My kids are four years apart.
That makes me fairly strange in my demographic, but I’m cool with it.
(I actually love it and think it is THE WAY TO GO, but don’t tell my friends I said that.)
I get to experience two completely different realms at once…especially in cognitive development.
Ali’s current mental state tends toward the deeper, metaphysical issues of life.
“Hey Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“When you pray to Jesus and ask him to help you not do something, do you have to go with that, or can you change it?”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, when you pray to Jesus and ask him to help you not do something, do you have to go with that, or can you change it?”
“Can you give me an example?”
“I just want you to tell me the answer.”
“Well, I don’t understand. I need you to explain what you mean.”
“Well, if you were in the car and wanted to pick up your lemonade and prayed that the top wouldn’t come off and make it spill…but then you changed your mind and didn’t want to pick up your lemonade after all. Could you not pick up your lemonade, or do you have to go with it since you asked Jesus to help you?”
I looked back at her in my rearview mirror. And at her as-yet-untouched lemonade in the cupholder.
“It’s fine, baby. You don’t have to pick up your lemonade. Jesus can save His supernatural cup stabilizing abilities for another day.”
…Whereas Noah is pondering on a bit of a lower level.
His new favorite word?
Poop.
But he doesn’t say it with the “oo” like zoo – it’s with the exact “oo” that Snooki puts in “poof”. Come to think of it, that same “oo” is in “Snooki”, as well.
(Or, for those who have miraculously managed to avoid hearing the word Snooki, imagine the “oo” in hoof.)
So now – say it in your head – ready? “Poop.”
When he toots, he says it.
“Poop!”
When he poops, he says it.
“Poop!”
When he strains to get onto the couch, he says it.
“Poop!”
When he hears anyone groan for any reason, he says it.
“Poop!”
And somehow, he’s put it all together, in his most impressive cognitive leap to date…
When he walks in on anyone in the bathroom, he runs over, puts his hands on their thighs, looks down into the bowl, and yells it.
“Poop!”
…because everyone needs a cheerleader.
And not just cognitive development…but gender development as well! For the life of me I don’t remember Eden ever having a fascination with poop. But boys are inborn with feces fascination.
At least he’s a cute cheerleader!
Yes, seriously. I mean really. They start that young being obsessed with it?? It’s impressive, really.
I won’t say how long it took me to figure out how Noah pronounces poop. I’ll just say some people with an extreme southern dialect might pronounce hoof with the same “oo” sound as zoo. Those same people might not watch Jersey Shore either. And they might get hung up on little details like knowing exactly how Noah would pronounce the word poop.
I’ve thought all morning about other words that use the right “oo”. “look” is close, but it has a little too much o and not enough u, and also is not quite quick enough. I don’t know what to tell you… I guess I’ll just have to let Noah call you on the phone.
Although mine are only two years apart, I’m having a similar experience. Although the 3yo has, this very week, posed the question “Why did God make us?” which was a far jump from her usual “poop” conversation. Fortunately, I can just say the word “poop” in my response and she’s distracted from her deep spiritual question.
Ah! Aren’t you the smart one??? ;)
Noah and my hubs & son would get along swimmingly. They’re fans of changing song lyrics and inserting ‘poop’ here and there…it always gets a laugh from the 2 & 3 year old. Not so much from me, since I have no doubt this will carry over to songs in Sunday School & I’ll have to explain why he was singing, “Jesus loves poop, this I know”. I also enjoy having our first 2 babes 4 years apart. The 2nd two? Different story…
Awesome. I have so many more years of scatological humor to go…
My children are also 4 years apart, and I love it too. We are now experiencing the 2nd and 6th grades (think hormones) at the same time. Fun, fun!
I bet that makes 2nd grade look easy, though…
i think it is a boy thing. my noah also likes to insert “poop” and “pee” into every song and laughs hysterically. this gets his little sister going, who’s 3 years younger. great. and since noah is the oldest, i have yet to have these deeper conversations. i always, and sometimes still, worry that there’s something wrong with him. but everyone says he’s just a boy. i guess he is a lot like my husband. why talk when a grunt would do? but evie can talk and talk and talk. but at ali’s level, but perhaps when she’s older…
Yes, it’s definitely a boy thing. You’ll get your turn at the tough questions!!!
Soooo funny!!!
I have two boys 4 years apart… I love it too! They are 7 & 3 and I get the biggest kick out of them! Stumbled onto your blog tonight and I’ve fallen in love, haha! You are hilarious!!
Thanks so much! And welcome to my blog. I think more people should follow our example and try the four years apart strategy. It’s fabulous, isn’t it?