Kids Say The Darndest Things!

Ryan continues to amaze us with his extensive vocabulary and reasoning and processing abilities. We're astounded by how much progress he's made in the past 6 months, since he didn't really start talking until Christmastime. It's hard to believe there was a time when we were concerned that he wasn't verbal enough; now he rarely stops talking (not that we're complaining!). Below are three recent conversations we've had with Ryan that made us chuckle.

Baby Belly
I think one of the reasons God gives us children is to keep us humble. I've discovered that a 2-year-old is similar to a good girlfriend - you know, not the ones who tell you what you want to hear, but the ones who tell you truthfully if an outfit makes your butt look too big! To illustrate, here is a recap of a recent conversation I had with Ryan:

A few days ago Ryan asked me, "Baby in you belly, Mommy?" I replied, "No, Mommy does not have a baby in her belly anymore," and reminded him that his new baby brother, Gavin, was the baby that used to be in Mommy's belly. His response was, "Oh, okay, Mommy. One more baby in you belly?" I reassured him there was not another baby in my belly and he innocently asked, "Why you have big belly? Eat too much, Mommy?"

Thankfully, I not only have a sense of humor, but have also gotten used to inquires from strangers about my "cute little baby bump!"

Blame the Dog
We figured we'd take advantage of Mike's 6 weeks of paternity leave by using that time to work on potty training Ryan. Our hope is that a "divide and conquer" approach to potty training (i.e., one parent rushes Ryan to the potty while the other watches Gavin) will increase our chances of success. So, whenever we notice a stinky odor or he audibly "toots," we ask him if it's him who smells and if he needs to go poo-poo on the potty. Without fail, he responds, "No, that's Guinness" (usually Guinness is nowhere in sight!). When we inform him that Guinness isn't even in the room, he either insists it was Guinness or shifts the blame to Gavin or Daddy! I have no idea where he's learned to pass the blame!

Ice Cream Pig
Ryan has inherited Daddy's fondness for (more accurately, addiction to) ice cream. Many evenings after dinner we go to Hoffman's for homemade ice cream. Ryan usually insists on sampling each of our ice cream flavors (and by sampling, I really mean he eats at least half of our ice cream!). If we protest, he likes to remind us, "It's good manners to share." There's not much of a comeback to that - it's humbling to be outwitted by a 2-year-old! Last week, Mike ordered a waffle cone with chocolate and peanut butter ice cream (one of Hoffman's most popular flavors). We've tried to limit Ryan's exposure to peanuts since we weren't sure if he was allergic to them. However, he insisted (i.e., begged almost to the point of a temper tantrum) that he be allowed "just one try" of Mike's ice cream. Mike finally gave in since we were fairly confident that he wasn't allergic to peanuts since he's eaten plenty of foods such as fast food french fries that are cooked in peanut oil. Naturally, Ryan loved the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream and not only ate it all, but finished Mike's waffle cone as well! (Luckily for me, my chocolate and marshmallow ice cream was not nearly as well received!) Ryan then grunted / snorted like a pig and exclaimed, "Me ice cream pig, Daddy!"