STM+ Check In (February)

mytinc

Welcome to the February STM+ chat.  Lets get to know each other better.  Tell me something cute or horrifying one of your children has done recently. 

mytinc

Last weekend we found our old plug and play video game consul - one that you just plug into a TV and can play Packman, Galaga, or other old school games.  It doesn't save scores when you turn it off.  Our oldest (who will be 5 in May) immediately became obsessed.  He's horrible at it, but wants to try to play all the time.  The other day, after dying within 20 seconds for the 86,160th time, he said "I wanted to be dead.  I spended too much time alive."  I had to laugh.  

ramennoodlegif

DH had just finished washing dishes, and was cleaning the sink out when DD (who is 3.5) came into the kitchen and asked what he was doing. She wanted to see the sink, so he lifted her up and said, "Looks good, huh? Mommy never gets it this clean." Without missing a beat, she says "Yeah, her's an asshole." DH says "You shouldn't say that. It's not nice." She says, "But her called me a asshole." 
Yeah, I did. Three months ago. And I apologized profusely. I will never live it down.

sunshineandwhiskey

@mytinc that is so cute and funny!

My DD just turned 18 months old so we've been working with her on walking more and not just being carried places.  DH texted my Wednesday morning and said that DD walked from the car into daycare, saw her teacher and pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.  DD then was SHARING with the girl next to her, (said "here go") all while DH put her things away.  As DH was leaving, DD said "bye-bye and blew him a kiss."

My heart exploded from the cuteness, and from sadness that she's getting so big!

jsl82

@mytinc that's a good attitude to have- is he like that for other things, not letting an set backs get him down? 
Haha @kfren mental note, that DD will remember the things I say to her sooner than I realize. 
OMG @sunshineandwhiskey that is adorable.  I cannot wait until DD is at a more self sufficient age.   

We are still working on walking and talking at 13 months old.  She can walk- she just doesn't realize it yet, and so if she isn't holding on she is on the floor crawling.  The other day DH & I were sitting on the floor about a foot away from each other and passing her back and forth between us.  She would get a hug from one parent and then would lunge herself to the other parent.... feet taking that one giant step- but it was all upper body momentum.  She was full on belly laughing the entire time, so even though she wasn't learning to walk at all we kept doing it.

ramennoodlegif

@sunshineandwhiskey Aww! DS is 17 mos and our struggle is not just the wanting to be carried all the time, but when he does want to walk on his own, he goes everywhere but where I need him to go. Not only did your DD do that, but she shared too! That's awesome.
@jsl82 Cute! It's the best when you start seeing that confidence after they realize they can walk. And yes, be on guard, especially when it comes to saying things you don't want repeated. I shudder to think of things DD may have repeated at daycare.

mytinc

I'd like to say he typically has that attitude @jsl82, but it comes and goes.  Many times he gets frustrated easily and gives up on things.  I think he was enjoying the video game and when DH and I tried to tell him the goal (eat the pellets, stay away from the ghosts, etc.) he decided he'd play it his way so he could still play and have fun.  One of the games (Mappy, I think it was called) made the character do a somersault when it died, so he would make it die on purpose because he liked watching it.  

catlady1215

DS (5) has been lifting up his shirt, grabbing his nipples and asking 'are these nibbles? huh? are they nibbles?' I love when they don't get words right .
also, sometimes I just yell out across the room "hey DS!" him: 'yah?' me: 'I love you!!'. I've done this for years. and just this week he's decided to give me a taste of my own medicine.... nonstop. but I love it.


ah! one more funny from a few years ago. he was in the bath and said 'I need to wash my weewees'. he caught me off guard and I was like 'what?! your what?' lol. 'yah. my Weewees. I need to wash my weewees'. so I said and what are your weewees. he said 'my toes. my weewees'. we used to do a lot of this little piggy on his feet   

ramennoodlegif

@catlady1215 DH's second cousin was about 5 when she informed me that males cats have nibbles too, even though they don't feed kitties. And as for the weewees, I love kid logic. It's really funny to see connections they make. 

