August 23, 2010

• Funny conversations

  One of my greatest joys as a mom so far has been conversing with Jack. Although he's been talking and communicating for quite a while, actual, meaningful conversations are a fairly recent development. I love these glimpses into a young child's mind. I've learned that Jack is very observant, and he's logical in his own way. Sometimes, the things he says are touching, sometimes they're very matter-of-fact, but more often than not, conversations with Jack are just hilarious. Here are a few examples from this weekend:

  Jack (upon our homecoming from the grocery store): Johnny? Johnny? Where are you, Johnny? Is Johnny home?
  Me: Jack, you call him "Daddy," not Johnny. We don't call moms and dads by their names.
  Jack: But you call him Johnny.
  Me:  Yes, but he's not my dad.
  Jack: Yes, he is!
  Me: No, he's not. Ah-Gong is my dad.
  Jack (thinks for a moment): But Johnny's the daddy of this family. So he's my dad, and Derek's, and your Dad. Yup.

  Jack: Mommy, you have two letters.
  Me: Huh?
  Jack: B for Beverly, and M for Mommy.
  Me: Oh! Yes, that's right, Jack!
  Jack: And I have J for "Jack" and G for "guh-guh" (Mandarin for "big brother").
  Me: Yes!
  Jack: Daddy has J for Johnny and D for Daddy.
  Me: Uh-huh.
  Jack: Derek has D for Derek and ... wait! Another D for "dee-dee" (Mandarin for "little brother)! He only has one letter! (Collapses on the floor in a fit of giggles)

  As you can see, Jack's obsessed with letters and names right now. But, no worries, that's not his only preoccupation. He also loves to talk about ... penises. Luckily, he hasn't talked about this in public, but at home, he frequently ruminates on the topic. One of his favorite things to do is to name someone he knows -- everyone from his preschool teacher to his relatives to the neighbor's cat -- and declare whether or not that person has a penis. For example, Saturday morning, without provocation, over an episode of Curious George:

  Jack: Uncle Chris has a penis!
  Me: Uh, yes, that's right.
  Jack: Because he's a man.
  Me: Right.
  Jack: Daddy, Jack and Derek have penis, too.
  Me: Mmm-hmmm.
  Jack: Auntie (that would be in reference to Victoria) don't have a penis, because she's a woman. Mommy doesn't have penis either.
  Me: Right, women don't have penises. [I decided not to teach him what we do have for now. All I need is for him to yell "vagina" in the supermarket. I'll tell him when he thinks to ask what I do have.]
  Jack: Cousin Maddie don't have one either, because she's a grill [that's how Jack says "girl"].
  Me: Yeah.
  Jack: Atari have penis. He's a boy. (Thinks for a second.) Hey! Only you don't have a penis in this house!
  Me: Yes, and that makes me the boss of all of you.

  Honestly, if I wanted to record all the funny conversations I had with Jack, I wouldn't have the time or the space to do it. I guess my favorite moments, though, are when Jack just suddenly stops what he's doing and thanks us, or says he loves us. Last night, as he was shoveling down his third bowl of pasta with roasted cherry tomato sauce, he paused and said, "Thank you for this yummy dinner, Mommy." And on Friday or Saturday, as we were all eating together, Jack beamed at me and Johnny and said, "Mommy and Daddy, I love you guys. Thank you being my mommy and daddy." That makes up for the (many) frustrating moments!

  As fun as Jack is right now, though, there's no denying that Derek is at an adorable stage. He has absconded with my heart. He's always full of smiles, and he's pretty darn easy to take care of. He loves to repeat whatever we say, and he also dances and claps when we sing to him. On Saturday, we had our friends Karthika and Peter, and their one-year-old son, Logan, over. Logan was wearing a pair of Pedipeds, and I decided to get Derek his own pair that afternoon, since I had a $20 certificate to Nordstrom's (here's the pair I bought for Derek). Well, Derek cried when I took them off after having him try them on. So I put them back on his feet, and he clapped. He loves those shoes. In the morning, he makes a beeline for the shoes, grabs them and says, "More, more," and then claps when we put them on. My theory is that he somehow senses that these are practically the first item that I've bought just for him. He's gotten some new clothes as gifts from other people, and I did buy him a coming-home outfit as a newborn, but other than that, everything is a hand-me-down from Jack. It warms my heart to see him adore these shoes, which are his very own. OK, so I know he probably doesn't get that, and he just loves the shoes because they're soft and comfy, but the point is, seeing how happy he is with them helps me justify the fact that I bought a pair of expensive shoes that he'll outgrow in a couple of months, when I do have old Robeez from Jack's infant days. (The $20 certificate did help.)

  Derek in his shoes
  

  I'll leave with some fun pics of the boys playing in the yard. They both love the water table.

   

   

  • 7:19 pm
  • 2 Comments