Surprise Me Sometimes and Buy Me a Toy, Kids Talk

“Mom, you should surprise me sometimes,” Matthew told me today.

“Like what?” I asked.

“You know, like buying me a toy or giving me some money,” he replied.

“I only have lots of cents, but not many dollars,” he added.

Copyright 2014 Anna Lozyk Romeo

Do You Even Know Who I Am? Matthew The Superman

Today, we have a drawing by Matthew, with a few enhancements made by me, like the Superman "S" and the word "Superman" in pencil, traced over by Matthew in green.

Note that the logo is cut out because I made a mistake and wrote the "S" the wrong way. Well, what can I say? I get confused when I try to write upside down, but Matthew wasn't having any of that!

Sometimes, I feel like I push him too much at his age (3 3/4), but I think it’s good exercise to start him on drawing and writing. Matthew is now able to write the letter "M" very well. He can spell and write (copy) his name. He can also draw a face, the sun, a full body (as seen above), and a snowman. In his pictures, he added Krypton (the green crystal) and a bunch of colored Smarties.

Matthew loves superheroes, and Superman is still his favorite. He was Superman for Halloween. A few weeks ago, I had to hide the Superman suit because we had to go out, and there was no way he was going to wear it, especially when it was freezing outside. The unfortunate part is that I forgot where I hid the suit! However, I promised him I’d get him a bigger size for next Halloween.

So, the other day, we were walking through our subdivision with other children and their nanny. One of our neighbors came out of the house to collect the newspaper. It was almost noon, and Betty was still in her nightgown. "It's my lazy day today," she announced.

We chatted a bit, and then Matthew interrupted, yelling, "Hi!" She waved and said, "Hi, William."

I smiled because she had called him that once before. But then, right after, Matthew called back to her, "Do you even know who I am?" She didn’t hear him well, so Matthew continued, "I am secretly Superman." She heard him and replied, "Hi, Superman," and we all laughed.

Maybe it’s time to say something to her, or else the only Superman boy on our street will be William.

Don't Forget Carrot In My Chicken Soup

It’s official—Matthew is now registered for Junior Kindergarten (JK) and will start next fall. We ended up enrolling him in the public school system, as opposed to other options like Catholic or Montessori. The reason is that I thought it would be hard on him to go full-time for five days, so I opted for the public system where they still have two or three alternating days per week. Okay, I’ll admit, it would be hard for me to let him go too.

On Monday this week, we delivered the last piece of paperwork to the school. Matthew is eligible for the school bus, but I thought we’d test out how far we’ll need to walk. Yes, I’m going to walk with him.

It took us 20 minutes to walk with Matthew sitting in the wagon. I think we can do it.

On the way home, we stopped by the playground. Matthew loves kids his age and isn’t afraid to talk and play. As soon as we arrived, he engaged with a boy a little older than him and a girl about his age, who were siblings.

He raced them into the play tunnel, up the stairs, and slid down the double slide with the girl. He loved the fact that they slid together. Afterward, the girl went to play somewhere else, and the boy went back into the tunnel.

Oh, it was a lot of fun for Matthew, so he decided to direct the play.

"Hey, boy, you stay in the tunnel, and I’ll go get my friend," he said to the boy.

"Hey, your friend is my sister!" the boy yelled from the tunnel.

"Okay then, I’ll get your sister," Matthew waved at him.

"Hey, girl, do you want to come and go up the tunnel and slide?" he asked her.

"I want to play on the ropes," she replied.

"Okay then, let’s play ropes," Matthew answered, abandoning the boy.

Well, the rope game didn’t last very long, as the mother of the boy and the girl called them to go home. The girl stayed behind and almost cried, not wanting to leave. The mother and the boy were leaving the playground.

"Hey, boy, you forgot your sister!" Matthew yelled after him.

"Matthew, don’t worry, they know," I replied.

Today, I told Matthew he would be having chicken soup for lunch.

"Okay, Mom, and don’t forget the carrot," he replied.

I just hope that all the demands from this three-year-old don’t grow proportionally, but I will definitely miss him when he goes to school.

The Best Secret Ever, A Secret Re-Defined

I was talking on the phone with my sister while Matthew was upstairs with his Daddy in the computer room. He knew I was on the phone, and since he always wants to talk to the people I’m talking to, he eventually picked up the phone.

