Leotard

At preschool, Kyla class gets to spend time in the gym.  They get to go on the trampolines, swing on a rope into the foam pit, walk on the balance beam, jump in the bouncy house and practice tumbling moves.  Everyday when we leave, Kyla wants to look at the gymnastics leotards and comment on their pretty embellishments.  Today, as usual, Kyla asked to look at them again.

Kyla:  Mommy, I just want to look at the quitars 'fore we go.
Me:  They are leotards, honey.
Kyla:  Oh, I want to look at the leotards.  Why they leotards?
Me:  That is what they are called.
Kyla:  Well, why they not just tards?

Sometimes I need a minute to compose myself before responding to her inquiries.

  

Two, Too, Tutu

Tonight Kyla was telling me about a child who went to her old school when they were two years old.

Kyla:
I went to my old school when I was two, too.
Hey!  Tutu starts with two (holding up 2 fingers).

  

Fertilizer

Today we went to story time at the library.  When we got out of the car the smell of the farms (manure) was in the air.

Kyla:  I smell like something.  (That's what she says when she smells something.)  It smell yucky.
Me:  I think that is the fertilizer.  (followed by a brief explanation)
Kyla:  Why dat turd-ilizer?
Me:  No, honey.  It's FERT-ilizer.
Kyla:  Fart-ilizer?

Well, she makes a good point.

  

Magic

Kyla told me she was going to turn me into a Fairy Godmother.  So, she gave a little wave of her wand and said the magic words: "Abra-ca-boos, ca-boody-ya!"

I don't feel any different.  However, I do have a hard time not giving her everything she asks for...

  

Married

Kyla loved going to Auntie Kristin's wedding last month and getting dressed up in her pretty, white flower girl dress.  She often looks at a picture of Jedd and me and asks questions about it.  She loves a good wedding, complete with pretty dresses, flowers and dancing.

Today she said, "I love Daddy.  And you, too.  So I want you get married again."

I think she just wants to go to another wedding.

  

How...

Kyla's newest query:  How you make dat?

Just a few of the things she has asked about:

• Jam
• Store bought Mexican cookies with pink & white coconut covered mini marshmallows
• Nectarines
• Lasagna
• Ice cream

When she asked about the nectarines, I told her you don't really make nectarines, you grow them.
Kyla:  But HOW you make them?
Me:  Well, you plant a seed and water the plant and when the fruit grows...
Kyla:  Nooo!  How you MAKE da nectarine?
Me:  (uhhhh...)

I'm starting to miss the "why?" questions.

 

Gender Confusion

Kyla is starting to point out differences between boys and girls.  For example, she tells me that boys don't wear jewelry or make-up or dresses.  I have tried to explain, with minimal explanation, that some boys DO actually like to wear earrings or rings or bracelets or make-up, etc. and that some girls actually do not like to wear them.

The other day at Kohl's, she was explaining that boys don't wear jewelry.  Then, as chance would have it, our male checker was wearing diamond stud earrings.

Kyla, loudly( toddlers have 2 volumes, loud and LOUDER):  Why he wearing earrings?
Me:  I guess he likes them.  Do you like them?
Kyla:  Oh, yah.
Me:  Why don't you tell him you like them?
Kyla:  Hey.  Hey.  I love your earrings!
Checker (smiling, perhaps embarrassed):  Thanks.


Then this weekend at the airshow, at lunch we sat across from a nice man who struck up a conversation with us.  He and Jedd started talking about their airplanes.  Kyla tried to interrupt and for some reason I can't explain, I knew she was going to ask an inappropriate question.

Kyla:  Hey.  Is you a...
 - (Mom sense:  red alert!  red alert!) -

Me:  Kyla you need to wait until Daddy is done talking.  What do you need?
Kyla:  Is her a...
Me (quietly):  That is a man.
Kyla (pausing to figure out how to proceed):  Why she a man?

