Santa Claus is coming to town....

Me: So, Liam, what are you going to ask Santa Claus to bring you this year?

Liam: A surprise!

Me: That's a really great idea. What do you think he'll bring me?

Liam: Hmmmm (thoughtful pause).... I know! He could give you a rainbow!

Me: (in awe) A rainbow... wow!

Liam: Yeah! Santa Claus just goes like this (big sweeping movement with arm) and makes a rainbow for you! 

the king

Liam has been cast as one of the Three Wise Kings in the Nativity play at his school! I brought him this fabulous Wise King costume back from Barcelona yesterday and I must say, no sooner was it on his back when he began to really get into character:

Me: Wow! You look gorgeous Liam!

Liam: Don't call me Liam Mammy!! You have to call me King Liam! (Pause)... Or Your Majesty...

Me: Oh! Why, yes of course, your majesty!

 

the big difference between boys and girls

Malachy: Uuuk, Mammy!! (Translation: “Look, Mammy”).

He holds up a little toy figurine to show me. It’s a figurine of a little girl with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a sunhat and a swimsuit and holding a bucket in one hand and a spade in the other.

Me: Yes, Malachy. Is that your little friend?

Malachy: Yep.

Me: She’s lovely!

Malachy: May-de isa durl (Translation: “Maybe it’s a girl”)

Liam: (Butting in) Of course it’s a girl! This is the boy!

Liam shows me a similar little figurine of a boy with short blonde hair wearing football gear and holding a ball.

Me: But how do you know which one's the boy and which one's the girl?

Liam: You know that Mammy!! (looking up to the heavens and sighing in exasperation). Because of the EYES!! Look?!

Pointing to the tiny little eyelashes on the girl doll and the lack of eyelashes on the boy doll

Liam: See?!

Malachy: Yep.

I miss...

When we were away on holiday in Bilbao and San Sebastian last week, after about two days Liam said...

Liam: Mammy, I miss Granny and Granddad

After 3 days he said...

Liam: I miss Miss Cooney (his teacher)

After 4 days he said...

Liam: I miss my friends from school

His order of priority seemed so touching to me…!

cup

Liam: You know? I had a dream that I was a cup!

Me: A cup?

Liam: Yeah. And when I was a cup I was wishing that I was a Liam

brotherly love!?

Liam: Malachy? Do you love me?

Malachy: Yeah

Liam: Malachy? Do you love me 20 euros?

Malachy: Eeeemm... Yeah!

Japan

At the dinner table, Liam is pretending to be a magician and he hides his fork behind his back…

Liam: You see? It disappeared!

Me: Wow! And where did it go?

Liam: It just disappeared!

Me: But where do things go when they disappear?

Liam: To Japan.

Me: Oh!

Liam: And do you know who else is in Japan?

Me: No, who?

Liam: Cinderella… and the 3 little pigs… and the muffin man…

Me: No way! And do you know who else lives in Japan?

Liam: Of course! (eagerly) Séan and Sarah!

Just in case you didn’t know, that last part is in fact true. Séan and Sarah are Liam’s cousins who do, in effect, live in Tokyo. I think this proves that he thinks wherever they live must be a really mysterious fairytale place…

knowing

Liam: (At the playground) Mammy, do you see that little house over there?

Me: Yes

Liam: That's where you go to sit when you're tired and you want to have a rest

Me: Really?

Liam: Yeah. You know how I know that?

Me: No, how?

Liam: (deadly serious) Because I know things. I just know lots of things...

mad old cow

Liam playing with his toy animals, doing all the voices and multiple role-plays in his little imaginary world...

Liam: Mammy, here (handing me a brown plastic toy cow)- you be the mad old cow and I'll be the nice little horse

Me: OK, great...

the winner

Liam: Let's have a race!

Malachy: O-tay (translation "OK")

Liam: Let's see if I'll be the winner. I'm bigger than you so I'm gonna be the winner

Malachy: O-tay

Liam: You see when I was a baby and Mammy was a boy, then Mammy was the winner of the race because she was bigger than me.

Malachy: O-tay

eye spy

Liam: Can you see that little spider, Mammy?

Me: Wow, that's a really tiny spider, Liam!

Liam: I know. I can see it because I have really good eye spy

Me: You mean 'eyesight'

Liam: Yeah, eye spy!

 

shadow

Liam: I know what a shadow is!

Me: OK, what is it?

Liam: Well, its a sort of a person... that goes with a person... but it's another person...

Me: Um, yeah...

death

My father's dog Saoirse died this weekend. Liam has some questions about death:

Liam: When you die, what happens? Does somebody come and take you away?

* * * *

Liam: I know a way you can die. If somebody kills you, then you die.

* * * *

Liam: If Granny and Granddad are so sad because Saoirse is gone, maybe I can go in there and cheer up them....

* * * *

Liam: When am I going to die? Does everybody have to die? I don't want to die!

* * * *

Malachy (age 2): (Holding up his last piece of sausage -the piece that he always saved for the dog) Saoirse? (Pause. Sigh)... Poor Saoirse

dark white

Liam: Mammy, I can't find my toy car!

Me: Which one?

Liam: You know... the one that's red and dark white

Me: Dark white?! What colour is that?

Liam: It's this colour, look!... Points at cream-coloured tablecloth!

spot the difference

At dinner, as usual, Liam is lagging behind everyone else...

Liam: Hey, I know! Let's play 'spot the difference'

Me: Oh, that's easy... your plate's different to everyone elses' because ours are almost empty and yours is still almost full! Come on, eat up!

Liam: No, Mammy, 'spot the difference' is not a race. Oh! But if this is a race, maybe I should eat faster then!

Me: Um, yeah... whatever...

it ain't easy being good...

Me: Liam! Why are you being so bold?! I hope you don't behave like this in school!

Liam: No, I'm always good in school Mammy!!

Me: So, why are you so naughty at home?

Liam: Well, I'm only in school for a little time, Mammy,... but I'm at home ALL day!!

better than you

Liam: Granny,... Grandad's better than you!

Granny: (disappointed) Why is that?

Liam: Because he does better things than you. He takes me to the park and we have picnics and adventures...

Granny: Oh...

remembering...

After 9 whole days of separation, on the phone today:

Liam: Mammy, I don't know what you look like!

Me: (grappling with my emotions) Well, you know what? I look a lot like you!

Liam: giggles

goodbyes

I haven't seen Liam and Malachy for almost 9 days now and it's really killing me. I miss them both so much, it really hurts. Jaime and I are in Barcelona with Lorcan while he's recovering from the cleft lip surgery he had last Tuesday. He's doing really well and we're all dying to get back home to the boys. We chat on the phone every evening and for the past three days my conversations with Liam have ended something like this:

Me: OK, Liam, we better say goodbye now love...

Liam: Mammy?

Me: Yes, Liam?

Liam: (Pause) (worried tone) Can I give you a kiss?

Me: Oh yes, please!

Liam: *smuak*

Me: *smuak*... I love you

Liam: (sounding happier now) OK, bye Mammy!

noisy

Me: (On the phone to my mum who's currently minding Liam and Malachy) So,... how are they behaving?

Granny: Oh, they're being really good

Lots of background noise.

Me: Wow! Sounds like they're really getting into it!

Granny: They're really well-behaved ALL the time EXCEPT when I'm on the phone!! (Muffled voice) Boys! Come on be good now, I'm on the phone to mammy!! Play nicely, please! I can't hear anything!

Liam: (to Granny) But I want to play NOISY, Granny!

More laughs, giggles, squeals, etc...