Tag Archives: toddler

Anatomy Talk At Two and A Half Years Old

Today marks Avery’s two and a half year mark since entering our lives. Up until she turned two, I wrote a monthly memory post consisting of a number of memories correlating to the number of months she turned.

two and a half years old, memories, kids, toddler, funny

Although our wild tot gives us more than enough memories on a daily basis, I’ve strayed from trying to write them all out on the blog. Many are shared on my social media pages, but we simply can’t keep up with all of her words and actions!

That said, one thing has us cracking up lately, so I figured I’d share it here. At two and a half, she’s a non-stop chatter box who is talking about excavators being busy working one second, goes right into something about a cat the next second, and then says Daddy is eating with a spork. Which is true, I use a spork for all of my meals. It just makes sense!

But that’s not what I’m talking about, I’m talking about her already becoming versed in human anatomy. We don’t try to make up some fluffy foo-foo names for private parts, we just tell her what they are to avoid some extended explanations later in life. So now, without warning or being prompted, Avery will say out loud…

Mommy and Avery have vaginas, and daddy as oooonnnneeee penis.

This is usually followed with her repeating “penis” two or three more times. It happens at dinner, playing outside, or, naturally, in the bathroom.

We simply smile and tell her she’s right. Then she into singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or just waving and saying “Hi Mommy, hi Daddy.”

Oh how far she’s come! We love her so much, and she gives us the best laughs and lots of love each and every day.

two and a half years old, memories, kids, toddler, funny

Avery, I hope we read these memory posts together as a family years from now and share the laughs all over again. We love you!

Are your tots good with knowing human anatomy, or were they when they were younger?

Toddler Smiles: Fake vs Real

At two and half years old, our toddler daughter is catching on to what it means when we say “smile.” We’ve only had the camera in her face since day one, so it only makes sense that her smiles are coming around.

toddler, smiling, cute, baby, parenting
Nope, not smiling!! What is this place?!

She’s come a long way in developing her smile since then, and even knows how to fake a smile. Like, for instance…

toddler, smile, smiles, cute, kids, parenting

Still cute, but definitely not a smile. We only hope she faked it on purpose!

Going through the recent pics we’ve taken, I have found several smiles that are fake and some that are genuine. Of course, after scrolling through, “Blog post!” sprung into my head. And now, here we are.

Let’s move on and see the fake vs real smiles from our toddler as of late.

smiles, toddler, cute, family

It’s not a super wide-grinned happiness smile, but this is in fact a genuine smile Going Mom caught on camera. A little unsure? Yeah, but real nonetheless.

 

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Another real one here. Helping Daddy cook in the kitchen is a surefire way to put a smile on her face.

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Fakers!! This is a result of her getting tired of me telling her to sit still and smile. I called her out on the fake smile which resulted in….

toddler, cute, eyes

Here boo-boos on her lip and face are from falling face first while riding her WOOM 1 Balance Bike. She wasn’t even moving, just sitting on it! She’s recovering fast and just has a little scab on her lip left now.

A photo posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on


No question, wearing her new beach robe equals an obvious real, albeit cheesy, grin.

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This is one I’m not sure on. It has both real and fake qualities. Maybe she’s unsure as well?

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Real. Playtime in the backyard with Mommy always yields a happy girl.

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This one seems rather forced, but I’d like to say playtime with Daddy in the backyard also makes her happy. I’m playing the ignorance card if it’s fake and just going for real here.

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Okay, this is forced. Confirmed fake toddler smile here.

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Phew, I think Mommy joined Daddy in the fake smile from our toddler club. Still both beautiful girls though!

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And Mommy wins it back with an excited and real smile! She’s keeping her eyes on a spiderweb on our back porch roof which spooks her out.

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Subtle, but it’s a half real smile from a cute little girl. I don’t think we even asked her to smile for this one. Oh wait, we ALWAYS ask for a smile.

toddler, smile

This is a Happy-to-be-me-and-free genuine smile! Running around like a wild child shouting “We’re having fun!” Love this picture!

A photo posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on

Fake. She was doing it just for the NuttZo. Can’t blame her though!

As you can see, she’s getting it down. Soon she’ll perfect the fake smile and we won’t be able to tell what’s real and what’s not. Then we’re in big trouble. As if her bottom lip weren’t enough!

Luckily, we’re seeing more real than fake smiles from our precious toddler, and hopefully it stays that way. One thing I know is that our whole family smiles when we’re together.

magnesium, deficiency, anxiety, salt bath

Does your kid have a fake quality they know how to use?

Can you spot it or does it fool you sometimes?

Moving On From The Big D

I think it’s safe to say we have moved on from the big “D”, and no, I don’t mean Dallas. Any Mark Chestnutt fans? I’m not talking about the Big D Texas Marathon either.

big d, dallas, diapers, parenting

Despite the fact that I live in the suburbs of Dallas and have run many marathons in the past, I despise going into the city mainly because of the constant construction and traffic so it’s just not appealing to me. That, and my long distance running days are long gone……by choice.

Oh yeah, I’m most certainly not talking about the other Big D know as Divorce. Although I know a great guy who moved right past his Big D and is now happier than ever, I’m perfectly happy as is. Thanks to Going Mom for being such an amazing wife and mother! Anyway, the Big D I’m referring to would be diapers.

YES!

Okay, technically, No, because we still rely on Honest Company Training Pants overnight and sometimes when running errands, but we have definitely moved on from cloth diapers. I shared about our cloth diaper collection/routine on this post, and while I highly recommend that route over disposables, it’s still a lot of work.

Avery and I have many memories of putting diapers together. She would sit in her Mamas & Papas Baby Snug or on the bed in our guest room as I put the inserts into each diaper and I called out each color to her blank baby stare.

Helping daddy put together cloth diapers
Helping daddy put together cloth diapers

It seemed like it wasn’t getting through at the time, but now she’s a color-naming and counting whiz! Remember, parents, always talk to your babies! Their entire growth and development depends on hearing you talk to them.

She’s far from perfectly potty trained (I think I could even use some help sometimes), but it’s mainly undies from here on out. We have seen some impressive “snakes” followed by her announcing the movement simply by saying “Hiissssssss!’ and I *insert Chandler’s from Friends way of speaking* couldn’t be more proud of our daughter. As for her, I think she’s slightly annoyed with me…

potty training, toddler, poop, funny, humor, parenting

Guess I can’t blame her. Sorry, Avery!

While we’re on the topic of potty talk, our 2.5 year old is already learning anatomy. She’s been aware that her and mommy have vaginas for a while now, but when she tried to say the same about daddy, I had to quickly let her know otherwise. For reference, here’s a recent conversation we had….

Me: Okay, Avery, we need to wash your hands before lunch.
Avery: Mommy and Avery have vagina, daddy has peanut.
Me: —————–
Avery: Penis
Me: So we scrub our hands with soap for 20 seconds…..

And now we hear this several times a day. At least she no longer says peanut. Is that a good thing?

Meh, whatever the case, it’s bittersweet moving on from the diaper part of parenting. It’s awesome because, diapers, but sad because that means growing up. As always, it’s too fast. That’s one cliche that will stand the test of time as truth.

But we have plenty of fun ahead and she constantly reminds us how we will always be new parents each and every day as she continues to drop new bombs on us. Unfortunately, that’s a literal statement at times.

Do you remember the day you realized diapers were done?

If you still use them, are you impatiently anticipating the day?