 

Who's Who

Kyla is all about identifying family members.  When she is eating, she will point out the different sizes of food and say that one is the mommy and one is the daddy and point out the babies.  She will hold up a blueberry and say, in her 'this is so precious voice,' something like, "Oh, look at da little baby one!"  And continue with each and every berry, declaring it a baby, sister, "brudder," mommy or daddy.

The other day Kyla, Maxx and I were playing tea party.

Kyla:  Okay, I da mommy and Maxx is da daddy.
Me:  Can Maxx be the mommy?
Kyla:  No.
Me:  Why not?
Kyla:  Cause, girls are mommies and boys are daddies.
(Oh, right!  Of course...)

And today while we were reading books, out of the blue, she said, "Hey, mommies are mommies and daddies are daddies.  And Kylas is Kyla.  And Tyler is... (pause to think) my cousin!"

 

Baby

Kyla came downstairs the other morning with her Care Bear stuffed under her dress.  I calmly asked what was going on.

Kyla:  Mommy, I want you to have a baby in your belly.
Me:  I already had 2 babies in my belly, you and Maxx.
Kyla:  But I want you to have another baby.
Me:  We have a baby, baby Maxx.
Kyla:  Nooooo.  I want you to have a baby girl.

Then yesterday, she told me she was a doctor and would tell me what to do.  A lot of times this involves a series of physical activities; hop up and down, spin like a ballerina, march in a circle, etc.  This time she pulled out her picture book, filled with pictures of family and friends.  I put it together when I was pregnant with Maxx and trying to teach her everyone's names.  The first picture is an ultrasound of Maxx.

Kyla:  Okay, I da doctor.  I tell you what you need to do.  (She flips open her book to the first picture.)  Okay.  First you need to have a baby in your belly.

I didn't hear anything after that...

 

Definitions

Kyla is starting to expand her vocabulary.  She is trying out new phrases and exploring cause & effect and putting abstract ideas into words.  And while some of these words and phrases are grammatically accurate, it is clear that she doesn't quite yet fully understand all of the meanings.

Yesterday I heard her talking to Jedd.
Jedd: Where is Maxx?
Kyla:  Oh, Maxx is downstairs.  He is just playing.  He is playing with his toys.  It is his fault.

Or when she made this announcement:
Kyla:  Mama, you are boring.
Me:  Oh?
Kyla:  Yah, you are boring, cause you are just feeling a little nervous.

 

Weeds

Today, as we pulled out of the driveway, our neighbor was (annoyingly) doing yard work.

(It is only annoying in so much that we do not do yard work regularly and seeing him out there makes us feel guilty.  and like bad neighbors.  and ashamed of our pitiful, half-effort attempts to "landscape."  However, we do enjoy having that family for neighbors because they are nice people and we get to view their well groomed lawn & landscaping.)

Anyhow, Jedd says something to the effect that Dave is making me look bad, because I never weed.  To which I respond with something akin to "the yard is your job, not mine."  Kyla then chimes in.

Kyla:  I will help you weed, Mom.
Me:  You will?  That is nice of you.
Kyla:  Yah, you get the weed seed and I will dig the holes.  You have to get a hoe.  And then we will put the seeds in the hole.

And Jedd makes a smart-ass remark about if that's what I've been teaching Kyla, no wonder we have so many weeds!  Maybe I should be offended by that.  But I'll just add that to the list of reasons why the yard should be Jedd's job.

 

Karate Chop

Jedd taught Kyla to karate chop the toilet paper instead of just tearing it off.  Now she gets really upset if I forget.  She says, "No mama!  I need 'rah-tay-a shop' it!"

 

Food

Last night Kyla and I made cookies.  When she tried one, I asked if they tasted good.

Kyla: Mmm.  Oh yeah.  I like cookies!  Cause cookies are my faaaavorite flavor!


Today for lunch, I heated up some soup for Kyla.  As I was cooling it down for her, she looked in and asked,

Kyla: What are those, those chickens?
Me: Dumplings.
Kyla: No, those chickens?
Me: That's beef.
Kyla: Oh, I like those beef chickens.

