From the Mouth of Bubs

Here are some of my favorite recent Jeeper-isms:

"Mama, do you know my favorite color? Rainbow. I like all of the colors, that is why I said rainbow."

"Do you know what kind of water is in Hawaii? Salt water."

"Mama, do you know that I love to sing to you?" 

And now, for the 4-year old quote finale...

Jeep: "How does a baby grow in a mama's belly?" Me: "Umm... babies grow from very special seeds." Jeep with a very surprised look on his face: "Even babies grow from seeds?!" Me: "Uh yes, that's right." Jeep: "What does the seed look like?" Me: "Oh, it is very tiny, you can't even see it." Jeeper: "Tinier than my fingernail?!" Me: "Even smaller than that." Jeep shaking his head in disbelief: "How can a baby grow from a tiny seed?!"

Piggy Bank

For the most part, Jeeper is good at recognizing boundaries. Sure, he negotiates daily and he pushes hard for what he wants when he wants it, but he isn't one of those kids who snatches the decorative items off your mother-in-law's coffee table and he knows to ask for a grown-up's hand before stepping into a parking lot. So he caught me off guard a few months back when he put coins into the CD-player in my car stereo.

He was "playing car" in my car in the garage -- sitting in the parked car (no keys anywhere near for those of you who are questioning my parenting skills) and pretending to drive it. We had gone over the rules a number of times before: no turning on the headlights, honking the horn or playing with the CD-player. Other than that, he could turn the radio dials, flip the windshield wiper lever up and down, push on the hazard light button and imagine he was speeding down the road all he wanted.

As you can imagine, the coins in the CD drive have rendered that part of the stereo inoperable. And neither my husband nor the dealer can get the coins out. Which means that I'll have to replace the stereo system if I want to play CDs ever again. And although I've thought about tapping some of the funds in JP's "Savings" or "Taxes" accounts, for now, I'm opting to rely on the radio. And I must admit I'm enjoying the one small perk of JP's coin adventure -- no children's music! Since all of his music was on CDs, when he demands "kid music" I can calmly remind him that the CD player doesn't work. And when I ask him why, he remorsefully replies, "Because I put money in it." Well, son, how about some good old rock and roll instead?!

A Boy's Blessing

This was originally posted on Blog Mamas on August 18th, 2007.

One evening many months back, when Jeep was younger and more often waking multiple times a night, in a sleep-deprived haze I thumbed through a book of devotions and found a prayer that I have prayed with my son every night since:

Dear God, shelter us under your wings of love. Grant us a peaceful night and a restful sleep.

After the above phrases, I rattle off a list of "God blesses" starting with Daddy, Mama and Jeep. After the three of us, the nightly list would vary widely from every grandparent, aunt, uncle and cousin, to all of Jeep's classmates and the neighborhood pets. A couple of months ago, Jeeper surprised me by interupting me after the word "sleep" and reciting "God bess Daddy, God bess Mama and God bess Jeepee." So sweet. He has been in charge of the "God blesses" ever since! It has been fun to observe nightly who he selects to bless. Daddy and I almost always make the list, but beyond that it may include that day's favorite teacher, one of his stuffed animals or a neighborhood pal.

Last weekend, a good friend was visiting from Oregon and she was sitting on the living room floor with me and Jeep when I told him it was time for his nap. He sunk into my arms and began chanting "God bess Daddy..." I laughed because we don't usually say prayers for naptime but it was funny that he related it to being about to get into bed. Then he said, "God bess Mama," and paused before he pointed to my girlfriend and pronounced, "God bess dat one."

Happy Hill, Golf Guys & Bubble Bub

A few days ago we took a four day road trip vacation with Jeeper's Grandma and Grandpa. I learned a few things, good and bad, about car travels with a toddler. Next time we take Jeep on vacation I plan to be a little more careful about coordinating travel and naptime, for example. But I had to share these three highlights of the long weekend:

After Jeep started getting restless at a restaurant, he and Daddy wandered outside and found a little hill and Jeeper went crazy rolling down. I couldn't believe how many times he would roll down and then pop back up, run up the hill and do it again. He laughed and laughed. Such a typical childlike thing to do. Who hasn't rolled down a hill? It was a rite of passage -- a very fun one!

Daddy, Grandpa and Bub played a little putting course the next morning and the Jeeper held on through 12 holes. He concentrated really hard, was super sweaty after they finished and kept repeating his dad's coaching for days: "Back, through!" It was amazing to see him play so hard with the big guys.



Our boy, bubbles and a beautiful view.

Where Have All the Mamas Gone

This post was originally posted on Blog Mamas on July 13th, 2006.

About six weeks ago Jeep started saying “Mama.” It started as “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” and then slowly the pauses started to occur in the right places. I called Bea and proudly announced, “Jeeper said his first word and it was ‘Mama.’” “Are you sure he meant you?” she asked. “Of course,” I shot back defensively.

Truthfully I wasn’t exactly sure. He didn’t look lovingly into my eyes or reach longingly toward me when he said it. It really was kind of random. I believed he meant it for me because I (naturally) was around whenever I heard it.

A few days later I dropped Jeep off with Bea and her kids while I ran to the airport to pick up my brother and his family. When she brought him home she said, “Oh, he definitely is saying ‘Mama.’ After you left he cried and clung to me for a while. He would look sadly around and every now and then he would say ‘Mama’ in a forlorn little voice.” While her story broke my heart to know he missed me so much, at the same time I was bursting with pride. My baby knew how to say “Mama!”

Since then he has also learned to say “uh-oh” when he drops things, “bop” when he sees a balloon, and “baa” each night when we start his bath. Oh, and he says “Dada” now too. Actually, almost all he says these days is “Dada.” Our cat is “Dada,” a ball is “Dada,” of course Daddy is “Dada” and (I don’t want to tell you but I must be honest) even I am “Dada.” Sigh. I know I shouldn’t be competitive and truthfully I’m thrilled for Jeep to know what to call his Daddy. But I l-o-n-g to hear “Mama” again.

Until then, I’ll gladly respond to “Dada.”