"Hi," he said.
"I am fantastic," he added, answering my sister.
"I have to tell you something—Daddy is making a card for Mommy for Christmas, a photo of me," he told her (it was Ukrainian Christmas today). Meanwhile, Daddy, in the background, was telling Matthew that it was a secret.
"It’s a secret! Daddy is making a photo of me for Mommy," Matthew continued.
"Mommy, it’s a secret! Don’t tell anyone," he added, running over to me after the phone call.

"Matthew, that’s the best secret! I won’t tell anyone," I replied.

Matthew hung up the phone, but came back a couple of seconds later.
"And I’m secretly Superman, okay, I got to go now. Bye-bye!" And that was it.

The News Guy

Toys, toys everywhere. We live in toy land. We don’t have a big house, so containing a child in one small space full of toys is tough. We gave in and let it be.

This Christmas, we treated ourselves to a new television, a flat screen. It was time to retire the old beast. We strapped the new TV onto a stand, but with all the stories about TVs falling on children, we continue to remind Matthew that it’s dangerous to hover around it.

The other day, for whatever reason, Matthew ran toward the TV with his toy. As we needed a moment to scratch our heads, I raised my voice to stop him from going any further. Matthew got a little shy. I gave him a serious look but then lowered my tone to explain again.

"Matthew, you don’t want to fall into the TV," I said, for whatever reason.
"And yeah, I don’t want to be a news guy, too," he replied, laughing.

"Come here, you joker. I need to give you a hug and a kiss," I said, opening up my arms.

Too Much Growing Up

How can Matthew forget about something we took away from him? Everywhere he looks—on the internet, in stores, and newspapers—there’s the Nintendo DS.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to our local mall, Upper Canada Mall. They have a few little attractions—a playground, rides, and spinning wheel games.

When we arrived at the amusement area, I could immediately see Matthew’s eyes widen. He noticed that the Nintendo DS was one of the prizes in the spinning wheel machine.

"Mommy, get this, get this, the Nintendo DS!" he got excited.

"Matthew, we don’t know if we can win it," I replied.

"Mommy, win this, win this!" he kept asking.

"Okay, let’s see," I said, taking some cash for three tries to accumulate points for the prize.

While I was spinning the wheel, Matthew cheered me on, jumping around and pointing at the game console. "Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS!" he yelled. Yes, yelling. Luckily, there were no spectators.

Well, we didn’t win the Nintendo DS, but we did get a soccer-ball key chain.

I tell you, the marketing strategies for toys and video games are not helping me.

Later that day, we went home, and Matthew took his regular nap. When he woke up, he started asking again about the Nintendo DS.

"Mommy, can I get the Nintendo DS?" he asked as soon as he woke up. Talking about persistence.

"No, Matthew, not yet. You need to be a big boy, like 5 or 6 years old," I told him again for the millionth time.

"But Mommy, I’m 3 years old, and 5 years old is too much growing up!" he replied.

I smiled.

Where Is God?

So, we taught Matthew how to pray. Sometimes, we have to ask him millions of times to pray before bed, and other times, he just does it on his own.

His nightly prayer consists of making the sign of the cross at the beginning. Then he blesses everyone and himself. In the prayer itself, he thanks God for everything, including "nice good day," "good food," "breakfast, lunch, and dinner," "thank you for going to the zoo," "thank you for playing with friends," "thank you for ice cream," "thank you for Mom and Dad," and anything else that happened to him during the day. He concludes with the sign of the cross, blesses everyone again, and blesses himself.

All of this is accompanied by heavy jumping around the bed on his knees, and when he’s finished, he drops his body on the pillow. One time, I dropped down with him.

"Matthew, that was a very nice prayer," I praised him.
"Matthew, do you know where God is?" I asked him.
"On the shelf," Matthew replied, pointing toward his dresser.

Theoretically, he’s very correct. We never got around to hanging the cross on the wall.

Things We Only Say At Home

So, we have fun. I sometimes pinch him on the bum, and he pinches me back.

One day we went outside to meet our local nanny and all her children. Matthew loves playing with them, but he adores Lady Margaret, the nanny. When we arrived at her place, the first thing he said to her was, "I pinched Mommy's bum."