 

Adults

I think Kyla is a little confused by the word adult.  It seems she thinks it is actually two words.

The other day Kyla was telling me something that she can't do yet.  "I can't do dat yet.  But you and Daddy can do it, 'cause you are dolts."

And tonight at bed time I was telling her that tomorrow is a school day and that Maxx will be going to the baby classroom (for the first time).  She said, "Oh yeah.  And you go to the dolt classroom!"

Yes, I was called a dolt by my not quite 3-year old.  And apparently there is a special classroom just for dolts like me.

Dentist

I just went in the playroom to find Kyla drawing a picture in her reading tent.  I asked her what she was doing.

Kyla:  I a de'tist (dentist).
Me:  Oh, are you drawing a picture?
Kyla:  Yah, I drowing a snowman.
Me:  What is your snowman's name?
Kyla:  His name Emily!  He is my frey-end.

 

My poor little Maxx, still recovering from his cold and Kyla showing off her snowman.

I then took a picture of her holding her snowman (named Emily).  She wanted to see the picture.

Me:  Good one?
Kyla:  Yah, cause I a de'tist.  Hey, I wan' to clean your teef!

A few minutes later, she wanted to get out her dress-up clothes (a daily occurrence).  She found her tiara.

Kyla:  I wan' my crown!  Dis my de'tist crown.
Me:  Oh, dentists wear crowns?
Kyla:  Yah.  After da kings come.

Uh-oh!

Maxx has a new word/sound besides mamamamama, dadadadada and babababa.  He now says, or attempts to say, uh-oh!

He'll drop his Cheerio or puff or whatever he happens to be eating and say, "Uh uhhhh!"  The "Uh" starts out high pitched and the "uhhh" comes out much lower.  Sometimes it's just, "Uh uh uh" all in a low grunt.

Count wit me!

Kyla likes to have us count with her.  Recently, it is followed by, "Now let's count in Spanish!"

1. uno
2. dos
3. place
4. qua kro
5. seek-o
6. seis
7. set-tay
8. uno
9. no vo
10. diez!

Coconut

Driving in the car, running errands today, Kyla lamented, "Oh no!  Dat river not hab any coconuts for o (all) da burdies!  For o da duckies!"

Oh no, indeed.

Old Man

Kyla has a new puzzle that she got for Christmas from Nana & Poppy.  It's a cartoon version of Noah's ark and has several pairs of animals.  She really enjoys putting it together and talking about all the animals.

Here is part of our conversation this morning as we put the final few pieces in place.

Me: Where is the piece with the man?
Kyla:  Here it is.  Here is the oald man.
(I have not ever referred to him as old.)

Kyla:  He a oald, oald man.  I not like oald mans.
Me:  Why not?
Kyla:  Cause he hab dat and dat and dat (pointing at the mustache, beard and hair on the sides, but not the top of his head).

I was speechless and trying not to laugh.  Where did that come from?  Good thing that neither grandpa has any of those hair "issues."

Underneath

This morning Kyla woke me up way too early (because I was foolish and had a mocha yesterday afternoon that kept me awake until the wee hours of the morning).  She graciously climbed into my bed and let me sleep a little (10 minutes) longer, before informing me that she needed her spotting scope.  She's very much into Go, Diego, Go! these days.  And fortunate for her, Jedd has a monocular that he let her (have) borrow.  So she had it when she went to bed and this morning could not find it.

Me:  (groggily) Is it in your bed?
Kyla:  I don' know...
Me:  Go look.
Kyla:  Okay. (returns)  It no in derre. (shoulders shrugged, hands out, palms up)
Me:  Did it fall under the bed?  Look under your bed.
Kyla:  (leaves & returns again)  I no see it unner derre.
Me:  You're sure it's not underneath?  You know how your books fall back there sometimes?  Check underneath.
Kyla:  (pause, while the wheels in her brain are turning) No, mama.  It not unner my neef.
Me:  (fine, I'll get my lazy butt out of bed and help)  Okay, let's go look.

