The Toddler Addendum to the Open Door Policy

Ever since I’ve had some awareness about me, I’ve been a relatively modest person. I didn’t walk around in the locker room in my cheerleading sports bra any longer than just to change clothes. I didn’t live in the “naked hall” in the Tri Delta house. I didn’t change in front of my female roommates post college. I’ve given birth in front of Ben, and I still shut the door to the bathroom.

However, nothing breaks the modesty rules like having a child. For me it began at the eight week OB appointment. You know the one I mean – the appointment with the apparatus. I saw that thing and figured that my body was no longer my own. How right I was.

It makes sense really. First, your child lives in your body. Then if you breastfeed, they practically live on it. Then they live attached to it – by your leg, your arm, your waist, your brain, your heart. The adage, one hand, one heart is actually way more applicable to the mother child relationship than the husband wife one.

So now, the girl who was never really all that comfortable with being naked has become a mother who doesn’t think twice about it. I can’t recall the last time I went to the restroom alone or didn’t have company in the shower, and honestly, it’s ok. We’ll have plenty of time to address the complexity of body image. The longer we can put that off, the better. For now, let’s throw modesty out the window. I just hope no one’s peeking into that window.

My newfound laissez faire attitude regarding modesty doesn’t extend to the internet, so I don’t have an appropriate picture of either of us that relates well to this post. I’ll just post a funny naked picture of someone else’s baby instead.

Sometimes She's A Little Scary

We’ve been hit with a language bomb in the McMurrey household. Our baby girl who a month ago used to spout out phrases like “Mommy read” and “Daddy kiss”, has now graduated to a much more sophisticated manner of speaking worthy of her toddlerhood. It seemed to happen overnight. Some of Marryn’s recent bon mots have included the following:

“Daddy’s panties have flags on them.” Ben would want me to explain here that she is referring to his boxers. He does not, in fact, wear panties, but that’s how M sees them.

“Trust me Mommy. It goes here,” after I questioned her puzzle solving capabilities.

“My medicine is purple. It’s sweet” Has anyone else had a cough the entire month of October?

"I’ll see you later,” as I dropped her off at school. It’s a shame she has such trouble transitioning at school drop off. Yeah right.

This is her "get a load of this"expression.

Marryn has also apparently developed a sense of memory recall more suited to an aged pachyderm. She remembers A LOT, especially the things I’d rather she didn’t. Like when I say “Dangit” and “Heck”. (Granted these are tame “curse” words, but it’s still jarring to hear them coming out of a two year olds mouth.) We’ll go weeks without seeing someone, and she will bring them up out of the blue, and talk about the last time we saw them. I will hide the leftover Halloween candy, and like the annoying kid at the carnival who wins all the games and makes the carnies mad, she finds the secret cabinet. She knows that My Little Pony is on TV on the weekends instead of Dora The Explorer.

I sound like I’m bragging, but really I’m just amazed. When did she get so with it? What will she say next? Is my child an evil genius? More importantly, will these recent developments make her easier to potty train? Dangit, I hope to heck it’s so.