Thursday, April 12, 2012

Potty words and the letter "Q"


  As a parent, fewer things are more precious than a sleeping baby. Even more precious when it is at night, and they stay sleeping. (Of course Melanie will tell you that I have no clue about this topic since I will sleep in Apollo's room on really bad nights). You love every waking moment with your children, but when they finally decide it is nap time, and they crawl up into your arms, and succumb to the overpowering will of sleep, there is a certain part of you that is melted with a wealth of emotion. You feel a sense of pride, compassion, love, joy, nurturing...it is hard to describe, however, it is one of the most rewarding moments in your day. I love to look upon their sweet, sleeping faces, and study every part of them; every line and every curve.
   When both boys are awake, you can almost feel the earth quake in discontent as the stillness that was nap time, is replaced with chaos, crying, laughter, and the shrill screams of a toddler and his nearly 4-year-old brother, (competing with our parrots for the most decibels, apparently). It gets a little crazy at times around here, especially when there are other little kids visiting. I must admit that there are times that I come home from work, walk through the front door, and for a brief moment, I almost turn around and walk back out before I am noticed. Okay, I am mostly kidding, but when there is 2 or 3 extra kids in the house and they are all running around screaming at the top of their little lungs, it does cross my mind. Still, with fingers inserted in my ears, I enter the realm of total day care hell and alas, it does put a smile on my face to see the sheer joy on their innocent little faces.

  The warmth of springtime is settling into wine country. Rain showers are passing through fairly regularly now. The rain falling outside the open window in still of the night, is one of my favorite sounds. The smell of cedar, moss, redwood, and earth, are stirred up by the rain and hang on the soft breeze that brushes gently past my face. I can feel everything around me coming to life after its long winter slumber. Change is in the air.
     Speaking of change, both boys are changing right before our eyes. Orion is starting to grow some hair. He is very alert and will fight sleep if there is anything going on around him. He does not want to miss anything. Orion is an adventurer at heart, and in the short times between being Velcro'ed to Melanie, he explores every part of the house that his little limbs will carry him to. He is such a light hearted baby. Full of laughter and smiles. He giggles at everything.
  It is not all sugar coated though. Orion has a bit of the ginger gene in him and can be forcefully demanding. He is more of a protestor than a complainer. He will let you know if he is not getting what he wants. Orion is also very sweet and affectionate. He loves to cuddle when he is tired and will reward you with smiles and humming while he lays his head on your chest. He can also be very shy, and will turn his head away when strangers look at him, and then he will slowly peak back with a smile on his face to see if they are still looking.
   Apollo is becoming more enjoyable by the day. He has been developing some very good manners and really understands that some words are bad and shouldn't be used in front of others. Melanie, at Apollo's prompting, has set a precedence for the use of "potty" words. They are only to be used in the "potty" room. I can tell you that there are some very colorful words that come out of the bathroom during bath time, and they are almost always followed by laughter. "FART! Hahahaha!...mama is a fart 'meller! HAHAHA!", "I gotta take a p-p-p-p-p-po-FART! AAAHahahaha!", "Mama? Whats your favorite t.v. show?" he will then talk in a high pitched girl voice, "Back-FART-agains!" ( a reference to Back Yardagains, cartoon) "Hahahaha! Dada! Get your BUTT in here! I'm done with my bath! hahahaha!" That is some of the "G-rated" words.
 I won't list any of the really bad words here, but there are a few words he discovered on his own by repeating words he heard his mom and I use, and then put the wrong inflection and emphasis in the right place. We tried to not react to his misuse of these words, but he enunciated them so well, that we had to point it out to him and ask him to not use these words. You can use your imagination and figure it out. The words he can only say in the "potty" room now are; infection and affection....And yes, we have heard him say these words phonetically and enunciating deliberately, in the bath.
  Outside of the bathroom, Apollo is the first one to point out that someone has said a "potty" word. It can be something as simple as "stupid". "Hey! We don't say that word!" At least he understands what is socially acceptable and what is not, and has all but refrained from using any foul language in public...at least for now.
  What impresses me the most about Apollo is his ability to visualize. Apollo believes that if you are going for a drive or a walk, you have to have a destination. He gets upset if you take him for a walk without going to the park or to the store. On a recent walk around the neighborhood, we had a discussion about walking just to walk; to be outdoors and get some fresh air. Apollo was quiet for a moment and I could see that his wheels were turning. "Dada", he began, "when we go for a walk and we only go back to the house, we are making the letter 'O', but when we go somewhere, and then go back to the house, we are making the letter 'Q'." I was blown away by his assessment, and was left all but speechless. Apollo continued, "Dada, I like to make the letter 'Q' when we walk."
  

No comments:

Post a Comment