Twirling

Kyla loves dresses and twirling.  I mean, what little girl doesn't?  This morning, she was twirling around in her favorite dress from Gma Kay and Papa (she's really kind of obsessed with this particular dress).  This is what she said, as she stood swaying a little from all the spinning.

Kyla:  Look!  Look at our house!  Look at our house!
Me:  Yes?
Kyla:  It so twoorly!  It is twoorling.
Me:  Oh?
Kyla:  Yes.  I LIKE to twoorl!

Whine

Yesterday I was telling Kyla that we were going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers).

Kyla:  I no wanna go MOPS.
Me:  Tyler might be there today.  You have to show Tyler how to be a big girl at MOPS.
Kyla:  Oh, Tyler be derre?
Me:  Yes.  You need to show him how brave you are and how you don't cry.
Kyla:  No.  I no cry.  I a big gurl.
Me:  Right.  And how you don't whine.
           (pause)
Kyla:  I no eat wine.  I no drink wine.
Me:  Uh.  No, you don't drink wine.
Kyla:  Yah, cuz wine is yucky for me.  I get big, I drink wine!

Fruit

Kyla's proclamation while waiting for me to finish cutting her pear.

Kyla:  Hey Mom!  Fruit are fruit. 

No arguing with that.

Crack

This weekend my parents were in a car accident.  They are alright save some bruising on my dad and my mom broke her collarbone.  I told Kyla that Grandma Kay hurt her neck.

Kyla:  Grandma Kay got a crack?
Me:  Yes.  She did.
Kyla:  She got in the cracky-crack?
Me (stifling a laugh):  What?
Kyla:  Yah, it so in the cracky-crack.

Ummm...  Okay.

Manipulator

After being at the store with Jedd for about 45 minutes, Kyla came home and gave me a big hug.

Kyla: Mommy, I miss you sooooo much!
Me: Oh, Kyla, you're learning to be a little manipulator, aren't you?
Kyla: Yah, I a lady.
Jedd: Ha!  That is so true.  And she learned it from the best.

What exactly is he trying to imply?

Chelan

We spent a couple of restful days in Chelan after Christmas.  Here are a couple of quotable tidbits from our trip.

Driving out of the parking lot one evening, we saw our friends, Skip and Suzanne.  Jedd rolled down his window to say hello.  Kyla wanted her window down, too, so she could talk.  They asked how old Kyla was and she replied, "I two.  My birf-day is comin' in March.  And I like lellow cars!"  (So in case anyone needs gift ideas...)

While at Nana and Poppy's house, we were washing hands and Kyla said, "Oh, this soap white!"  And I said that actually the soap was clear.  "Huh?"  Clear.  "Oh, Clara is my frey-end.  She came to my house.  And Gracie is my friend, too."

Clear, Clara...  I can see the confusion.

- Yes, Clara is our friend from California and she did stay at our house with us and Kyla talks about her often.  And I think Gracie is the little girl who Kyla befriended at Burger King while we were there with Clara and Mason, and whom Kyla also keeps talking about even though they played together for less than an hour.  Clearly, (or Clara-ly) Gracie also made quite an impression.

Clara and Kyla at the Children's Museum

Two, Going on Fifteen

Kyla loves the song Fifteen by 'Tyler Swiff.'  She is even starting to sing parts of it - mostly just belting out, "Fifteen," half a beat late.  If you haven't seen the video (20,000 times), Taylor wears a sundress and is barefoot.

Today Kyla put on one of her new dresses that she got for Christmas.  Usually I put pants underneath her dresses because it's cold out and she doesn't quite understand modesty yet.  This morning she had her own opinion (big surprise).  She put on her dress and said, "I no need pants or socks.  Just like Tyler Swiff."