"Matthew, don’t say that. We can only say that at home," I explained, laughing inside.

"I understand," Matthew replied and ran off to play with the children.

Another time ...

Another time, we were playing hockey outside. Matthew is really good at hockey for his age, always making me run down the street to catch the ball. We only play with a ball for now.
- 'Oh Sh!%' - I heard him say.
- 'Matthew this is a bad word and we do not say things like that when things go wrong' - I told him.
He’s at the age where he understands, so instead of ignoring it, we try to explain why certain words aren’t okay. They will pick up bad words eventually, so it’s better to teach him right from the start.
- 'Matthew we do not say bad words ever' - I explained again.
- 'I understand' - he confirmed.
The things kids pick up from TV! They know when and where to use them. We watch kids' channels most of the time, but when we switch to something else, he picks up the bad words. But he knows now and understands.

Later that day in the evening ...

I was talking to Matthew about something, and I remembered what he had done while playing hockey.
- 'Hey Daddy, Matthew said a bad word today' - I called to my husband.
Matthew smiled.
- 'Oh no Matthew why did you do that for' - Daddy asked with a serious face.
- 'Daddy we only say it at home, right' - Matthew called back to Daddy.
- 'No Matthew bad words, we never say them' - I started to explained to him.
Matthew looked at me kind of confused.
- 'F$#@&en Damit' - he replied, and walked away with smile on his face.

Oops! We definitely missed that one. After that, we had another little talk. Matthew now understands.

Only Three Years Old & Wants His Own Car

We were eating lunch together and talking. Daddy left the table to get something. I told Matthew that after lunch we have to go to the car dealership to look for a new car.
- 'No, no, I don't want to go to the car dealership' - Matthew demanded.
I explained that we need to get a second car.
- 'Daddy needs new car for work, and Mommy will take the KIA' - I told him.
Matthew started to think, and he is very obvious usually by grabbing his head or tapping on his forehead.
- 'What will Matthew drive?' - he asked with both hands in front of him, almost demanding.
I thought that was very funny and cute.
- 'Well, you can drive your red wagon' - I replied.
He looked at me, first surprised and then laughed.
- 'Oh that is funny' - he jokingly replied.

My Next Politician To Be Always Knows When To Skip Numbers

We often take Matthew to the local coffee shop for sweet treat, sometimes a cookie, a bagel with butter or his favorite timbits (cut centre from the doughnut). Matthew usually places his order and then we do ours. That day he insisted on having timbits. I advise him that he was only to have three. At the counter, I told him out loud that he only to have three timbits. I ensured that the clerk behind the cash register heard, and she did.

- 'So Matthew tell lady you are going to have three timbits today' - I told him.
- 'Matthew speak louder so lady can hear you' - I added.
- 'Okay three timbits' - Matthew replies to me.
Then he turns around to clerk and trying to speak loud.
- 'Four timbits, please' - he places his order.
She laughed and got him four timbits.

The other day we were coming back from visiting our local English garden. As always Matthew is very friendly with people by saying Hi or talking to them.

While walking out, three ladies were passing by. I was tagging on the back trying to take some flowers pictures. When I caught on, I joined the conversation.

- 'He is the next Prime Minister' - one of the ladies said to me.
- 'This is not the first time someone told me this' - I replied.
- 'Ask him who is the Prime Minister of Canada' - I told her and she did.
- 'Stephen Harper' - Matthew replied proudly.
- 'What is your name?' - another lady asked him.
- 'I am Matthew and I am three' - he replied.
- '... and next year I will be five' - he added.
- 'You know why he said five' - I told them.
- 'Why?' - they asked.
- 'Because he really wants Nintendo DS and he can have it when he will turn five' - I answered.

Funny enough today while out shopping, Matthew started his greeting round in the store. An old man came up to him to whom he said Hi, shook his hand and asked him.

- 'Are you a politician?' - he asked.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied not knowing what it is.
- 'Will you take taxes away from us' - he continued.
- 'Yes' - Matthew replied.
- 'You know this is not the first time someone told me this' - I told the old man.
The man laughed and walked away. Daddy came and picked up Matthew.
- 'No you will not be a politician' - he whispered into his ear.

