Conversations With Liam - The Driller Bug Story

When you have a four year old with a very active imagination, you never know what the next conversation is going to be about or when you might have to have it.  This one happened at 3:00 in the morning yesterday.

 

 

Liam: "Mommy, MOMMY, MMOOMMMMYY!"

Me:  Stumbles out of bed and across the hall.  "What's wrong?"

Liam:  "Turn on my actual light."

Me: Turns on light.  "What's wrong?"

Liam:  "Come sit with me."

Me: Plods across the room and flops onto the bed and closes my eyes, realizing that the boy is not upset, he is happy and full of energy. 

Liam: "Mommy, sit up and open your eyes.  You need to look at me."

Me:  Slowly sits up.  "Why aren't you sleeping?'

Liam:  "Mommy, a long time ago, when I was a baby a driller bug drilled these two fingers."

Me:  "What?!?"

Liam:  "A long time ago, when I was a baby a driller bug drilled these two fingers."

Me: "What is a driller bug?"

Liam: "A driller bug is a green bug with four legs that goes 'chut chut chut bzzzzz' and drills."

Me:  "Umm, OK, where did you see a bug like that?"

Liam:  "I saw it a long time ago when I was a baby, when it drilled these two fingers.  But it's OK.  WHen I grew up and was a three year old, the thing the driller bug gave me when it drilled into my fingers died and fell off."

Me:  "Ummm, that's good."

Liam:  "I think the driller bug is under my bed or a big rock."

Me:  "There is no driller bug under your bed."

Liam:  "What about a big rock?"

Me:  "I guess there might be a driller bug under a big rock somewhere."

Liam:  "No, Mommy, under my bed.  Is there a big rock under my bed?  A giant rock?"

Me:  "No, there ar eno rocks under your bed."

Liam: "There is something under my bed.  It is either a driller bug or a big giant rock."

Me:  "No, there's not."

Liam:  Leans over and looks under the bed.  "You're right.  It must have disappeared."

Me:  "Can you go back to sleep now?"

Liam: "Yep, good night Mommy."

Me: "Good night Liam."  Turn off the light and close the door.

Liam: "MOMMY!"

Me: Open the door.  "What?"

Liam:  "You forgot to say I love you."

Me:  "I love you Liam."

Liam:  "I love you too."

 

So, I have no idea where I was when the driller bug was drilling into my baby's fingers.  Or why I didn't notice when the "thing" died and fell off.  But there you have it.  The Driller Bug Story.  The fun things I do at 3:00am!

Conversations With Liam

As time goes on, conversations with Liam get more and more interesting.  He is just over 3.5 years old and he loves to talk.  My mother will tell you that he gets that from me.  She always said that once I started talking, I never shut up and I find myself saying the exact same thing about Liam on a regular basis.


Here are just a few of the conversations that have occurred over recent months.

Liam: "I need two mommies."
Me: "Am I not good enough?"
Liam: "No, I need two mommies."
Me: "Why do you need two mommies?"
Liam: "Because I am a little boy and little boys need two mommies and a daddy."
Henry: "Who do you you want your other mommy to be?"
Liam: "I don't know, you can pick. But you can be my one daddy."
Me: "Do I get to be one of your mommies?"
Liam: "Yes, but I need two mommies.  Daddy, who is my other mommy going to be?"
Henry: "I have to pick now?'
Liam: "Yes, I need another mommy soon."


Driving home, Liam could see smoke from a bush fire, he said:  
"Look at all that smoke, it must be a volcano.  I want to go see the volcano right now."


He frequently tells me the following:
"When I grow up, I want to be Tony Stark because he had a lot, a lot of money, he is really smart and he's IRONMAN!"


There are a lot of made up words in our conversations lately, but everyone has a meaning.
Liam: "Mommy, is that a shickhitter?"
Me: "Huh?  What's a shickhitter?"
Liam: "It's a small, very tiny, little digger machine.  You should know that."


Friends of ours, Ashley and Danny recently got engaged, Liam will be their ring bearer, although I don't think he has any idea what a wedding or a ring bearer is, he has plans for their special day.
Liam: "Ashley should get married in a princess castle."
Me: "No, Ashley's not getting married in a princess castle."
Liam:  "OK, I want Ashley and Danny to get married on a horse.  Actually on two horses, one for Ashley and one for Danny."