mytinc

@kfren - my kids remember EVERYTHING I say to them and everything they hear on TV.  When it comes to things I'd prefer they don't say I switch it up.  For example, DS1 quotes the Lego Batman movie by saying "The password is Iron Man sucks."  I've convinced him the password is "Iron Man's Socks."

ramennoodlegif

@mytinc yes! It's funny that I was close to 30 before I ever stopped to consider what "sucks" really means and then I was horrified at how freely I used it.
I rely heavily on God Bless America and motherfather, for my own personal use. DD used to say "what the dangit?!"

marcus7676

@kfren and @sunshineandwhiskey If you figure out how to make your LOs walk, let me know. DS is 28 months and he tells us that his feet / legs are broken and needs to be carried.  

DS's language constantly amazes me these days - he can carry on full conversations.  However, he repeats all new words / phrases (to learn them, which makes sense).  Apparently, I say "c'mon!" when I'm frustrated with something.  He now does it too.

aharv77

I love the kiddo stories! Hilarious. 

DD has been all about the in-depth questions lately. She was in the bathtub on Tuesday night and says "Mom, look at my boobies. They're very small. Do you think I'll have big boobies like you some day? Do your boobies hang down? Why do your boobies hang down? Maybe I'll have small boobies like Auntie S (my sister)." I proceeded to have the talk about how everyone's bodies are different and sometimes after mommies have babies, that's what happens to boobies. It took everything in my power to keep a straight face. I tried to tell H the story but couldn't make it through without a fit of giggles

mytinc

With only having boys in our house I'm asked a lot of questions about why I don't have a penis @harveyabbey77.

catlady1215

@mytinc yes! DS has asked me on multiple times if I 'have one of these?' as he pulls it out. I just tell him that girls don't have those. He even asked to see once and I had to quickly have the talk about that not being appropriate and that no one but mommy, daddy, grandparents and doctors see his lol

mytinc

DS1 and DS2 have seen me naked and taken showers with me (up until about age 3.5), so they're well aware that I don't have one @catlady1215 - but I don't let them have any sort of close up look.  I tell them it's my private area and leave it at that.

aharv77

@catlady1215 @mtinc Too funny! She was 4 or 5 when we had to have the talk about boys and girls having different parts. But after we found out we were expecting, we asked her how she'd know if her sibling was a boy or girl and she said "Oh that's easy, girls have long hair and boys have short hair." Out of the mouths of babes!

Xtabbikatx

omg these stories are amazing.

My 3 year old two days ago grabbed one of my breast and said Mom what is in here and then grabbed the other one. I was like that is mommy's chest baby. He said okay, my cars can go over mountains has he drives his cars over one. We are now having the conversation about appropriate touching. He is going to be mad when little sister arrives and she gets to eat from them.

DS is turning into a funny little boy. We were arguing the other day about sisters being girls and brothers being boys. In the middle of the discussion he says. Okay I am done bye and turns his head to look out the window. Wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the ride home. 

meg95995

@harveyabbey77 That is awesome! Boobies are a frequent point of conversation in our house. And @catlady1215 "nibbles"! I love it!

I have a journal that I bought on Etsy before our first daughter was born. I only write in it maybe every month (I am terrible at remembering!) but whenever one of our kids says something really cute/creepy, I jot it down so that someday they can read all of the things that they said.

catlady1215

@xtabbikatx I'm kind of wondering how to start the breast feeding convo with DS if i try to nurse..... boy who can't be serious about anything. It should be fun lol.

ramennoodlegif

@meg95995 I use FB for recording cute quotes. I would totally lose a book. 

lisa2589

DD is in a singing and dancing phase. Last night she was singing no more monkeys jumping on the bed, and she would dramatically pretend to fall down and bump her head. 

Also when she has a dirty diaper she loves to inform me that it stinks, however it comes out soundings like “Staaaaanks” and I crack up inside every time. 

