jun, 27th - wisdom of a three year old....

{pic from my instagram}

day 1224 / 323:

Limi starts crying in the garden because she finds a spider on her knee........

Limi: 'mama, the spider bit me'

Me: ' did the spider really bite you?'

Limi: 'no, maybe it just scratched me because it looks more like a scratchy kind of spider'

i hear a loud thump....Limster runs in

Limi: 'mama, did you hear that loud noise?'

Me: 'yes'

Limi: ' mama, it was me falling over and going splatter on the floor and then my kitchen nibble nobbled (wobbled) because i hit it violently with my foot.'

may, 24th - wisdom of a three year old....

day 1191 / 290:

A. said that instead of 'conversations with a two year old' these days, these post should be called 'wisdom of a three year old' as Limi comes out with her own logic on the world every day......

some recent ones are:

'you can't put your shoes on the wrong feet as then they make your shoes walk funny'

'mama, i can't cross the road by myself now because i'm too small but when i'm twenty then i can maybe cross the road by myself' (twenty is the age that Limi is also going to go on holiday with just Claya and also when she'll do the big, twisty slide at the park)

'you can eat pea skin, strawberry skin, blueberry skin and cheese skin but you can't eat banana skin or egg skin'

'maybe when i'm twenty i'll like tomatoes'

'Spring is lovely because it gets warmer,

Summer is good because you don't have to wear warm clothes,

Autumn is when the air is fresh,

and Winter is good because you can build snowmans.'

apr, 17th - the chat.....

day 1155 / 254:

Limi asked me the 'how do babies get inside your tummy, mama?' question today. i was so tempted to use some sort of stork option.....but instead,  i completely mixed up my biology and talked about eggs and pollen....oh dear. she didn't seem convinced.

i need time to prep for these difficult questions. any ideas on what she will ask me next?

in other news, my main lens broke and the above, is the result.....i love it.

mar, 20th - conversations with a three year old....

day 1127 / 226:

A [talking to Claya]: say Li-mi, Li-mi....can you say Li-mi?

Claya: aaah-ah

Limi [in complete seriousness]: Dada, she calls me aaah-ah

mar, 9th - conversations with a three year old....

day 1117 / 216:

surprises for Mother's Day......

Limi [with huge excitement all over her face]: "mama, we bought you a present today."

me: "did you! what is it?"

Limi [with a bit of concern on her face]: "i can't tell you."

[we've had numerous discussions about the fact that she must always tell me if someone says that it's a secret]

Limi: "are surprises good?"

me: "yes sweets, surprises are good."

Limi [with a naughty grin]: "then it's a surprise."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi: "it's for the couch."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi: "but i can't tell you."

[.....a few seconds later]

Limi [with a very wide grin and almost bursting out of her skin]: "because it's a surprise."

p.s she also made me a Mother's Day card at school that she said they had been told to keep until Sunday but she gave it to me on Friday night.....she was too excited and after hiding it under her bed, asked whether i wanted to see it.....she's going to be no good at surprises this one :)

jan, 11th - conversations with a two year old....

day 1061 / 160:

after a particularly chatty morning....

Limi: 'Mama, i have so many stories in my head and 

they just keep popping out my mouth.'

dec, 11th - conversations with a two year old....

day 1031 / 130:

Limi having a chat with A. on Skype this evening......

Limi: ' dada, if the horses have their ears flat then they're in a bad mood and you mustn't stroke them but if they have their ears forward then you can pat them'

A.: 'there looked like there were lots of happy horses?'

Limi: 'well, there were lots of horses with flat ears and we just gave them some space until they could get into a better mood'

oct, 21st - conversations with a two year old....

day 981 / 80:

whilst making blueberry pancakes with A. over the weekend and listening to Bob Marley, Limi says:

'I like this Gruffalo soldier song'

oct, 2nd - conversations with a two year old....

day 962 / 61:

we've been talking about pets and what Limi would like when we move into something bigger.....

Limi: mama, i would like four red cats and four yellow cats and if they 

jump up onto the table, i will pick them up and say: 

'no cats, no jumping on the table'

me: wow, sweets that's a lot of cats to look after

Limi: mama, you can have one of my red cats

me: and Claya?

Limi: she can have a dog.

p.s thanks for all the lovely comments and for reading. your comments really do make my day.

editor's note: for those who have asked where the jumpsuit is from, it's from our own range - une belle époque

sep, 24th - conversations with a two year old....

day 954 / 53:

this beautiful, vintage toy was given to me by a good friend at my baby-shower. 

he's the original thunderhooves.

Limi: mama, where was i before i was in your tummy?

[yikes, tough question]

me: you hadn't been born yet

Limi: but where was i?

me: you were up in the air

[don't ask....but it's the only thing that came to me]

Limi: up in the air where?

me: well, it's like Claya....before she was in my tummy she wasn't here and now, here she is.....