Liam wants a castle:
Liam: "Mommy, I really think we need a castle."
Me: "Really?"
Liam: "Yes, a big one."
Me: "Where are we going to find a castle?"
Liam: "We'll have to build one.  I want to build it with you."
Me: "I don't know how to build a castle."
Liam: "That's OK, it's easy, really easy.  First you get all the parts and put the parts together and then you put the top on.  Then you put lots of toys inside.  You put in the floor and paint it.  They you put the walls on and paint them.  And you have to put on a top that you can walk around on.  That's a castle."
Me: "What colour are you going to paint it?"
Liam: "We can paint it red or blue or grey or any colour, really."
Me: "But what colour do you want to paint it?"
Liam: "Well, red, I think red is good."
Me: "What colour are you going to paint the floor?"
Liam: "Well, blue of course."
Me: "are you going to live in your castle?"
Liam: "Sure.  I want you to live in my castle with me."
Me: "OK.  Who else is going to live in your castle?"
Liam: "All the kids from preschool."
Me: "All of them?"
Liam: "Of course."
Me: "What about Daddy?"
Liam: "Well, sure, Daddy can live with us."



There are some farms close by that use propane canons to scare birds out of the corn fields.  Here is Liam's interpretation of the situation.
"That noise is to make the birds fall off the corn so that the farmers can get the corn and feed the corn to the cows in the winter because cows are hungry in the winter."

I really never know what he is going to say next.  I wish I could always have a paper and pen near by to capture some of the stories that he tells because I can never remember them all.  

Why? Why? Why?

I am participating in the 5 for 5 writing series at Momalom where bloggers write a post a day for five days about a given topic.  Today's topic is WORDS.

Babies make such cute little sounds when they are brand new.  I remember Liam making little grunting noises that reminded me a little baby piglet.  But then there are the times when they scream and scream and scream, when nothing you do can soothe them.  Haven't we all in desperation said to our little babies, "I just wish you could tell me what's wrong!"
Before you know it, that little baby isn't a baby anymore.  Suddenly, you have a walking, talking toddler, who amazes you everyday with the new words they are learning to say and use.  They are finally able to start putting words to their needs, making things a little easier for you when they want something.  There are still lots of moments where they are just babbling and making no sense whatsoever to anyone but themselves, but it doesn't matter.  They are finally using the words that you were so desperate to hear.
In our house, we have moved past the toddler talk phase and into the three year question phase.  Liam has words for just about everything.  Sure, there are lots of words that he still needs to learn to say, like amphibian, which he heard on a Dinosaur documentary last night, but for the most part he can articulate his wants and needs.  His biggest need is to know EVERYTHING!
The questions are constant.  "Who is that?" "What are you doing?" "Where is my car?"  And the most frequent of all questions, a single word, "WHY?"  Everything from the simplest task to the most complicated device in the house needs to be explained, repeatedly!  
I know that why is a very important word when you are three years old and learn about the world and everything in it.  But sometimes it is just plain exhausting having to explain everything.  I know that repetition is how three year olds learn and remember things but do I really have to answer the same question 10 times in a row?  And I know that it is very important for you to know the exact answer to every question that pops into your head, but I really don't know all the answers, all the time.  I wish I did.  I wish I had the words and knowledge to answer every question that my little man asks but it just doesn't work that way!  
So, even though 3 years ago, I was wishing that my little baby boy had the words to tell me what he wanted and needed, there are now times when I wish he would, just for a little while, stop using those words and give Mommy a few minutes of peace from the questions.  

Conversations With Liam

These days we never know where a conversation with Liam will take us.  It could be short, sweet and to the point or it could be long and confusing, leaving you wondering where this child came from!  One thing is for sure, there are a lot of laughs to be had.  And I really don't know how the kid knows the things he knows!

Here are some of my favourites from the past few days.

Liam: "Today I was a bad crocodile."

Me: "How do you be a bad crocodile?"

Liam: "I do this." <looked at me with a mean glare>  "And I have a big long nose with very big, very sharp teeth.  Crocodiles have big scary teeth."

Me: "Yes, they do have big teeth."

Liam: "And crocodiles have sharp toes with very sharp nails that come out of their toes for scratching, like this." <he put his hands up to demonstrate scratching>  "Crocodiles have really big, very big tails that they use to hit things.  And they swim in the water.  Bad crocodiles eat animals that they hit with their big tails and grab with their sharp toes and sharp nails."