Xtabbikatx

@catlady2015, He is six? I probably wouldn't start the convo until you actually start nursing and then only if he asked? I'm not sure, but that's probably what I would do unless it came up naturally somewhere else. 

meg95995

That's a great idea! I had to get off of FB. I deactivated almost 2 years ago, due to being on there constantly, and getting waaaay too upsest/involved in other people's drama. I am a little sad for when the group moves from here to FB, since I won't likely follow over there. My last BMB that I was really active in (June 2012) fell into a dramatic, nasty mess once everyone moved over, and the BMB died off, since everyone had migrated to FB. mwap mwap mwap.  

Austenista

@meg95995 there's a couple of people in my group that created faux accounts just to hang with us over there because they didn't have or want a FB. Just food for thought. 

rnielsen321

My DD is talking up a storm, and it is adorable. However, she tells our Dog to "back off". But I am not completely sure it is that. I know she has heard me tell the dog to "faff" off and think she may be repeating. GAH!

She is also calls kleenex: Ging-gox - which I love. And all the little songs. In bed she likes to pile all her dolls (Named Happy, Big Happy and Little M), and sing the 10 in the bed song... they "rode over, rode over", until she is the only one in the bed. Kills me. 

We have been working on getting her her own big girl room. And each night I ask her what she wants in it. Now as part of our bedtime ritual she says she wants yellow sheet, yellow carpet, yellow lamp, etc. 

And because of Dance class, she likes to take a daily MARCH up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. She is a completely hilarious joy in my life! That all so had an earache, and nightmare last night, and hasn't slept through the night more than 2 nights in a row in about a year. 

Basically she is lucky she is sweet and cute and snuggly. Sleep deprivation is real.

catlady1215

@xtabbikatx he'll be alittle over 5 and a half come baby time. That's kinda what I'm thinking. I just can see him having so many questions if he walks in the hospital room to that lol

May14th2011

My 2 yr old, who has a speech delay, figured out how to say Woohoo! And now says it all the time for everything, it's so cute. I bought bagels at the store and when he saw them, he yelled "Woohoo!" With his little arms raised. 
My 5yr old, while still cute, has so much attitude all the time now, it's much harder to think of cute things she's done. She did say when she grows up and buys a beach house, I can come for a sleepover and eat spicy nachos with her. "I'll like spicy foods when I'm a grownup." 

katelynrae86

Ah, kids are the best! I hope the FTMs are reading through these to see what they're in store for. 

@kfren Oops about the asshole comment. Reminds me of a story that's a legend in our family. My dad was driving with me in the car when I was about 3. Someone cut him off and he says, "son of a bitch." He hears a little voice in the back pipe up, "must have been an asshole." Wonder where I learned that from (definitely from him!)

@jsl82 Once she starts walking, you'll be amazed how quickly she'll catch on then go from toddling to full on running. It was only 2 months ago I was posting here how I was worried because my little guy kept falling and hurting himself as he tried to walk. Now he literally sprints around the house, the park, once the concrete floors at Lowe's  So crazy how fast they learn and change!

DS isn't really saying much yet at 16 months. When I ask him to say words, he says, "dah" for everything...But the other day, MH was reading him an animal book and on the tiger page, out of the blue, he goes, "roooaaar!" Such a little thing but it just melted my heart   

marcus7676

We've been teaching DS the "proper" terms for body parts. So he uses the terms penis, bum (he tried butt for a while, but we corrected him to bum), nipple, etc. Recently, he wanted to know what my boobs were, so we taught him the word "breast."  Now, he will touch them very gently and say, "breast" like he's teaching me my body parts.  He tried doing that to a babysitter the other day, so now we need to teach him about privacy.

izza2

@marcus7676 - I'm sorry, but I laughed really hard at your post. That sounds so freaking adorable that your DS was kind of trying to teach you your own body parts, though.

