"I have a tiny uterus!" and other ways of introducing yourself to people

So today we returned to a local university neurology lab for continued experimentation on Sweet Pea.  When she was born, we checked a box on some form that said something to the effect of "we'd love for random scientists to contact us about putting our kid in a rat maze to be studied."  Soon after we returned home, the calls came.  We've been going to this one place for years now.  It really is pretty fun.  We've participated in a few studies and today's batch deals with numbers and math understanding from infancy and beyond.  We really love these ones and look forward to going back year after year.

But anyway...

So we're driving there today and Sweet Pea is obsessed with this coffee mug from which I was drinking.  It came from a spot we have visited a few times, so she was asking about our visits there

"Was I still in your belly when we went there?"


"No.  We went when you were a baby and then when you were older, too.  You weren't in my belly then."

The conversation continued along a few tangents and then she wanted to know, "Why don't daddies have babies in their bellies?"


We discussed how every body is a little bit the same and a little bit different.  We all have bones and a heart inside.  But some other things are different.  Girls, for example, have something in their body called a uterus.  That is where babies grow in a girl when they grow up.


"Oh.  When I get bigger, will I have a uterus?"


"You have one right now.  It's inside your body but it is very tiny right now.  When you get older, it will get bigger and it will be big enough to grow a baby."

She was (finally) satisfied with this particular line of thought, so I got some peace for the next 15 minutes of the drive.


When we arrived to the lab, we had to wait for someone to come out to the street and buzz us into their parking lot.  While we waited, she wanted her window rolled down.  No problem.  We waited a few minutes.  I read email on my phone and she enjoyed a little bit of autumn breeze.  The lab assistant finally walks up and I wave hello through my closed window and prepare to speak to her.


Sweet Pea, however, already has her window open so greets our guide with, "I have a tiny uterus inside my body!"

The undergrad assistant just says "Oh?" and looks at me like I'm the oddest and possibly worst parent she has ever met.  I just laughed and said, "Hi.  I'm Tracy and I'm in midwifery school.  This is what the daughter of a midwife sounds like.  Now, where do I park?"

Giggles with Daddy

I've got a headache tonight.  So I'm taking bedtime off.  Michael is managing it all, although I will go up for rocking/nursing in a little while.  Sweet Pea is out of the tub and I heard her run into her room.  There's no more "pitter patter" of feet.  It's all stomping these days.  :)

I heard her flop onto the floor, laughing up a storm.  And many giggles and squeals from her while Michael said things in silly tones and giggles, too.

I still have the headache, but at least I'm smiling.  It's wonderful to hear them laugh together, have so much fun together.  I and she are blessed to have such an awesome man in our lives to be her Daddy.  It's fantastic that I can take the night off while he can manage everything, and make her laugh at the same time.  That's not everyone's world and I'm thankful to be so blessed.  And they are just so funny together.  The antics they come up with!  I love listening in to how they relate to each other and know this is setting such a great foundation for a strong relationship for years to come. 

Sushi

Sweet Pea and I had a busy, but boring, weekend with cleaning and shopping and just household stuff.  She tolerated it all very well so today when I picked her up from school I thought we could go get lunch.  I figured she choose pizza or cheeseburgers or whatever.  I told her she could have whatever she wanted.  She responded, "Sushi!"

That's my girl.

But not only did she want sushi, she told me how to drive to the place.  And when we walked in, the main waitress says, "Hello, we have quail eggs again!"  Our family is clearly known for some favorites.

We sat at the sushi bar and she ordered "little red eggs with a yellow egg on top" (tobiko/uzuka), "red fish" (tuna), "crab and not spicy avocado sushi" (California roll; not spicy avocado is just avocado; she sometimes thinks wasabi is "spicy avocado.").  She also ordered miso soup.  Okay then!  She devoured all that but I did get some CA roll from her.  I also grabbed some scallop and sweet shrimp for myself.  Oh, any my own personal tobiko with quail egg because neither of us are good about sharing that.

It was a very fun lunch, albeit a bit pricier than the McD's I thought she would choose!  The staff had a lot of fun with her and the other customers were pretty amazed at her sushi ordering and devouring skills.  Soooo my kid.  I guess those first three months of pregnancy during which I could only stand to eat a couple of their rolls really affected her.  ;)