Me: "Are there any good crocodiles?"

Liam: "No, crocodiles are all bad.  They bit and scratch and hit.  They are just bad crocodiles."

Liam: "I know how to make tuna melts.  

First you put the tuna on and then you put the cheese on.  

And then it just melts."

Liam: "Mommy, I want to you to get in the bath with me."

Me: "No thank you, I don't want to take a bath right now."

Liam: "But it is fun to play with dinosaurs and sharks in the bath with me."

Me: "Maybe another time."

Liam: "We need to buy you a bathtub of your own so that we can have baths together.  We can go get it later at Walmart.  No, maybe we'll get it at Costco.  Costco is better."

On the way home from work/daycare:

Liam: "Daddy, who built your truck?"

Henry: "Ford built it."

Liam: "Where does Ford work?  Does he work at Walmart or Costco?"

Henry: "Ford isn't a person.  Ford is a company that makes trucks."

Liam: "Where is Ford now? Is he going home?"

Henry: "Ford is not a person.  This truck was made at Ford in Virginia"

Liam: "Why?"

Henry: "Because there is a big factory in Virginia where Ford makes lots and lots of trucks."

Liam:"Does Ford do it all by himself?"

Henry: "No, lots of different people helped to build this truck."

Liam: "How?"

Henry: "Someone makes the engine, someone makes the radiator, someone puts on the doors, someone puts in the seats."

Liam: "What do they use to make trucks?"

Henry: "Metal, screws and bolts."

Liam: "And glue.  Ford uses white glue to build trucks."

Henry: "No, they don't use glue, glue wouldn't hold the truck together."

Liam: "Yes it would.  Ford uses white glue to put the door on.  They just use lots and lots of it."

Henry: "White glue is just for paper.  It wouldn't work for building a truck."

Liam: "Yes, it does.  I know it does."

Liam: "What is this yellow stuff in my ear?" (in a very concerned tone)

Me: "Wax."

Liam: "Who put yellow wax in my ear?" (sounding horrified)

Me: "It's OK, wax just comes out of your ears sometimes."

Liam: "I don't like it when wax comes out of my head into my ears."

Conversations With Liam

As the days and weeks go on, the things Liam says are get more and more interesting.  Sometimes, they are simple, random comments. 

"I want to buy a stock car and race it really fast.  And I want to buy a derby car and crash it."

"Mommy, here's a marker for you.  But don't colour on yourself with it.  Wait for me to get you a paper."

"Daddy, go and put on a handsome shirt, so you can be like me."

"I want to be Iron Man when I grow up."

Ashely: "Liam, can I carry you?"

Liam: "Yes, but I am NOT a baby."

 Other times, they are full conversations.

While having, we are having soup, Liam is having mac and cheese.

Liam: "Mommy, you make good, very good soup."

Me: "Would you like some?"

Liam: "Eww! No, I don't like soup.  You can just make it for Daddy."

Five minutes after opening a new hot wheels car.

Liam: "Mommy where is my shark car?"

Me: "I don't know, you'll have to look for it."

Liam: "I need you to look for it.  Please help me."

Me: "Where did you have it?"

Liam: "It was in my hand.  Not it's not. Can you find it?"

And this is the conversation we had on the way home from daycare Friday night.  I had been told at pick up that Liam had a rough start to the day, that he was very grumpy and not listen, also that he threw his shoes and was put on a time out.

Me: "Were you grumpy and not listening to Terri this morning?"

Liam: "Yes."

Me: "Did you have to go on time out?"

Liam: "Yes."

Me: "How come?"

Liam: "Because."

Me: "What did you do that made Terri put you on time out."

Liam: "I threw my shoes."

Me: "Why did you throw your shoes?"

Liam: "I wanted to play with the fishies in the bucket.  And Terri said no."

Me: "Why did Terri say no?"

Liam: "I wanted to take the fishies at preschool out of the big bucket and put them away."

Me: "What kind of fishies?"

Liam: "The ones in the big bucket on second floor.  I wanted to but them in the basket with the humpback whales."

Daddy: "Are you talking about the aquarium?"

Liam: "Yes, I wanted to take the fishes out."

