Scary Is....

The way your child can act at times (you know the kind of behavior that makes you want to shout "Who are you???") and then complain that their ear hurts (4 days after finishing antibiotics for an ear infection) . You think "Oh, I guess the ear infection didn't clear up, back to the doctor. This explains why he has been acting like *that* child every time we are in public and cries at least 3 times a day claiming I have hurt his feelings."

Even Scarier.....
Going to the doctor convinced you have it all figured out only to hear "His ears look great".


There goes that excuse!


** That child by definition, is any child that you saw in the grocery store, restaurant, family gathering, etc.. pre-parenthood (or even as a parent of a newborn) that behaved in such a way that everyone was sure to notice and made you think or even say aloud "When I have kids they will never act like that!".

Putting #2 in it's Place

We have been working on this potty training stuff for a little while now. You know, low pressure a few times a day. Matthew always goes (#1) while on the potty (unfortunately he also still goes in his diaper as well). This week we have been trying more often (it seems like ALL we do). And he did the all important #2 on the potty! I was so excited and, of course, told him time and time again how proud I was.

Same day an hour later we are shopping at Target. A woman smiles at him and he says "I went poo poo on the potty", she snickers and replies "Good job!". I shoot her a "I-am-so-sorry-my-son-is-telling-you-about his-bowel-movement" glance and we move on.

We check out and the cashier is very friendly and she talks to Matthew. She says "Did you look at all the fun Halloween things?" Matthew does not reply with a yes or no but with "I went poo poo on the potty". She starts clapping and congratulating him as do the 3 other kind women waiting in line behind us. Talk of his potty achievements definitely trump Halloween talk. As soon as we leave the store Matthew says "The ladies like me, Mama".

Many hours later Daddy comes home and we decide to treat ourselves to a little dinner out (you gotta love a dinner out). The waitress asks "Can I get you guys anything?"
Matthew replies (yeah, you know his line by now) "I went poo poo on the potty."
Only the waitress didn't hear him and has taken a few steps from the table, so she says "What honey?"
Matthew, of course then belts out his line of the day "I WENT POO POO ON THE POTTY".
Well if you are ever out to eat and would like to grab the attention of ALL of your fellow restaurant patrons, then by all means use these words of Matthew's. We did indeed capture every one's attention. The young waitress, barely able to contain her laughter manages to get out some sort of congratulatory phrase and Matthew also receives smiles and nods of approval from the inhabitants of nearby tables.

Later that evening I was talking to my mom (I of course told her the big news) on the phone and she said to be sure to pass on their congrats to the little potty user. I get off the phone and tell him how proud Mine and Papine (grandma and grandpa Beachy) are of him and his recent achievement.
He looks at me and says "The whole world proud of me".

Wild Creatures

Matthew is very fond of "wild creatures" and has been for most of this year. He has been talking about "wild creatures" since March I think. I don't know where these words came from. I certainly didn't teach him to call any living non-human thing a wild creature (I do seriously suspect Diego had something to do with it though). We have spent countless hours searching for these creatures outdoors. Thankfully bugs count, so they aren't too hard to come by!



Matthew has recently fallen in love with the tv channel Animal Planet. He loves watching anything on there (even shows with snakes much to my dismay). So last week he saw the show with Jeff Corwin. There was a big tiger and the man was talking about his paws and pads, fur, ears, and all the other parts. So my little Jeff Corwin calls me over to view our very own snoozing beast: Mac the cat.



Matthew (or little Jeff) says: "See the wild creature. He in his cave sleeping."
He picks up his paw and shows me, "See he's paw and he's pads on he's paws." The beast sleeps on. So then Matthew goes for the tail, "This is he's long tail." Then he tries opening the beasts mouth. The beast wakes and starts walking away. Matthew says in a whisper while crawling on his hands and knees "Let's follow him." We trail him for quite some time with Matthew's "spotting scope" in hand (not because we need it or that it would even work if we did need it, but because wild creature hunts require such equipment). Whenever the creature stopped Matthew explained more of the beast's body parts until we had pretty much covered it all. It was very informational. We are very thankful to have had such a cooperative creature to work with because we know others (ie..Emma the other beast that resides in the Smith house) would not have been nearly so accommodating.





I love the way Matthew's little mind works. And I absolutely adore an African safari that can take place in the comfort of my own home.