Conversations with Smalls

Today's conversation with Michael:

Mom, I don't like your uterus.
Why not?
Because that is where the baby is growing.
And why don't you like that?
Because, babies take a lot of time and work, you know?

Yesterday:
Michael: Ella, will you tell me the story again about the umbilical cord?
Ella: Sure. Once upon a time, there was a little baby Michael and he had an umbilical cord. Then he had to get a shot and he cried and he cried. Then he grew and he grew into his normal.

I think we've been watching one too many videos from babycenter.com. I showed them one once (it's computer graphics of a baby in the womb at different stages of development), and they have begged for more and more. My kids are fascinated by them and it cracks me up to now hear them referencing my uterus, placenta, and the umbilical cord. Nearly everyday Michael examines my belly and announces, yep, it's growing.

The videos have given my kids an unrealistic view of what can be filmed, however.  Michael has also made requests for a video of the baby coming down from heaven and going into my belly, as well as a look inside of a cocoon to see how it turns into a butterfly.

I am overjoyed about having baby #3! But I will definitely feel more overjoyed again once it feels more like a baby and less like a parasite making me sick all the time.

The top two reasons I am excited for another child:

I was taking some pictures of something else when Ella grabbed the magnifying glass and walked up to the camera just like this. Too perfect!

Copy cat picture with the other cutie.

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Orderly Ella

 A few months ago I started finding washcloths around the house, only to discover that my baby Ella likes to get them out to clean. I thought it was just a phase, but she's kept up with it for so long and so often that I'd say it's shaping up to be a full blown personality trait. My girl loves to clean.

It was especially charming on this day, when the kids were outside making giant bubbles with some friends. Everyone was going nuts over the bubbles, when in ran Ella, babbling to herself, "It's dripping all over, we gotta clean it up", as she headed straight for the drawer with the washcloths. Then she ran back and dutifully wiped up the drips as the other kids made the bubbles.
How did we ever get a child like this in our family?!
And how does the same girl make such a blissful, almost artful mess of food all over herself and the surrounding region every time we sit down to eat?

I

On a related note, nearly every other night for the last few months, Ella will start to cry within a few minutes of me leaving the room as she goes to sleep. As soon as I come in, she calms down and says in her most proper voice, "Mommy, my blanket has been messed up." It cracks me up. The way she delivers it feels to my ears like the equivalent of "mother dearest, I would like to bring it to your attention that my blanket is not in its proper position."

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