I Will Be Sad

I will be sad, when she learns to say her "Rs." Right now, they are all "W." Rollie is Wally. Road is woad. Red is wed. Tiller is tirrer - When people ask her her name, it sounds like she is saying "Terror." Cracks us up.

Our Eyes Are Like Doors

Sometimes kids say the most poetic things. They try to figure out the world and categorize and classify things by comparing them to the things they know. They see and imagine connections that adults never see anymore. They think you can grow chocolate on a Hydrangea, for God's sake!

Tiller came and sat down to me on the couch while i was writing. She was facing me, and reached up and touched the side of my face, then used her index finger to lightly close my right eyelid, which I did. Then, as I opened my eye up again, her hand was still on my cheek and she was gazing into my eyes. She whispered, "Our eyes are like doors. . . ."

Why can't i walk around saying stuff like that? Sounds awesome out of the mouth of a child, but a little kooky out of a thirty-something, like i would be trying too hard, or re-enacting scenes from Ladyhawke.

Computer Literate Two-Year Old

Me: "Tiller, you wanna watch t.v. while Mama gets dressed?"
Tiller: "Yes, Dora, please. It's on pbskids. . . "something garbled that I couldn't understand.
Then it occurred to me.
Me: "On Pbskids.com, Tiller?"
Tiller: "No, Mama," shaking her head as if I'd said the silliest thing ever, "it's on pbskids.ORG!"

I look at her in amazement as Todd busts a gut laughing from downstairs.

Bitsy Bitsy Fighter

Tiller thinks the words to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" are "Bitsy Bitsy Fighter." Cute as all get-out. When we put her to bed, she likes to be held and sung to for a minute. When she was tiny, I started singing "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star" to her. We still do that one, but she has started requesting other songs, and now we have three regular ones. I hold her in the dark of her room, and whisper, "You want a a song?" She says, "Bitsy," which is what she calls "Itsy Bitsy Spider." When I finish it, she says, "Sunshine." ("You Are My Sunshine.") Finally, we do "Twinkle."

I love all three of the songs so very much now. They are the soundtrack to a little girl laying her head on my shoulder, her heart beating fast next to my own, totally at peace with her world, and secure in my love for her.

Poop Jokes are Funny

They really are.

Yesterday afternoon, I was changing Tiller. When one of the kids has a really large poopy diaper, I exclaim "Poop-O-Rama!" Everyone gets excited. Tiller was excited about her Poop-O-Rama, and as she is starting to mimic everything we say, she let out a gleeful, "Poop-O-Mama!!!"

Today, I had Rollie try to go on the potty. I try to remind him hourly and after eating or drinking. Today has been a banner day - so far, no poop in the diaper. Only on the potty. To my joy, Rollie said, "I have to go poop." I told him to go, go, go. He rushed to the bathroom, took off his pants and diaper, sat up on the toilet, and closed the bathroom door. He sat for a second, and I was on the couch waiting to hear something from him, when he opened up the door and darted out towards his toy box.

Me: "Did you poop?"

Rollie: "No, I just need to get a magazine."

Such a little man.