Clothes make the man. Or the woman. Or the girl. Or whatever you want to be.

Personality and temperament emerge earlier than most parents expect. When Maya was just 2, she decided that dresses were not her thing. As a matter of fact, neither were princesses, dolls, n or the color pink. That's not to say she isn't nurturing. Her dolls are stuffed animals instead...like a zillion stuffed animals (thank you Grandparents) and she cares for them like the attentive mother she will become. But at that early of an age she decided that she liked sports, "boy" clothing, and her favorite characters were the strong males, such as the Beast from Beauty and the beast, Chase from Paw Patrol, knights in armor, Batman, you name it. Have you ever met a three year-old girl with a Batman themed birthday party? Well, that's my kid! And I'm proud of her. And I also was NOTHING like this! I was the girl who put on my grandmother's clip on earrings, played with my mom's lipstick and loved clomping around in oversized 80's high heels. I loved Barbie and literally thought my hair would become blonde when I was all grown up. After all, those were the role models of the 80's. 

Almost blonde right?  This is me in 1987.

Anyway, back to my different little prince/princess. She has always marched to the beat of her own drum and I pray the tween years doesn't beat those drumsticks out of her hands!

But just because people identify like the opposite gender doesn't mean they aren't aware of who they are. In July of 2013, Maya, almost two and a half, looked at me when I was changing one day and asked, "when am I going to get boobies?" 

"When you are much older" is what I think I told her. But it's really not so far away, and I want to make sure I appreciate my little beast/power ranger/knight/superhero kid in the meantime.

BEAST!!!!!

Wow was I busy. I forgot the update my blog for the last FIVE years! Silly me. All my wittiness, charm, and charisma have dwindled from the continuous sleeplessness, addition of another child, home ownership, and private practice building. Since I'm old and boring and my word retrieval skills are just not, what's the word? Well anyway, I am rededicating this blog to my children and the witty things they say. I have been tracking both kids' humorous observations, questions, and stories since they began talking. As a speech pathologist, we call this a language sample. As a mom, it's just payback for the torture they put me through. Enjoy this future 16 year old Maya and 14 year old Ari!

Back in 2013, when Maya was just 2, she had an odd focus on her knees and an interesting way of expressing that interest. On a trip to Florida that winter, she was put in shorts with no memory of wearing shorts in the past. She stared down at herself and said, "my knees are outside!" And they were. Smart kid. In synagogue later that month, she then said, "my knees are in shuel!" As was the rest of you, my child. What's up with your knees?

Then the spring before her brother arrived, two-year old Maya sat with her dad and me at the dinner table. She leaned over and let a HUGE adult volumed fart rip. We call a fart a "flootsie" (floots is the Hebrew word). Maya laughed and looked at us and confidently stated, "Maya big flootsie, Mommy big flootsie...." Drumroll...."Daddy big penis!" I think this anecdote might embarrass my husband more than her, but I think it indicates her understanding of anatomy and how the body works according to gender. Boys have penises and girls fart. Both true.

Pictured: Maya and her knees on that Florida trip, Spring 2013