Sometimes being a parent is not what you expect. OK, maybe more than some of the time – try like 85% of the time. As much as I complain about the tantrums, the flip-the-coin decisions, and the crazy behavior – there are moments in parenthood that continue to both surprise me and crack me up. It’s really true – kids say the darndest things. It’s like I have these two little comedians living in my house and I don’t know what to do with them. Lately, their personalities have been both amusing AND confusing:
1. L has the weirdest accent of all time. She’s somehow picked up a slight Boston accent, I’m guessing from my parents (not from me – I’ve lived in Florida long enough to say y’all), but then there’s some other kind of dialect in there too. For example: She wants to be a “mehrmaid” for Halloween (don’t worry, Jackie Jovi, she does not want to be Ariel, just a mermaid). I know that her accent now won’t necessarily follow her as she grows up (case in point — I DID have a Boston accent until middle school), so I can totally laugh at it now.
2. L sucked her thumb until recently. She went to the dentist in August for a regular checkup and I’m pretty sure she did magic or voodoo on her or something. Even though the dentist told us that it was fine if L continued to suck her thumb until her baby teeth started to fall out (which judging from B isn’t any time soon), L decided to just stop. Just on her own.
Do I have a really weird and determined child or what? I mean, here I was telling her to suck her thumb, and she’s telling me no. Umm OK. Why wasn’t potty training this easy?
3. So, I think L is secretly a fan of the Gators. Despite wearing the FSU gear with a smile, while we were at the game a few weeks ago, she just randomly started doing “the chop.” The guy in front of us did a triple take and then told her “Honey, you’re doing it wrong.” Also,When you ask her who her favorite team is, she says, “Uh, the Gators.” Complete deadpan. Just waiting on her to learn how to do the eye roll.
Who has corrupted my child?
4. At school, B’s class has a behavior chart where the goal is to get a blue (SUPER AWESOME!) or a green (STILL PRETTY AWESOME). All things considered, B is doing pretty good this year. He mostly gets greens. There was a week though where he came home with a few yellows (NOT SO AWESOME) and even an orange (BORDERLINE TROUBLE). When we asked him what his deal was (maybe not in that way, but pretty much) he told us, “I just can’t shut my mouth.” Man, it’s so hard not to laugh at that and well, you’ve gotta love his honesty. Gee, wonder where he gets it from?
5. B loves to tell people he is allergic to tomatoes. This adds a lot of confusion when we are eating out — especially when we are ordering pizza. I’m setting the story straight right now, he is not allergic tomatoes, nor does he hate them as he often claims. In fact, the kid loves tomatoes and I wish he would come to terms with it.
6. One of the cutest things he’s done lately is call “T-ball” “Pinball.” He gets really excited about “pinball” practice and his “pinball” games. At first, I thought he was playing a game on our iPad (and thought – wow, he really spends way too much time on that damn thing) and then I realized he was talking about baseball. It’s hard to correct him because it’s just so adorable.
It’s the cute things you want to capture forever. And maybe the weird things too.
What weirdo things did you do as a kid? Besides sleepwalking, I distinctly remember telling people (as in complete strangers) I could speak a foreign and then I would talk to them in some strange, fake language. I’m sure my parents have some stories they could tell…
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Marc might have brainwashed L that time we babysat. He loves that she loves the Gators
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Maybe it WAS Marc!! Ha ha.
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Perhaps 1 or 2 of L’s teachers is the Gator influence with a different accent? Latina or Southern? I just love those 2 kids!!
I’m pretty sure all of her teachers have graduated from UCF – so who knows! Sometimes she has this strange Jersey accent. It’s never southern. She does like to make up “pretend” words that she calls “speaking Spanish.”
Oh lord, I did a lot of weird things as a kid. Sleeping on the floor on top of the air conditioning vent comes to mind. And my mother tells me, though I am too young to remember, that I was afraid of ceiling fans when I was a baby/toddler.
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I love it! Were you hot – is that why you slept on the a/c?
I can understand being afraid of ceiling fans. Ha ha.
They are so stinkin’ cute. I was a super thumb sucker until I was, like, 9 or something. I was wearing headgear to bed at night and still sucking my thumb. Let’s be honest: I would probably still suck my thumb now if it were socially acceptable.
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I sucked my index finger (not sure why I wrote thumb) until I was in 2nd grade — I’m pretty sure I went to therapy for it because I refused to quit. I’m pretty sure I would have continued doing it until I was an adult as well. The only thing that got me to stop was my dad telling me he would quit smoking (he did briefly – he did for real when I was in college). Glad we didn’t have to go that route because I’m afraid L would make me quit wine or something unreasonable like that.
I once told a friend I knew how to tap dance and then launched into this entire 2 minute tap routine. It was terrible and my friend believed me. When I realized she believed me, I was like, “Really? Because you know that was terrible.” haha
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LMAO. I like that you did a whole routine for 2 minutes. Can you maybe show me sometime? I bet it’s awesome.
I loved B’s comment, that he just couldn’t shut his mouth! Gave me my laugh for today.
I LOVE your kids!
Aww thank you
And isn’t it true about B? He can’t shut his mouth.
I love that picture of L in the stadium.. As far as giving up the thumb..that’s amazing. B is so adorable..I don’t envy his teachers..he’s a killer with that smile alone! As for doing weird things growing up with you.. I guess the copying of my signature in the 4th grade is most memorable.. especially when you did it several times to get it right on the same paper!! For myself..I guess when I was young..I sleepwalked.. and remember waking up at the end of the street under the lamp post!!
I was very special in 4th grade
Love this post! It’s so nice to memorialize these things so you don’t forget them. I swear they’re secretly brainwashing our children in preschools to like the Gators, too! E. also does the chomp and says her favorite teams, in order, are: Duke, Syracuse, the Eagles, then the Gators. We have no idea where the Gators came from either. I may be sad that Duke is first, but at least she’s not listing the Redskins yet.
Tell L. Jackie Jovi won’t be mad at her for being a mermaid, even if it is that tramp Ariel. Mermaids are pretty cool. Too bad there’s not a Marena costume (Isn’t that the mermaid on Jake? I hate that I know that). And B. in his baseball uniform makes me want to forget our agreement to not have any more kids and go have a boy right now bc E has no interest in playing baseball. So cute! But then I also remember how brutal my little brother’s tball and baseball games were for all those years and I’m all set. I’ll just come watch B from time to time.
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Allergic to tomatoes. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Yes!! So funny.
L is clearly after my heart. First, I think we have the same Bic Band, and second, during the Florida/Tennessee game (same weekend you guys demolished Wake Forest), I did teach an impressionable 14 month old in the cutest FSU outfit how to chomp. Really, I think she just likes clapping. And her mom was totally on board.
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Ha ha ha! I agree that L really does enjoy the clapping part of it — and just doing anything that I disapprove of
Btw, I love my headband. I think this thing has lasted me like 2 years!