Also, kudos to you and anyone else who teaches their kids the proper terms for things. My brother and SIL do that with their kids and it freaks H out when they would take a bath and he'd hear them say they need to clean their penis, or clean their vagina, or whatever, to avoid getting an infection (SIL has a history of UTI issues, so wanted them taught from early on the importance of cleanliness so they'd hopefully be spared that issue!).
Meanwhile, I think it's weird when kids refer to them as "pee pees" or "girl parts".

ramennoodlegif

@marcus7676 I am with @izza2 on the kudos. I feel like it's really important for kids to know correct terminology. It may have been slightly embarrassing when DD yelled out that her " 'gina"  itched while we were talking to our server at a restaurant, but it definitely makes it easier for her to communicate when she's having an issue down there. 

Xtabbikatx

I want to say and I could be mistaken, that pediatricians, cops, and anyone who deals with abused children advocate that you teach your kids the proper terms. Something about being able to communicate with adults that something is going on. My DH doesn't see the importance so we go with a mix. We teach the correct word first and then give it a "funny name" I usually ask DS what the real name is every so often. Especially when going over the body parts. I hate that I have to worry about stuff like that. 

ramennoodlegif

@Xtabbikatx You're right; it is encouraged by those who deal with abused kids because if they are really young and they do not know the correct word, their testimony could easily be dismissed. (ex. using the word "cookie" or "biscuit".) 

marcus7676

@Xtabbikatx DS is in a center daycare. The other day, the teacher asked what terms we used and I told her.  She said that they were recently told that they had to keep terms generic and just use "privates." I'm actually annoyed by it because I want DS to know the proper term and we use that at home. I can understand generally using "privates" if the teachers don't know, or parents prefer it, but they still have to use "privates" with DS even though we've told them we prefer otherwise.  

catlady1215

@marcus7676 before I finished reading I thought 'how funny if he did it to someone other than mom!'... annnnd he did.

@izza2 I hate the word 'peepee'. I kinda just say whatever comes out at the time. penis still feels weird also. but we should probably start soon since he's getting older and should know.

murraydog2008

oh man these stories are so great and I'm so excited to live through this young kid phase again.  Ours are almost 5 and 7 (going on 17) so things are a little different in our house.  Our 4 year old (boy) was home with daddy the other day and they were play BeyBlades and he stopped and gave DH a hug and said "I Like this guy date we're having dad".....it was so precious! 

But back when he was 2.5 we went through a phase like @kfren where he was dropping F bombs like crazy. He was using the word in the proper context and it was hilarious but sooooo not ok!  We realized just how much we were saying that word and have changed our vocab since then. 

katelynrae86

+1 to teaching the correct terms for genitals. I do feel funny when I have to tell DS, "yep, that's your penis" or "don't pull on your testicles" in my sing songy baby talk voice so sometimes "peepee" comes out.

I was listening to a podcast the other day where they were interviewing a sex educator/writer and he was saying how important it is to normalize all body parts, not to shame or make kids feel uncomfortable about their bodies, etc. But it can sometimes lead to awkward circumstances, like a little boy who asked his mom, "can I smell your vagina?". LOL...Sounds so creepy, but to him it wasn't different than asking to smell her feet. I guess that's when the conversation about personal/private areas needs to start.

MoonOverGoldsboro

Reading this thread is getting me mega-excited for my when my son can talk and say hilarious and embarrassing things.

This story is more sappy than cute, but I mentioned in the rants thread that we semi-recently started my 1-year-old in physical and occupational therapy through Early Intervention, mostly for gross motor delays, and oh man, it is the BEST. He finally started crawling right at his 1st birthday in early January, and even now, weeks later, he still has a HUGE grin on his face every time he crawls anywhere, and he makes these super-excited squawks and squeals as he picks up speed. It makes my heart explode. You can just tell he had been feeling kind of trapped for so long, and now he's like, FREEDOM!

And of course now all he wants to do is throw himself headfirst down the stairs. Obviously.

ramennoodlegif

@MoonOverGoldsboro That's how they roll It's awesome that the therapy is helping! 

aharv77

@MoonOverGoldsboro So glad that the therapy is helping him! It's so much fun to see how proud they are after learning something new. In the last few months, DD has learned how to tie her shoes and after she got it for the first time on her own she turned to me and said "Wow, that really filled my cup today!"