I'm Eating A Chocolate Vanilla Mouse

- 'Matthew what kind of ice cream is this' - I ask while he was eating his ice cream cone.
- 'Mmmmmm its a mouse' - he replied.
- 'A mouse, what's that' - I asked surprised.
- 'It is a swirl ice cream, not squirrel' - Daddy corrected him.
- 'I am eating vanilla-chocolate swirl ice-cream coooone' - proudly with ice cream all over his face he corrected himself.

I turned my head away and started to laugh. Matthew could not remember the 'swirl' word, he knew was similar to 'squirrel', so he picked another furry rodent a 'mouse'.

Warning! Chocking Hazard - Do Not Eat It

Matthew is now three years old and is starting to behave like one too. I don't know if it is me, but he showed some changes right on his birthday. On the day of his big day we went out for a small lunch. During the lunch Matthew was acting like a little man, no more booster chair, sitting on his own chair and enjoying his meal. With a little shyness on his face went up to the server in the kitchen area and asked for 'after lunch treat' - the ice cream.

I also noticed that Matthew wants to read and is very curious what is written everywhere. 'What does it say here?' - he would ask. Couple of days ago we walked to our local supermarket. It is about 1 km walk one way. It is a nice walk through the park and little trail. I nice walk full of nature's surprises.

At the store Matthew got himself another figurine - The Iron Man 2 Mark V, the one with the suitcase. He is always so fascinated when in the movie Tony Stark's iron man suite in the suite case morphs into the Iron Man. I also bought him a bun to munch going home.

At some point, out of blue Matthew grabs with both hands nice green grass. Okay I thought he will fill up his pockets again, no he started to eat it. 'Oh Matthew, spit it out, spit it out' - I yelled. 'Phew' - luckily at the same time he was eating a bun. The soccer field grass is usually sprayed and full of chemicals. 'No eating grass' - I said firmly. Then going up the hill, he started to reach out for the tree with a smile on his face. 'No eating trees either' - I said it again.

I will check with the doctor, may be there is something like 'green pigment deficiency' or simply he is still teething, which is true.

As the journey continued, he took the Iron Man toy from me and tried to read what was written on the packaging. 'What does it say here?' - he asked. 'WARNING CHOCKING HAZARD' - I read. 'In other words, do not eat the iron man?' - I explained. 'WARNING DO NOT EAT THE IRON MAN' - Matthew repeated. 'Well, warning also could be for DO NOT EAT GRASS OR TREES' - I continued. Matthew laughed, but understood.

Last night we were going out. As daddy was strapping Matthew into the car seat, I tried to test his knowledge and to see if he remembered the WARNING word. I pointed on the WARNING word in the car, 'Matthew can you read this?' Matthew looked closely, thought about it and replied - 'WARNING DO NOT EAT THE CAR'.

For Love Of Pete

Children learn fast. When we are angry we have tendency to use bad words. I did it - once and twice. The parrot started to repeat, so I had to stop. For love of the Pete is the safest saying for me around Matthew - it really covers all the angles of frustration. Love and Pete, it cannot get any better.

Matthew is now speaking very clearly, and builds perfect sentences. He also understands everything, but has very selective hearing. He picks up everything we say. He uses later. He even sometimes repeats our conversation - a technical one. But then I also wonder - when children pick up those bad sayings, how do they know when to use it?

I knew that For Love of the Pete will become his one day, and it did. When first time he was saying it, we were not impressed. We did not even know what is was, but is sounded bad, very close to Italian swearing. I asked my husband - have you been swearing in Italian around him? Slowly we figured out, and now whenever Matthew sees someone acting funny, doing something that is funny he has his own saying.

For love of Pete this lady is crazy! Or for love of Pete this man is crazy! - and he laughs out loud. Never mind he told me once 'For love of Pete, mommy is crazy'. What's next? The 'oh my Goodness' is slowly creeping in.

By the way, to follow up with the Santa Mommy post. I ended up dressing up as the Santa. Matthew enjoyed it very much. Wasn't even scared and he took a picture with me - but I know why. I forgot and started to speak normal to him. He kept looking back, thinking I was in the room. May be next year I hire Santa to do the job - I can only see him laughing at me, and he may think for a long time that all Mommies are Santas.

