Niko:        "Mom. Those pants aren't COOL, they're HANDSOME."

Situation: Yesterday morning, like any other. In Niko's bedroom discussing his wardrobe for the day. As usual, he is attempting to dictate what he should wear...

Niko:        "Not THAT shirt. I wanna wear something cool."

Me:           "Well, here's a cool dinosaur shirt, and... here's some cool pants to match."

(He glances at the khaki cargo pants I've laid out for him next to the dinosaur shirt.)

Niko:        "Mom. Those pants aren't COOL, they're HANDSOME."

Niko - 3 years, 6 months and 11 days old.

I can't help but find it wildly funny when my three year old son makes comments that are completely repeats of things he hears from adults. Often, he says something serious (well, serious to him), and I have to run away because his comments cause me to burst out laughing.

"Kyra, You need to CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE!"

**(INSERT PARENTAL LAUGHTER HERE)**

"Why are you laughing, mom? It's NOT FUNNY." he says.

He tends to bust me. He's no fool, even when I try to cover up the laughter with snorting or a cough or something.

On top of making me laugh, he tends to finish off the conversation by saying something like,

"FOR GOODNESS SAKES."

These moments are just an example of the little things I want to always remember about being a mom and having little children. These little moments, little tidbits of life are the things make it all worth it. Yay for motherhood. It's' quite an adventure.

That leathery creature with a trunk.

Situation: Last night while reading a bedtime picture book to Niko about visiting the zoo...

Me:    "Oooh, look on this page! There are some monkeys there, and a giraffe, and what about that, Nik? What's that creature right there?"

Niko:    "An ephilampt."

Me:    "Well, close, but, say it like this, EL-Eh-phant."

Niko:    "El-E-phamp."

Me:    "El-Eh-phant."

Niko:    "El-Ehph. El. Ele. Eleph. Elphaphemp. Elphaphem, elemp..."

Me:    "Elephant."

Niko:    "Elephamp."

Me:    "Elephant."

Niko:    "Elephamp."

Me:    "Elephant."

Niko:    "Eleemphf."

Me:    "Elephant."

Niko:    "Elephant."

Me:    "You're a brilliant three year old."

Niko:    "Elephant." (smile)

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 24 days old.

Our three year old son has decided to occasionally address his parents by their first names, instead of mommy and daddy. Just started happening recently. Anyway, earlier in the evening, while trying to get our attention, he walked into the kitchen where we were both standing and said, "Gerah! Jeremy! I need to show you sumpin!"

So later that evening...

Situation: Niko in the upstairs bathtub while I, his mother, wash my face at the sink. He looks up at me and says,

Niko:    "I love you Gerah."

And then I heard a wet plop. I think it was the sound of a chunk of my heart melting onto the floor as I laughed with amazement at the random things my kids say and how stinking fantastic it is being a mom.

...or, should I say, how stinkin' fantastic it is being "GERAH".

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 19 days old

Situation: Family sitting around the dining table, having lunch. I decided to sing a song that had popped into my head. Was singing quite seriously, and really trying to sound good. Really trying.

Niko:    "Mom, stop singing. You're giving me a belly ache."

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 18 days old

Situation: Riding in the car, Niko babbling on, and on and I began to day dream.

Niko:    "Hey Mom"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "Hey Mom"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "Hey MOM"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "SAY NIKO WHAT!"