me and my big mouth!

Lorcan is going to great lengths to try to start talking more coherently. He's currently into shouting a lot too. Seems to like the sounds of his own voice and enjoys experimenting with his registers (earplugs, anyone?).

Today, he decided he needed to intervene in a fight between his two big brothers (yes, of course, they fight... they're brothers!).

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy...." he yelled from the hallway into the kitchen.

"Yes, love, I'm on my way", I replied

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy, Mummy...." he yelled persistently until I managed to get to his side.

"Ee-am hitt-een Ma-ky... Ee-am hitt-een Ma-ky... " he repeated hysterically. (Translation: "Liam is hitting Malachy")

"Why you naughty little telltale you!" was my only thought.

death, a reprise

Still intrigued by Liam's thoughts on death last night, this afternoon I decided to put the same question to him myself. To my surprise, he came up with a totally different answer this time:

Mummy: Liam, what happens when you're dead?

Liam: Well, you can either go to heaven... or you can become a ghost.

Mummy: Oh! And which would you prefer?

Liam: Hmmm. I don't know. I haven't decided yet.

relaxation?

Last night before bed, we overheard the boys chatting:

Malachy: Liam, what happens when you're dead?

Liam: You just lie down and close your eyes, like you're asleep.

Malachy: But what happens?

Liam: Nothing! You just look like you're asleep. I think being dead is probably very... relaxing.

girl talk

Liam: It's nice to have a girl in the house

Mummy: Why?

Liam: Because girls talk cute.

Mummy: awww

Liam: I wish I had a sister!

Mummy: But you have brothers! I never had a sister either you know.

Liam: You didn't have a sister, but you were a sister!!

but why?

Liam: Mummy, you lied to me!

Mummy: ¿¿??!! What? No I didn't! What makes you think that?

Liam: You said the wishbone would make my wish come true!!!

Mummy: Oh, um... that's not exactly what I said, love. I said you can make a wish on the wishbone if you win... but there's never any guarantee it's going to come true. Some things are just impossible... and anyway, I don't even know what you wished for!

Malachy: [butting in enthusiastically] Huh! Liam wished for chocolate and we didn't get it!!!

Mummy: Oh! You never told me that!

Liam: Because you said you have to keep your wishes a secret!!

Mummy: Ah, yes, I did, didn't I?

Liam: Yes, you did. And now I have no wish! All I wished for was a chocolate bar for me and Malachy and Lorcan every afternoon... forever.

Mummy: Is that all?!

* * * * *

because I'm a [small]talker too...

It's the middle of January but I don't care, I still toddle around everywhere singing:

"Dinda Bell, dinda bell, dinda all a-waaaaay"...

Yes, that's "jingle bells", of course! And I have a beautiful singing voice and excellent pitch, I'll have you know!

:D

when i don't know what to say...

Liam: What do you say when you don't know what to say?

Mummy: Well that depends...

Liam: Sometimes when I don't know what to say, I say "I love you"

mental photographs

Sitting on the loo...

Liam: You know, sometimes I take photos with my brain.

Mummy: Oh! And how do you do that?

Liam: I just look at something and look at it... and look at it... and make it slow down really slow... and then I take a photo of it with my brain.

Mummy: And why do you do that?

Liam: So that I can take it with me and remember it another time.

A while later in the kitchen...

Liam: See! I just took a photo of you with my brain just then!

Mummy: When?

Liam: Just now when you were taking out the yoghurt. Now I can keep that in my brain and look at it tomorrow when I'm at school!

Mummy: I think that's cool.

Liam: Yeah, it is.

secrets

After singing and story-telling Lorcan and Malachy to sleep tonight, Liam remained awake. I told him he should really be able to go to sleep by himself now and he agreed. So, I kissed him, told him I love him, bade him good night and made my exit. Seconds later, he was down the bunk bed ladder and behind me on the landing:

Mummy: Liam! Why did you get out of bed?

Liam: (upset) Mummy, I want you to stay with me. Come back and tell me another story.

Mummy: You've already heard three songs and three stories. Your brothers are asleep. It's late. I'll bring you back to your bed and tuck you in, but then I have to go. I've got some work to do.

Liam: (tone of genuine desperation) No! Please no!

Mummy: Liam, what's wrong? Are you afraid?

Liam: (tone of reluctance) I didn't want to tell you because it's a secret but, yes.

Mummy: But what are you afraid of?

Liam: The nighttime. I'm afraid of the nighttime. And that's not the only secret. (visibly nervous) There's another one. (deadly serious) The second secret is that I'm just not a sleeping person, Mummy, I'm not... I'm just not a sleeping person. I'm not even tired so I think I'll come downstairs with you instead of staying in my bed. I'm just not going to sleep.

After guiding him gently back to his bed, rubbing his head, making him take five or six long, deep breaths and whispering a handfull of sweet nothings into his ear (i.e. less than 1 minute later), my sweet "non-sleeping" boy was fast asleep

:)

inheritance

*Cutting Liam's nails, after bathtime tonight, only one nail left to go, he runs off to fool around with Malachy...

Mummy: Liam, come back! There's still one nail left to cut.

Liam: Okaaaaay

*He returns

*Clip Clip

Liam: I never knew it took so long to do ONE nail!

Mummy: Ha! Where did you get that sarcasm from?

Liam: From you, Mummy. I got it from you.

*Come on, universe! He is only 5!!!

kissing

"Mummy, kissing you makes me tired"

dancing shoes

-"You know, Granny's going to buy me Irish dancing shoes so that I can dance in Irish"

Liam's first ever poem

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Eating lots of bananas,
Where do you think he put the skin?
Into the king's pyjamas!

* * *
by Liam
aged 5 years, 1 month

* * *

a poem by Liam, age 5

There was a buzzy bee
Buzzing around my nose...

(And what do you think happened next?)

He said:

"I beg your pardon,
I thought you were a garden"

* * *
by Liam
aged 5 years, 1 month
* * *

relax

After telling him off...

Liam: Well, if you love me, you should relax.

broken hearts

Overheard yesterday:

Liam: If your heart breaks that means you’re old.

Maeve: Are you still alive if your heart is broken?

Liam: Yeah, you are… but you just get a little bit old.

mummies and daddies

Liam playing "house" with his friend Maeve...

Maeve: Come on, Liam! It's time to play now!

Liam: OKAAaay... But if we're going to do that baby thing with Malachy again, can I be the Mummy this time???

cuteness

Watching a National Geographic documentary on the African Plains, after the bit about the love birds, Liam observes:

Liam: Yeah, yeah... these love birds are very cute but they can bite your finger!

forgetting again

Liam: Daddy's gone to Barcelona

Malachy: Yeah, Daddy 'don 'a 'Lalona

Liam: When are you going to Barcelona with Lorcan, Mummy?

Mummy: On Thursday.

Liam: When Mummy goes to Barcelona, you and me will sleep in Granny's house.

Malachy: Oh, wow!

Liam: And we'll take Nemo and Bob [the new goldfish] with us too

Malachy: Oh, wow!

Liam: Mummy?

Mummy: Yes, Liam?

Liam: And this time when you're all gone to Barcelona I think I'm going to forget the English words!!!

[See what I meant about awareness*]

away

Liam: I love you Mummy... more than anything

Mummy: I know you do, honey. Me too.

Liam: And if you went away, I wouldn't be able to love you

Mummy: Why?

Liam: I don't know

Mummy: You can love people even when they've gone away, you know.

Liam: Can you?

Mummy: Yeah. Uncle Eric's gone away and we still love him, don't we?

Liam: Yes... but that's not YOU, Mummy!!!