Limi: she wasn't here, then she was in your tummy and then pop, out she popped....straight out of your tummy

so, my first lecture on the birds and bees went very well then........

aug, 27th - conversations with a two year old....

day 930 / 29:

{Limi putting her jersey on the wrong way round}

me: Limi, your jersey is not the right way

Limi: mama, i'm wearing my jersey the left way

can't argue with that and quite like her style.......

jul 17th, conversations with a two year old....

[Panda's on the left, above and Noah is getting a shoulder ride

p.s. the other pics are in the park rather than on a road]

day 889:

me: Limi, why is Panda in timeout?

Limi: because Panda was saying 'whaa, whaa, whaaa'

me: what did you say to Panda?

Limi: i said that is NOT 'acceppetil' Panda

later.....

me: Limi, why is caterpillar in timeout?

Limi: because i opened the door and caterpillar went out and was running around outside and not listening to me.

me: what did you say to caterpillar?

Limi: i said: 'caterpillar i gave you two warnings and you are NOT listening so you have to go into timeout', then i went and got caterpillar and said: 'i love you very much caterpillar'

yikes, you would think that Limi is forever in timeout by the amount of discipline that she dishes out to her toys.....

and yes, i have been known to say 'that is not acceptable behaviour Limi' :)


p.s. thanks for all the votes below.....i'm looking forward to those back tickles!

jul, 8th - conversations with a two year old....

day 880:

me: Limi, who's playing in the Wimbledon final today

Limi: Andy Murray

me: and.....

Limi (adamantly): Winnie-the-Pooh

me: i'm not sure that Winnie-the-Pooh plays tennis

Limi (adamantly): he does.

later....the two players are walking out onto Centre Court......the camera focus on Murray

me: who's that?

Limi: Andy Murray

camera moves to Roger Federer.....

me: and that?

Limi: Winnie-the-Pooh

so now you know, Winnie-the-Pooh won at Wimbledon this year.

jun, 20th - conversations with a two year old....

day 863:

disciplining a two year old.....yikes, it requires a lot of commitment and follow through.

we introduced timeout quite awhile ago and it's worked for us.....i prefer timeout to the naughty step because well, we don't have any stairs for one (making it tricky to implement a step punishment) and secondly you can do timeout anywhere.....we've had to implement it in an airport, a shop, a friend's house.....my only rule is that if we give Limi her two warnings and that doesn't work then we have to follow through with the timeout. we always insist that Limi looks at us and apologises after timeout (i think it's so important to learn to say a sincere sorry, gracefully) and after that we always explain why she went into timeout, then give her a squeeze and tell her how much we love her.

it seems to be working for us at this stage. generally now, we only have to give two warnings without having to follow through with the timeout.....which is a lot less traumatic on all of us. except, over the past weekend....she seems to have sussed this punishment out:

[Limi had scattered some brochures from the holiday cottage all over the floor of the kitchen]

Me: Limi, please can you pick up these brochures and put them back in the basket

[repeat 3 times]

[Limi acting up and ignoring me]

Me: Limi, I'm giving you two warnings and then timeout

[Limi still acting up]

Me: That's one warning

[Still ignoring me]

Me: That's two warnings

[Limi reluctantly walks to the brochures and starts to pick one up, then she comes across to me and says....]

Limi: Mama, I want timeout.

my sister burst out laughing and i was trying, unsuccessfully, not to crack my stern facade. she had obviously worked out that timeout was far more fun than picking up all the brochures. time to implement plan B.

p.s. she picked up all the brochures.

jun, 1st - conversations with a two year old....

[Limi with Fynn Lucas, the brand new baby of our friends from day 800]

day 845:

Limi: i want three mamas, three dadas and three Kellys

me: what will you do with three mamas, three dadas and three Kellys

Limi: squeeze them, squeeze them, squeeze them

may, 15th - conversations with a two year old....

day 828:

the windows at the chapel {see day 821}. such a beautiful backdrop......

Limi picks up her calculator phone the other day......

Me: Limi who are you calling?

Limi: the sun

Me: why are you calling the sun?

Limi: to tell him to stop sleeping.

it's been a very wet April and May in London.

mar, 31st - conversations with a two year old....

day 785:

Limi: 'I have a baby in my tummy.'
Me: 'What's your baby called'
Limi: [without hesitation] 'Thunderhooves' 

I'm 23 weeks today with a thunderhooves :) we're pretty excited.

feb, 7th - conversations with a 2 year old....

[Limi getting creative with my eyeliner in the morning]

day 731:

me: "Limi, you're going to be a girl-pirate for your Monkey Music dress-up"

Limi: "i want to be a parrot"

me: "hmmm....well you could be a girl-pirate with a parrot on your shoulder"

Limi: "i want to be a parrot with a pirate on my shoulder"

unfortunately, my skills don't extend to parrot costumes..........

pics of the pirate (no parrot) to come.