It’s really too bad I haven’t recorded all the random quotes from these little animals.

Oh the joy of the things these kids say. It’s one of the highlights of parenthood, at least with little ones. Almost makes it worth handing over all of my energy, time, money, patience, emotional capacity, independence, lower back health, uninterrupted sleep, general sanity, and ability to keep up with movies I want to see in the theater.

Nashi and Mama were talking about plastic waste and the environmental impact and Mama says “maybe they’ll be able to make that eats or absorbs the plastic, let’s see I think it’s called…”

“A Scrusher Upper?” Nashi says in all sincerity, trying to be helpful.

It’s been really sweet seeing him talk about the environment. He’s also learned to call out the evils of litter. The downside is situations like when we’re walking down the sidewalk on a cold rainy day and he points out some nasty wet gum wrapper and says “litter! That’s not good.” I then think, I should pick up the litter and transport it to the trash to show him that’s what we do in this family, but I don’t, and proceed to feel deep shame about it.

Papaya: Is this too much? (pointing at her food, drink, candy, or anything she’s about to consume)

Me: Yes Papaya, that’s too much.

Papaya: Too much!

This phrase has been her thing since she was about eighteen months old. She takes great joy in the notion that I’ve given her too much of something. Not only has she not grown out of it, but at this point she demands I acknowledge that I’ve given her too much of something for her to get maximum joy out of eating or drinking anything she likes. She also uses this phrase in situations where normal humans say “a lot, please.”

I continue playing into it because she’s a beast on a roll and I’m outmatched against her will. Mama has been sucked into it at this point too. We should probably realize the damage we’re doing – we’re basically signing off on the notion that anything she likes is something she should experience in excess, not to mention bullying those you’re with into acknowledging it for further pleasure. What’s she going to be like at a bar? I wonder if she was some kind of tyrannical lioness in a past life, like a super ruthless Queen of the pack?

“Pshhhhhhh”

Papaya loves her some potty humor. She also loves to pee, and specifically she loves to stand and pee, and even more specifically she loves to stand and pee and hunch forward to watch the pee. The bath is her favorite time to do this. With this stance, she also loves to randomly do some pretend peeing while saying “pshhhhhh!” often while standing over me.

She does the same pretend pooping game too.

“Are you and Papa going to get unmarried?”

Mama was tucking Nashi in one night and I guess he recently heard us arguing, so this was his question for her. This was the first time that he’s vocalized a concern that he parents could potentially break up. At this point, he’s probably been exposed to the notion of divorce in various forms so I guess it makes sense that this could cross his mind. Innocence lost!

We’ve told him that we’ve made a promise to each other as part of being married, so now he occasionally reminds us that we can’t get unmarried because we’ve pinky promised. He also tells us that if you break a pinky promise, you lose your finger. He makes a decent case for staying with my wife.

“I don’t ever want to be a grown up. I don’t want to get pimples!”

This was Papaya, after listening to Mama tell Kai about pimples and mentioning that little kids don’t get it but they usually do when they get older.

“When I hear beautiful music it makes me feel like something exciting is happening.”

Nashi being sweet.

This is the result of just a month worth of jotting down the non-recurring quotes. Just imagine what I’d have if this was a habit – a full book of quotes that only Mama and I would want to read!