Kids Say the Darndest Things - NO Bath Time Please

Life with Matthew been very exciting and entertaining as usual. Kids always say the darndest things, and this is another one for me to report on. I am very blessed that Matthew is able to express himself at that early age. He is officially 2 years old and 6 months, however, he still thinks that numbers don't change, so for him 2 years and 5 months.

Last week we been hit with some flu or cold (cannot never differentiate), and Matthew has not been himself since then. He would get irritated very easily, change his mind in the last minute what he wants to do and what he does not, and struggling with his constantly running nose.

Couple of nights ago, all day I been reminding Matthew that tonight is a bath time. He has no choice but to wash his stinky feet. He agreed every time with a smile on his face, but do you think he would do it? Let's see.

Its been a long day for all of us. Matthew didn't really want to go sleep and did not want to drink his milk either. Okay we let go. Then time for a bath. Matthew does not want to get undressed, he cries - 'No bath time please.' At some point we just let him cry in his bedroom. He calmed down by himself and came out. We talked, but no not able to convince him. I played with the water, I put some toys - still no, not interested at all. Finally I lured him with some splashing for him to come closer to the bathtub. He came. So we started to talk, and this is after 45 minutes of convincing, some little yelling (which never worked), and talking back and forth. Poor Daddy from all that eventful evening ended up sleeping through the best part of our conversation.

So both of us standing by the bathtub.
'Matthew will you take bath now?' - I asked.
He did not responded, just looked at me.
'Matthew please say yes, Y E S.'  - I spelled the word yes for him.
'Yes.' - He answered softly and not very confident.
'Okay Matthew O K A Y?' - I spelled the okay word for him.
'Okay.' - he answered again softly and still not confident.
Matthew is thinking very hard (literally steam is coming out his ears).
We are looking at each other, eye to eye, then suddenly...
'Mommy spell NO.' - Matthew demanded.

Well on the end I gave him bath anyway. I splashed his shirt, so he had no choice but to go inside the bathtub anyway, of course after little fussing. Once in he told me: 'Mommy go do laundry Matthew's shirt'.

Handyman Or Candyman

By now probably all of you figure out that I will be writing a lot about Matthew. This is my 24/7 job, a job I absolutely love and it is worth writing about.

Today, I will list cute things Matthew says everyday. His vocabulary is absolutely amazing, however, sometimes, he has little difficulty remembering the right pronunciation or even structuring the sentences. It really sounds so cute, hopefully you can hear the same.

'Mommy I need a waterlemon' - Matthew said.
'Matthew I think you meant a watermelon' - I replied.
Never mind after while the waterlemon becomes contiguous word.
'Honey we should get more waterlemon for Matthew today' - I told my husband.
'Mommy (my second half calls me Mommy), I think you meant a watermelon' - he replied.

'Mommy baba and dzido lives in Mr. Saga' - Matthew said.
'Matthew its Mississauga' - I replied.
By the way, baba and dzido, means grandmother and grandfather.

'Mommy I want McDonald handburger' - Matthew demanded.
'Matthew its McDonald's hamburger, and you don't want to eat it, its not good for you.' - I replied.
These days it is very easy to learn from the commercials, and he learns fast.

'Mommy I am going to play panio now.' - Matthew told me.
'Matthew how about playing p-i-a-no?' - I asked.
'Okay.' - he replied, and walks away.

'Look Matthew little girl Melody says - Hi' - I told Matthew.
'Hi Medoly, I am Matthew, how you doing?' - he told Melody.

'Matthew this is an elevator, would you like to go up?' - I asked.
'No no no alegator mommy!' - he yelled.
Well, for some reason we cannot take him to the elevator, he is scared; and it has nothing to do with the alligators.

We taught Matthew the full home address, from home number, to street name, to town name.
'Matthew where do you live?' - we ask.
'I live ### Street Name in Aurora' - he replies.
So every time Matthew sees Aurora sign, he get excited.
'Look Mommy, Daddy Inaurora sign on the road'.
It gets even better, when we tell him that lady Mary (our neighbor) lives in Aurora.
'Oh no that's wrong' - Matthew replies with serious face.
He thinks only Mommy, Daddy and Matthew live in Aurora.