Me: "You wanted to take the real fish out of the aquarium?"

Liam: "Yes, I wanted to play with them and put them in the basket with the other fishies."

Me: "The real fish need to always stay in the water in the aquarium."

Liam: "But I want to play with them."

Me: "Real fish aren't for playing with, they are just for looking at."

Liam: "But humpback whales are like fishies, the fishies should go in the basket with the whales."

Me: "Not real fish.  Toy fish can go in the basket, but real fish always have to stay in water."

Liam: "They have to stay in the bucket at preschool?"

Me: "Yes."

Liam: "OK."

Snow Dragons

Life with Liam becomes more and more interesting as he can communicate more and more things.  And now, it is getting to be even more interesting as he is starting to develop what we can only assume is a very vivid and creative imagination.

Right now, it is Snow Dragons.  What is a snow dragon, you ask?  That's exactly what we wanted to know!

Liam has been talking about Snow Dragons for a week now and we have asked everyone he has been in contact with recently if they know what a Snow Dragon is and no one has a clue.  The incredible thing is the amount of detail he has come up with about these creatures that he has imagined.  

Through countless conversations with Liam about these creatures, this is what we have learned, all quotes from the expert:

What do snow dragons look like?

"Like dragons but snow dragons are white.  They have big wings and they fly far and fast. They roar like a dinosaur."

Where do they come from?

"They come from the sky, but not this sky, a different sky."

Where do they live?

"They live in caves."

Do they have friends?

"Yes."

Are their friends people?

"Yes, girls, I think."

Are they big or little?

"They are big, but sometimes little.  The big ones have little ones."

What do snow dragons eat?

"Sometimes bugs because snow dragons don't like bugs.  Snow dragons don't like juice.  They drink water."

On Wednesday morning, when we woke up to the first snow of the year, we learned more about the mysterious creature.

"Liam, it snowed last night."

"Did the snow dragons come?"

"I don't know, why?"

"Snow dragons bring the snow.  They come with the snow clouds.  And they play in the snow."

On Friday when the snow was all melted, this is what he told me.

"The snow is gone.  It melted into water.  But it's OK because the snow dragons will come back and bring more another day."

I have no idea where this sudden surge in imagination came from, but I love it and I hope that it continues!  

Conversations with Liam

It really doesn't seem like that long ago that Liam's only word was "Ada" for Daddy.  But a lot has changed.  Since he moved to the preschool aged program at daycare this summer, his language has exploded.  And although I miss the toddler talk days when I was "Nonny" instead of Mommy and before bed he said "Lu Lue" for I love you, it is so much fun and (often funny) to have real conversations with my boy!

Some of these conversation just need to be recorded forever!!

While driving in the truck . . . 

Liam: "Mommy, what is this road called?"

Me: "Prince of Wales Drive."

Liam: "Is the prince of wales a whale?"

While out with Grandma on Remembrance Day . . . 

Liam: "Gabba, what's that?" (pointing to her poppy)

Grandma: "It's a poppy."

Liam: "Why?"

Grandma: "Because it is Remembrance Day.  It's to honour all the men and women who were in the wars.

Liam: "And the Dinosaurs?"

At bedtime . . . 

Liam: "I love my blankie.  Where did you buy it?"

Me: "Your Grandma L made it for you."

Liam: "Why?"

Me: "Because you were a little baby and needed a blankie to sleep with.  She made two, one for your bed at home and one for daycare."

Liam: "I don't have a blankie to sleep with at preschool anymore."

Me: "Why not?"

Liam: "It's broken." (looking very sad and disappointed)

Me: "What do you mean it's broken?"

Liam: "I don't know.  It's just broken."

Me: "What happened to it?"

Liam: "Sometimes blankies just break." (getting sadder with every word)

Me: "Do you want mommy to talk to Terri tomorrow and find out why your blankie is broken?"

Liam: "Yes.  And dragon too."  (dragon is his sleep toy)

Me: "OK, I will talk to Terri in the morning."

Liam: "Thank you Mommy." (big smile and hug)

**I did talk to Terri the next morning at drop off, Liam's blankie and dragon are both completely fine and he sleeps with both every day.  I have no idea where this conversation came from, but it was cute!

In the bath . . . (This one may get me some spam comments, but it is too funny not to share!)

Liam: making a funny groaning noise

Me: "What are you doing?"

