Intro to the Birds and the Bees

Back when E was 15 months old, he pointed down while I was changing his diaper and said..."Mommy, what's that?" I was never a fan of making up cute little names for body parts, so I told him it was his penis.

Having only one bathroom in our house has made for some interesting conversation. I am going to have to say that our conversation the other night had to take the cake.

E was taking a bath, and I really had to pee. I went into the bathroom, and here is what followed.

E: Mommy, you need to stand up to put your pee pee in the potty.

Me: No buddy, Mama sits down to tinkle.

E: NO Mommy...STAND UP!

Me: Monk, Mommy sits down because I don't have a penis.

E: But I've got a penis right here.

Me: Yes, you have a penis but Mommy doesn't.

E: But Daddy has a penis too!

Me: Yes, you and Daddy both have a penis, but Mommy has a vagina.

E: E and Daddy have penises, but Mommy has a Ba-gina.

Me: And that's why I sit to pee.

Fast forward to today. I am talking to my Mom on the phone (E calls her Mi-Mi,) and I hand him the phone to say hi.

E: Hi Mimi. My Mommy has a Ba-gina, but Daddy and I have penises.

What do you say to that? He's right. Ah...the conversations you have with your perceptive 2 year old.

And here are some new pictures...

Conversation With My 2 year old...

At 6:00, E and I pulled up to the house after a full day of adventures.

Me: Hey Monk(short for monkey,)...We are going to go inside, eat dinner and then it is going to be time for your bath and bedtime.

I get out of the car and walk around to open his door.

E: Mommy...Elliott's party's over!

Concert in the Park

Elliott had a great time hanging out at the park and listening to music. He also enjoyed his first snow cone...

I Am So In Love...

E,

You bring me a happiness I never knew existed. Thank You.

Love,
Mommy

Welcome Baby Dylan!

While we were gone, my little brother and his wife welcomed this little guy into their family. He is adorable and we are so glad he is finally here!

Holding this little 7 pound lovey makes me really want to add another one to our family.

It Must Skip a Generation

M: Oh shit...Jamie come here.

I rush over to where he is standing in front of the stove expecting to see a fire of some sorts. I find him staring into the empty microwave.

Me: What's wrong? What is it?

M: Do you see how clean this is? This is how clean a wife should keep the f***ing microwave!*

You see, while we were gone, my Mom came over twice a day to let Beatrice (our black lab) out. Now, my Mom has always been a little OCD when it comes to cleaning. I can clean my house until it looks great to me, and my Mom could come behind me and make you question if I ever cleaned it in the first place. While she was here, she got bored, and decided to clean our whole house. Bathroom, stove top, floors...and M was in heaven.

Since we bought our house I am a lot better about keeping things clean, but my efforts pale in comparison to the magical work of my Mom. I keep trying to explain to M that these things skip a generation...


E loves cleaning. I let him help me with the dishes the other night, and when I told him we were done, he started screaming "E clean more dishes Mama!!!!" I told him we were done with the dishes for the day, but if he was wanting to do some more cleaning, he could go vacuum.

*For those of you who don't know my husband, he is a complete smart ass.

When You are Engulfed in Flames

While on vacation, I got an email from my good ol friend Amazon.com informing me that David Sedaris has a new book out. I lucked out and found it at the Borders in the Washington DC airport. For those of you that are Sedaris fans, pick up his new book! I just wish Amy would start writing essays...either that or bring "Strangers with Candy" back.

To My Baby's Daddy...

Happy Father's Day! I can't believe it's been two years since our roles in life changed so dramatically. I am really lucky to have you as the father to our child. I am so fortunate that you are such a hands on Dad, and watching you with him makes me feel warm inside. He loves you. I love you. And we appreciate you every day. Thank you for all your hard work that allows me to stay home with our little man.

Monkey Boy in Action

So one morning at 4 a.m. Elliott decided he was up for the day. M decided to grab his camera and take the boy for a stroll around town. The crazy thing about Germany was that it stayed light until 11:30 p.m. and then was light again by 4:00 a.m. It threw us all off our schedules a little bit. The 3rd picture down is one of my favorites from the whole trip. The look on his face, the light, the balloon...to me it's just perfect.

European Vacation

E dancing on the streets in Prague

Prague

Prague

Riding the Choo Choo

E in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall

We are back! It is really good to be back home. We had a great vacation in Germany and Prague. There were moments when it was completely amazing, and then moments where M and I looked at each other like WTF were we thinking bringing a 2 year old to Europe?!?!?! He was a great considering all we expected of him. Two days we were traveling for 20 hours...no naps most days...train rides...wild cab rides...late nights. M and I had both done our fair share of traveling before we were married, and it was weird experiencing another country with a 2 year old. He was constantly in awe and it was incredible to watch him discover new things. But M and I didn't get to experience the night life together. We would take turns going out. And I resigned to let Mike take the pictures.

For those of you who know me well, you know that when I travel, I always bring my manual camera along with about 30 rolls of film. Back in college, I took a photography class in Ireland. I remember taking a 40 mile bike ride through the mountains and I insisted on lugging my big ass camera and several rolls of film. I have never fully accepted this whole digital movement when referencing art through photography. At least not for myself. But for a point and shoot, a digital camera comes in really handy. So that is all I carried with me.

E grew some much on this trip. He has been a really great talker for a while now, but during this trip, I was noticing how he was using words I never heard him use before, and grasp concepts I haven't worked on with him yet.

Here's an example...when we returned from our trip, M bought a new attachment for our hose. E picked up, carried it over to me and said:

"Hey Mom, look at this transporter!"

Transporter??? Where did my 2 year old pick up this word?

I will post more pictures later when M gives them to me off his computer. He got some great ones!