The latest and greatest. I got him Halloween dress up suit. Matthew will be the handyman. We got home and started to test all the tools. Matthew puts hardhat on, safety glasses, and picks hammer to hold.
'Mommy look I am candy-man' - he tells me.
'Matthew you are a handyman, but you will be a candy-man after you go trick-or-treat' - I replied.

If you have not seen yet, here is picture of Matthew taken in August - Good Bye Summer & Welcome Autumn Full Of Good Memories.

Giving Thanks Everyday

Another year, another Thanksgiving weekend. We all probably agree that we should be thankful every day not just during Thanksgiving day. But those events have purpose, they are reminders, and Thanksgiving day is here to celebrate how thankful we are for everything around us. Even little things matter.

In our house we always thank each other. Thank you in fact is a very popular word. The word that is very often used by Matthew also. He is now 2 years old and 5 months (still remember bringing him home from the hospital - time definitely flies). Matthew also still argues with me that he is 2 years old and 4 months. I am sure he will find out soon that the numbers do change, like in his age.

Matthew learns fast, and here are few examples of how thankful he is every day! These are spontaneous moments, we don't even ask for - just out of blue Matthew is always thanking us. This is obviously result of us always thanking him for his doings. Note he has a bit difficulty with connecting words like 'and' and 'for', but they are coming along.

'Mommy thank you delicious chicken soup' - he loves chicken soup, and insist eating by himself, Ouch!
'Daddy thank going playground with Matthew' - he can recognize any playground in town.
'Nonna thank you Birthday cake' - wants birthday cake every time we mention birthday, and he sings for himself too - 'Happy Birthday Matthew, Happy Birthday Matthew'.
'Mommy thank you going outside' - outdoor kind of kid'
'Mommy thank you going Superstore' (our local supermarket) - knows all the supermarkets in town.
'Mommy thank you buying Matthew's toy' - like every child likes toys.
'Mommy Daddy thank you eating breakfast, together' - he still thinks every meal during the day is breakfast.'
'Mommy Daddy thank you going church with Matthew' - knows Sunday is a church day.

And the list can go on.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (celebrating or not) - and I thank you all for your visits and kind comments always.

Kids Say the Darndest Things - Wait A Minute I Have A Big Idea

Daddy taught the little guy about the 'new idea', but Matthew made his own 'big idea'. 'Matthew I hurt my leg.' Matthew with serious face would point his finger upwards (the index finger of course) and reply - 'Wait a minute I have a big idea, let me get a band-aid'. Oh this kind of reply always puts smile on my face.

I tell you lately he not only makes me laugh, but also surprises me. Matthew has big ideas every day. The other day he came to the kitchen with his toy shopping card on his head.
- 'Mommy mommy I am a rocket' - very excited he yells.
- 'Wow that is amazing Matthew' - I commented.
- 'Mommy how do you go up' - he asked looking at me with his big eyes and serious face.
Now, how do you explain thrust to the two year old. Well, this is where mommy says the darnedest thing.
- 'Well Matthew if you make a little stinky with your bum, it may work' - I explained.
Matthew kind of stunned with the answer, looks at me and then.
- 'Brrrrrr brrrrr brrrr' - makes the farting sound and takes off to the living room.
I guess it worked, and I laughed while finishing up washing dishes.

Then this. Seems like Matthew lately did develop slight interest in space explorations. He can very well recognize Earth, Saturn, Mars, Stars and Moon on the picture. As a matter fact, he learned to look for the moon in the sky at nine months and to be one of his first words (mun). So today we sitting together reading and looking through books. Suddenly Matthew looks at me and says, 'Mommy I wanna telescope to see a moon.' May be after all I will have to send Matthew to school soon, especially when asking questions like that. He very well knows that in school he will be learning to 'read, color, write, play, sing' (in his words). According to him he is ready, as he told me this the other day -  'Mommy I am ready to go to school' - while holding a medical toy briefcase on his side. But then he is also ready to go to the 'sandy beach' while walking around with my big pink bag and my shoes on. Just try to picture this.

Kids Say the Darndest Things - Daddy Is Not Listening

In few days Matthew will be 27 months, that is two years and three months and really can talk now. Still have little issues with putting sentences together, but he can tell you a story with just the words. In addition to counting and alphabet, and almost reading, Matthew knows almost all car makers. Just by seeing the logos he knows its Toyota, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Audi, Mazda, Infinity, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford and GMC. I though I throw that in, as I am really proud of him.

