Figuring Out Family

Talulah's at an age where she's figuring out who's who in the family. Months ago she was absolutely amazed to find out that her Papa is my dad.

Every now and then, out of nowhere, she'd bust out with a, "Papa yo dad?" (translation: "Papa's your dad?"). I'd say yes and then we'd talk about it and all the other family members.

We've gone through the following extensively:

Papa is Mommy's dad.
Nan is Mommy's mom.
Grandpa Jim is Mommy's step-dad.
Grandma Gwen is Daddy's mom.
Grandpa Wes is Daddy's dad.

She's also finding the "titles" related to Mommy and Daddy interesting. On Mother's Day she asked, "Are you my mudder?" I said yes and we had a few hours of her calling me "mudder" instead of mommy or mama.

As you know, we've recently celebrated Father's Day. I picked Talulah up from daycare on the Friday before, we went to the store to get the rest of the crafts we needed to make our gifts and when we got home, the followng conversation took place while parking our car.

Mommy: Great, now we've got all of the supplies to make our Father's Day presents!
Talulah: Fodder?
Mommy: Yeah, Daddy's your father.
Talulah: And you my mommy-fodder?
Mommy: No, I'm your mother. Remember when we celebrated Mother's Day? That was for Mommy, and Father's Day is for Daddy.
Talulah: Oh... Wha's Dodi?
Mommy: Well, Jodi's your step-mother.
Talulah: Step-mudder?
Mommy: Yeah, your step-mother or step-mom.
Talulah: Step-mom?
Mommy: Yeah!

We hadn't broached the topic of "who" Jodi was yet. Talulah's always said, "My Daddy" and "My Dodi" so the actual who-factor hadn't come up.

The next day, Talulah was still figuring things out.

Talulah: I have two mommies?
Mommy: Well, kind of. I'm your Mommy, and Jodi's your Step-Mom.
Talulah: Mommy's my mommy. Dodi's my step-mom.
Mommy: Right!

I think she's got it. It's pretty cool to see her figuring all of this stuff out. Sometimes I think I can actually SEE the wheels turning in her head.

Months and months ago we were drawing together and Talulah asked me to draw a picture of "Mommy and Talulah"... so I did. Then she said, "And Daddy!"... so I added Daddy. Then she said, "And Dodi!"... so I added Jodi.

Talulah was so excited so we immediately went over and stuck it on the fridge and it's been there ever since. Now, Talulah's using it as another learning tool and walks by pointing to each person and saying who they are. "Mommy is my mommy. Talulah is Talulah. Daddy is my daddy. Dodi is my step-mom."

C-U-T-E

I don't even want to get into siblings. One of her friends at daycare has an older sister so Talulah's announced that she has a sister too. When I've asked her who her sister is she usually says "Papa is my sisser" and occasionally says "Gappa Dim is my sisser".

Sigh... Oh to be two and figuring the world out. :)

Potty Talk

Talulah likes to have talks while she's on the potty. Some people like to "read a paper", some people like to just get it done and over with, some like to play games, most like to make those trips by themselves.


My girl likes to have a serious conversation. Well, she also likes to hug while she's doing her bid-ness, but lately the potty talk events have seriously outweighed the potty hug events.

Last night we were sitting in the washroom together, Talulah on her potty and me on the floor leaning on the bathtub.

Talulah looks down at a little red dot on her leg and says, "Hey yook! A skeeto bite!"

Mommy: Oh no, a mosquito bit you?
Talulah: Yes.
Mommy: Did you say, "Shoo mosquito!"?
Talulah: No, skeetos play wiff me.
Mommy: They play with you?
Talulah: Yes. Dey play wiff me and dey bite me. (Chomp, chomp with her teeth.)
Mommy: (Suppressing a giggle) But I don't like when they bite me. I say, "Shoo pesky mosquito!".
Talulah: You no say shoo. Dey friendsy. Dey play.
Mommy: (Not able to suppress the giggle at "friendsy") They're friendly?

At this point I'm full on laughing while I try to talk. Keep in mind, Talulah's pooping while we have this conversation.... I held it together until I heard "friendsy" but then there was no way I could.

So, I'm trying to teach Talulah to just shoo Mosquitos away. She was TERRIFIED of them before, and now she's apparently embracing them and letting them bite her.

I was trying to tell her that I don't like when they bite me. When I said that, she reached out, cupped my cheeks in her hands and said, "Yissen me dear. Dey friendsy." with her face about 2mm away from mine, big wide, serious eyes staring at me.

I started to howl. I couldn't help it. She was being so serious, but it was SOOOOOO funny! I laughed and laughed.

She kept grabbing my hand in both of hers in a comforting way and saying, "Yissen me dear." and, "Dear, dey friendsy." over and over again while I laughed and laughed.

I've seen her daycare teachers talk to her like that, calling her "dear" and all.

She's so adorable.

Our potty convo ended when Talulah was finished doing her business.

Some may think it's gross that I cherish our time in the washroom together while she's pooping.... But those potty talks are pretty darn special to me.