What Did She Say?

Kaitlyn has started to stretch her vocabulary. She of course has the normal words; Momma, Dadda, bottle, Bibi (her blanket). Actually she has over twenty words and one sentence she uses on a semi-daily basis. I know this because at her Doctor’s check-up we were told she should have at least ten words and being neurotic I immediately started to count to verify that yes our second child is also brilliant. The Doctor verified that Kaitlyn having a full sentence does indeed make her a genius. She didn’t use the word genius but she said above average which is basically the same thing.

In this process of learning new words and how to use new words there is a lot of gibberish that is used. Some if it can actually take the shape of a word but most is just learning how to unfold the sounds. Which results into a lot of “What?” and her getting frustrated and having a fit. Luckily Kaitlyn’s fits are short lived as most of the time one of us can figure out her dilemma.

Some gibberish she has decided she likes and uses regardless of word value or not. For instance she has named Teagan “Roe-roe.” I have no idea how it came about but I think it is cute and after weeks of being called this Teagan has accepted it as well.

Also with the word formation comes parental impression. What we or even her Grandparents think she is saying. Kaitlyn’s Poppy will swear that in the grocery store she saw me walking past the isle and said “Here I am Momma.” That would be huge. She would have used a full sentence, with proper structure, and meaning. This is plausible and I might truly buy that one. However the Hubby insists that my darling daughter Kaitlyn said to me after I gave her a juice cup, “Thank you Momma, I love you best.” She knows the words thank you, Momma and I love you but does she know to string them into such a complex sentence with thought?

That settles it she is a verified genius.

What is in a name?

****WARNING THIS POST HAS MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY******

I am stuck in the potty training world and the vocabulary that goes with it.

What do you can your…private? Or better yet what are you teaching your children to call it?

I’m teaching Teagan to call it what it is, her vagina. I just heard hundreds of women cringe. Why is this a faux-pa word? It is a vagina. The medical term is vagina. Not hoo-ha or waa-woo. Seriously I have heard these phrases.

I said vagina in front of my Mother and you would have thought I slapped her. Why, why, why she asks. Because that is the name. I don’t tell her to call her head a melon, it’s a head. My husband calls it a melon but let’s not get side tracked.

Yes I could have gone with private but I just don’t understand this horrible stigmata. I’m not using the “c” word. Okay I just heard thousands of women gasp. These are words ladies. Simply words.

So this is my question. Please leave me a comment on what you call your area or what you are having your children call it, I'm just curious.

Potty Phrases

Things I have heard on this potty training journey.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah (thick with sarcasm) we’ll try again later.”

“I want to wear diapers.” Now that one was very sad.

“Get outta here so I can pee-pee.”

“Big, gigantic poopy!” And it was too.

“I gotta try.” As she beats her little fist in her hand. She gets her dramatics from me I don’t know where.

“Don’t cry little poopy.” (?)

Might I just add that in the last four days I have talked more about potty goings than in all my three-plus-decades.

Teagan is also trying to get out of going to sleep at night by getting up over and over again saying she has to go. I’m torn because I don’t want to discourage her as the whole process is to learn to go to the potty. But at the same time she is squeezing out a tablespoon at a time just to get out of bed. She has literally gotten out of bed 15 times in the last 2.5 hours.

Helper Sister

Kaitlyn has taken to temper tantrums. Not a normal one where the child throws their entire body on the floor with arms and legs flailing accompanied by a nice loud constant scream. But an exceedingly cute one. If she asks for something and you do not oblige within, oh I don't know, a nanosecond she starts stomping her feet like she is squashing grapes and whining like a little lamb. "ah-ah-ah-a-a-a-a-ah."

The problem is that it sometimes takes me a bit to figure out what the child is wanting. Her vocabulary is rapidly expanding but at the same time she is not pronouncing her new or old words as well as she should. Trying to explain this to a 1.5 year old is futile. So you ask her "what" about three times and it's over.

The other obstacle in this tantrum phase is that Daddy finds it hilarious. So while she is crushing imaginary grapes he is hiding his laughter and turning beat red. This makes me laugh out loud because, I am not as debonair. This does not make little bear happy. Luckily we eventually figure it out.

The best part is Teagan really tries to help us to understand Kaitlyn and for Kaitlyn to get what she wants. If she can’t help the language she can always help to hug it out.