Every day I get to hear new lines from him, and today is the one to tell.

After dinner, I get to wash dishes, and Matthew and daddy watch Wiggles DVD. It was time for Matthew to have some milk, and he wasn't co-operating with daddy.

'Matthew why are you not listening to me' - I overheard him saying.

'Matthew get over here and have some milk' - daddy is asking Matthew again.

Next thing I see Matthew crawling on fours into the kitchen. I look at him and he looks at me.

'Mommy, mommy' - he raises his voice.

'Yes, Matthew' - I answered.

'Mommy, mommy - daddy not listening Matthew' - he said.

'Oh daddy is not listening to you' - I repeated.

'Yeahhh' - he confirms.

Hope you enjoyed another great line from Matthew.

Sometimes I Wonder What Children Think When They Do Things

Sometimes I wonder. Few years ago I was sitting on my backyard and I was enjoying nice weather. It was kind of loud, because children in other backyards were playing. I didn't really mind. However, I overheard this one incident that made me laugh.
- 'What did you do that for?' - a mother asked one of the twin sisters; in the mean time one of them was crying.
Silence, and no answer from the sister in trouble. Now its all mother talk.
- 'How would you feel if someone put your head under the water?' - a mother asked.
- 'How would you feel' - she asked again.
Silence continued and mother kept talking trying to discipline the twin in trouble.

So sometimes I wonder why children do that. Explore. Have Fun. Discover. Action and reaction. All that probably. Since that incident I have now my own child, and sometimes I wonder what he is thinking too. The other day we went to the playground. At that time there was a grandmother with two children, a boy and a girl. He was trying to play with them, but at the age of almost two you think they are playing together, yet no. If you observe carefully they are in their own worlds. Just hanging out close.

Matthew

Matthew is very happy and polite boy when comes to playgrounds, but when he sees other kids running around and doing crazy things, he laughs and then he joins them. My heart sometimes stops - running without breaks, sand flying. However, today he wasn't so bad. He was playing in the sand and moving the sand from one place to the other. Then who would thought. He takes his full hand of sand in his hand, and puts it all on the girls head. So spontaneous, that I didn't have time to stop him. So innocent too, because he started to laugh (really laugh), while I am trying to clean the girls long hair.

- 'Its okay' - the grandmother said.
- 'No no it is not' - I said.
- 'I am sorry again' - I said.
- 'Mathew why did you do that for?' - I said to Matthew.
- 'Why do that' - he asked.
- 'Yes, why?'- I said.
- 'Why?' - he said.
Finally I caught on to his play on words game.
- 'Matthew, please say you are sorry' - I asked.
- 'Sorry' - Matthew said.
- 'Its okay Matthew' - the grandmother replied.
Matthew laughed.

Children? Things they will do. I think I prefer when he hugs girls instead, because if they fall at least it was a good intention.

Kids Say the Darndest Things - The Parrot Talk

Watching Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 been very exciting for three of us. There were moments of happiness, sadness, surprise, shock, excitement. You name it. All that for three of us.

Olympians fall down the hill. Not a pleasant view for all of us. Ouch, ouch something I will have to say. With Matthew around repeating everything we say, definitely there can be a possibility for him to pick up some words you don't want him to know yet. But yet, did happened.

(watching tv)

Matthew - Olimpics, Olimpics. Watching Olimpics.
Mommy (me) - Matthew man is going to jump.
Matthew - Oh man jumping, ready set goooooo.
Mommy (me) - Matthew watch, man is jumping high.
Matthew - High. Juuuumping. (yes he likes to emphasize his words)
(pause, man falling on his butt)
Mommy (me) - Oh Sh_t!!!
Matthew - Ohhh Sh____t, Ohhh Sh_t, Oh Sh____t.
Mommy (me) not responding, not reacting so Matthew stops to repeat. Sporting event changes to commercial.
Matthew - Mommy more sh_t. (looking at me)
Mommy (me) - Matthew wait few more minutes and it will be back. (looking at Matthew and trying hard not to laugh)
Matthew - Ohh baaaack. Olimpics back.

Next time Mommy needs to watch her language.