Sammy’s the most independent of the children and always wants to do things himself.
He had just finished poo-ing and was trying to put on his pants by himself, but was having trouble.
Mummy: Sammy, do you need help? Come here I will help you.
Sammy: (struggling to put his pants on) I don’t need my help!
* * *
Sammy cannot pronounce ‘bicycle’
Sammy: Daddy, can I ride my bi-kosol?
Daddy: It’s ‘bicycle’
Sammy: Bikosol
Daddy: Bi…
Sammy: Bi…
Daddy: See…
Sammy: See…
Daddy: Kul…
Sammy: Kul…
Daddy: Bicycle
Sammy: Bikosol.
* * *
Sammy approaches Daddy, hand on tummy:
Sammy: Daddy, my tummy is <inaudible>y
Daddy: Your tummy is achy?
Sammy: No…my tummy is sleepy
* * *
Sammy is very quickly picking up new words. He gets the meanings much later.
One day, Daddy is busy at the computer. Sammy approaches with a crayon and a page for coloring:
Sammy: Daddy, can you color my picture?
Daddy: I can’t Sammy, I’m busy.
Sammy: Daddy, can you color my picture?
Daddy: I’m busy.
Sammy: No, I’M busy!
* * *
Sammy at three years old has become very talkative. With a limited vocabulary to work with, he comes up with odd sentences.
One day, Daddy is in the bedroom. Sammy runs to the bedroom holding a spoon of peanut butter:
Sammy: Daddy, do you know my peanut butter?
* * *
Sammy enjoys making fun of butts. One afternoon, as soon as Mummy wakes up from her quick nap:
Sammy: Mummy, do you want to see my butt!
* * *
Sammy loves Mandarin oranges. But he pronounces them as ‘nanderin’. One day he sees Pia eating the last Mandarin. Sammy runs to Daddy:
Sammy: Daddy, I want nanderin
Daddy: I think there’s no more mandarin.
Sammy: I want nanderin
Daddy: There’s no more mandarin.
Sammy: I WANT NANDERIN!
Daddy: No more mandarin.
Sammy: DADDY! I WANT MANDARIN! NOT ‘NO MORE’!
* * *
We give the children extra homework at home to keep them sharp. Pia loves doing them some days, and hates doing them some days. Today Mummy had to remind Pia several times to finish her home work. Pia gets annoyed:
Pia: Mummy! When you’re sleeping I’m going to tie your legs!
* * *
Sammy has decided he likes butts, especially his.
One day, while Daddy was working on his computer.
Sammy: (walks up to Daddy) Daddy, do you want to see my BUTT?
* * *
Sammy picks up expressions from TV or from his brother and sister, but he still has problems fitting the expression to the occassion.
One day, Sammy hears someone fart.
Sammy: That’s AWESOME!
* * *
Daddy called home from the office and talked to Mummy on the phone. Meanwhile, the children are playing horse. Sammy is enjoying the game so much he wanted to tell Daddy what they are doing. So he grabbed the phone from Mummy:
Sammy: It’s Achie! And Anya! And Mummy! And we are animals!
* * *
Domini and Pia were seated together in the big chair watching a DVD. Suddenly Pia was crying.
Pia: Daddy! Dominic hit me!
Daddy: (angry) Dominic, why did you hit Pia?
Dominic: She was pushing me.
Pia: No I wasn’t!
Dominic: YES YOU DID!
Pia: NO I DIDN’T!!!
Daddy: Did you push Dominic, Pia?
Pia: No I didn’t.
Daddy: Why did he say you were pushing him? What were you doing?
Pia: I was bumping him.
Daddy: Why were you bumping him?
Pia: Because I wanted to?
* * *
After establishing that ducks migrate to the desert during winter to get away from the cold…
Pia: If ducks go to the desert, then they will have no water to drink. So they need to bring their water bottles.
* * *
At lunch, planning tomorrow’s trip.
Dominic: Can we go to the park where the ducks are?
Daddy: Ok, but I think the ducks won’t be there. It’s winter, and ducks migrate when it’s winter. Do you know where they go during winter?
Pia: Where?
Daddy: They go to a warmer place.
Pia: I know! They go to the desert!
* * *
Dominic and Pia recently watched Ice Age 2, The Meltdown. One of the characters sang a very memorable one-line rendition of “I believe I can fly”, and the children frequently recalled that line whenever they played.
One day, Pia plopped on the sofa, head down:
Pia: (singing) “I believe I can fart!”
* * *
Daddy and Pia in the kitchen, eating. Daddy hears Mummy talking on the phone.
Daddy: Who is Mummy talking to?
Pia: (without looking up from her plate) She’s talking to the telephone.
* * *
We want Sammy to acquire the habint of always brushing his teeth before going to bed, so Mummy always reminds him, “Sammy, brush your teeth”.
But Sammy is still confused about the difference between “my” and “your”. One night, in the living room:
Mummy: Where is Sammy?
Sammy comes running in from the kitchen, toothbrush in hand.
Sammy: I’m brushing your teeth!
… and then runs back to the kitchen.
* * *
Over lunch one day:
Dominic: Daddy, I remembered in the move ‘Over the Hedge’, near the end of the movie, the squirrel drank something that made him move super fast.
Daddy: Yes, he drank a can of cola. Cola has caffeine and caffeine made him very alert and very active.
Dominic: Oh.
(We don’t drink soft drinks at home unless there’s a birthday, so the children aren’t very familiar with Coke, or Pepsi, etc.)
Daddy: Coffee has caffeine too.
Dominic: What is caffeine for?
Daddy: People drink caffeine so they stay awake.
Dominic: (Pondering…) Is that why we don’t hibernate?
* * *
Sammy picks up various phrases from watching cartoons. Sometimes he understands them. Sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he almost does. He recently picked up ‘hot cocoa’.
One day while holding his cup of cold orange juice:
Sammy: Mummy, my hot cocoa is cold!
* * *
A couple of months ago, Pia got some drawing paper, drew a necktie, coloured it with crayon, cut it up, punched a hole in the paper necktie, tied a piece of string, and presented it to Daddy as a gift.
Pia: (beaming and proud) Here Daddy, I made you a tie.
Daddy: Thank you, Pia. It’s beautiful.
The inevitable question came up today:
Pia: Daddy, how come you never wear the tie I made?
* * *