Liam: "Just this." (he was holding his penis up and poking his testicles.

Me: "Why are you doing that?"

Liam: "Because.  Mommy, what is this?"

Me: "Umm, your testicles."

Liam: "I don't like it, please take it off, mommy."

Me: "Pardon?"

Liam: "I don't like it.  Please take it off."

Me: "I can't take it off, it is part of you."

Liam: "Why?"

Me: "It just is."

Liam: Silently continues to explore, then after a minute looks at me.  "Mommy, I think it's just dry skin. I think it will go away by itself."

Stay tuned for more Conversations with Liam as I am sure that there will be many more that I just have to share!

Toddler Talk

Watching a child develop from an infant to a toddler is a wonderfully interesting experience.  One of the most fascinating aspects of this journey, for me, is language development.  Over the years, I have seen many toddlers go from not being able to say any real words to speaking in sentences as well as asking and answering questions.  And it never ceases to amaze me how quickly they can learn and develop these skills.

Now, it is even more exciting as I get to experience it with my own son.  It has been a while since I posted about his language skills and we were still very much in the Baby Talk phase at that point, but Liam has recently leap into speaking like a toddler.  His vocabulary is growing every day and it is just incredible!  Of course at 22 months, there is still a lot of incomprehensible babble but the real words just keep coming and coming.  

Here are some of his favorite, well pronounced words: cat, dog, cow, meow, daddy, turtle, toes, nose, shoe, eye, car, ball, frog, cup, bear, no, mine, hi, hello, bye, night-night, stat, yep, up, down, help, stuck.  The list could go on, but those are the ones we hear the most often.

And then there are my favorites, the words that don't quite sound like they are supposed to, but we know what he is saying, these are the ones that I really want to remember because they are so cute and so unique.

beeair - bunny, not sure why because we have bunnies, and it doesn't seem like it would be a difficult word, but whatever!

Nonny - Mommy, I believe that he has combined Nicki with Mommy to get this, I am just glad that he's not calling me Nicki anymore.

warewane - airplane, he is completely obsessed with airplanes!

pea - please

tak u - thank you

Kikle- Tickles (one of the cats)

Ayaya - Nala (the other cat)

taktar -tractor

ire uck - fire truck

peea - pizza

lrd - lizzard

key - cookies

Ashee - Ashley, his favorite daycare teacher

Nini - Wini, another of his daycare teachers

Anana - Hannah, a girlfriend at daycare

SeeSee - Sidney, another daycare girlfriend

catca - butterfly, no idea how he came up with this, but he's been consistently saying it for months!

Melmo - Elmo

cheechees - cheesies

Everyday, I wait and listen for now words and love how smart my little boy is becoming, even though he is growing far too fast!

Baby Talk

I absolutely LOVE listening to Liam "talk".  Mostly, he just babbles away to himself or his toys but often, he is very obviously talking to me.  I haven't the slightest idea what he is trying to tell me but as long as I look interested and reply when he pauses, he just keeps going as if we were having a real, perfectly coherent conversation.  Sometimes our conversations are happy, sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are very serious and on other rare occasions they are very sad.

He even has conversations with his bedtime dragon and teddy bear before he goes to sleep at night and when he wakes up in the morning.  I love listening to those ramblings through the baby monitor.

He does have a small collection of or real "words".  And by words, I mean things that resemble words that he uses regularly.

ada, da, dad, addy - are all variations of dad (this was also his first word)

mom, ma - obviously this is mom, however we don't hear this one very often, I am afraid that he is going to call me Nicki before he calls me mom because he hears everyone at daycare calling me Nicki all the time!

cat - actually means cat!

kitty - this usually means bunny

dag, dog, doggie - dog

catty - this is what he calls his stuffed sheep, when he is really excited it could mean cat or bunny!

ah da - all done, although he doesn't quite get the meaning!

hi - means hi and bye

oh-oh - his favorite word!

ba - ball

dor-da - Georgia, his daycare girlfriend's name

night - good night, although this is a fairly new one that he hasn't said very often

I really do love this part of the infant/toddler stage as they slowly develop from a few little words to talking in full sentences.  And it is even more fun and exciting now that it is my own little boy.  I can only imagine that if Liam continues to talk as much as he does now we are going to have many interesting conversations in the years to come!