We may not be the best parents, but I swear we’re not keeping Thalia up late to watch Saturday Night Live Either. And yet, the ghost of Chris Farley lives within her.
Mommy…remember when we went to the park?
I do, Thalia.
That was fun! And mommy…remember when I did a somersault and you said, do a somersault Thalia, and I did it all by myself?
Yes Thalia, I do remember that. What about it?
That was so fun!
I’m not entirely sure why everything now starts with “remember when…” We did not get a Babycenter weekly email describing the “Remember when…” stage and frankly, I’m considering asking for a refund. But as she turns 2.5 tomorrow (wow!), this is indeed the stage she is in.
Mostly the events are small: Remember the time I woke up and I was crying? Remember when we had a pajama party and made popcorn? Remember the movie about the Rat who made the soup?
But this week’s remembrance took the cake:
Mommy, do you remember when I was in your belly?
I do, Thalia. I remember very well when I was pregnant with you.
And do you remember then how I was in your belly and wanted to come out? So I yelled, help! Help! And then you took me out, and then I was in an egg and I came out of the shell and I didn’t yell help help anymore and then I was in the hospital and then you held me in your arms?
Actually, Thalia, that’s not totally the way I remember it. But you know, I was pretty tired. It’s entirely possible.
38 shards of brilliance… read them below or add one
What a brilliant post – and a brilliant little gal!!!Funny how most children go through that stage – both my boys did. The best was my eldest asking me if I remembered the day I got married to daddy – he did – and he had a long description of the events!!!
I think it is related to the age when they actually realize, and can verbalize, that they do remember stuff that happened in their past. Making them curious about the past in general.And I do love how kids recreate reality. Imagination. It’s a wonderful thing. Let’s hope they keep it all their lives.
HA. Q does that all the time.“Remember when I was a baby and I slept all night long with my binky”I’m like — WHAT baby are you talking about cuz that wasn’t you sister.
Ian asked me yesterday if Gabe’s cousin had a baby in her uterus.He couldn’t figure out why she only had one kid.
Perhaps the hospital had you on more drugs than you thought and that’s EXACTLY the way it happened!
You took her out yourself? Think you could teach me how to do that?
priceless.
What did they put in your IV anyway??
Yeah, we still have “remember that” stories and he’s 4.5. What’s amazing is the stuff he really does remember! It makes me think I have to be a little more careful because I guess he’s already forming memories for life. Or material for his therapy sessions…
Future Blog Her conference speaker.
We’ve just left the non-stop “remember when?” phase and have now firmly entered the incessant “why?” phase. Funny, annoying, and cute…all at once.
I like Thalia’s story better.
Thalia’s version sounds a lot less painful. We have just entered the Why & Because phase. Remember sounds like a helluva good time.
… ah if it were only that simple.
hilarious – you’ll have to keep that one for posterity. thanks for sharing! Happy New YearBeth B. (mommy to a 4-yr old hatchling of my own)
What a stitch. “Help help!”
My youngest insists the OB for my oldest installed a zipper, just like on her coat, so all they had to do for Second Son and her to be born was open and close the zipper. I’m ok with that version.
I’m actually curious to see how long it takes for one of her friends to hip her to how other babies are born.
My family insists that I am still in my “remember when” stage. I am also told that I went through the “Why?” stage more than once, about once every 4 months I would start it over again.I am probably pretty lucky I was born into a species that doesn’t try to eat their young.
So, whenever you crack an egg to fry up, does she scream, “ahhhhhh!!!! my sister!!!!or brother!!!!”???She is adorable and funny and adorable times 10000.
So ironic. TOday my 4-year old was saying to his sister, “Remember when we were in mommy’s tummy and we ate everything she ate and then I told you to get out and you did?” That folks, is birth order.
Ah, in my house, instead of “Remember when,” it is, “Mommy, tell me a story about when I . . .”Which means I have to narrate the event my child is remembering, start to finish. Preferably with gestures and sound effects. Preferably four times in a row.I like to tell myself he asks me to do this over and over and over again because, being a writer, I must be an EXCELLENT storyteller. But I am pretty sure it is actually just cosmic retribution for some terrible wrong I committed in the past. Like forgetting to return a library book, or something.
She’s a sharp one for sure. I loved that stage. It’s the how come stage that is killer. How come the sky is blue? How come we sleep at night? How come my shoes have to be on the right feet? It never ends.
Omigosh! I LOVED that Chris Farley sketch! “Remember when?” Classic!
Happy New Year!Q is also starting to describe things in the past, which gets entertaining to interpret if you weren’t also there. You saw a what??
That didn’t happen at our house with our kids. This is obviously some variation on the “why, why, why?” stage or your kid is very weird
Just kidding.
What?? Yours came in an egg? So not fair because I didn’t get an egg with any of mine. Hmmm. Which would be harder? Giving birth to a 9 lb baby boy…or a 9 lb egg? Just a thought.
Fantastic. What an amazing girl.You know, my just 3 year old is slowing down a bit on the “Last Time” stage, which sounds remarkably like the “Remember When” stage.Maybe Babycenter sent you a “Last time” stage notice. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t ask for a refund, anyway.
I think I’d prefer a 9lb baby to a 9lb egg – more flexible. She sounds like a hoot!
You’ll be sad when “remember when” gives way to a favorite of a four-year-old who was mine years ago: “Lemme tell you something, Mom…”
I think IIIIII was the one saying, ‘help! help!’Awesome post.
Pure class. And purely classic.
Awesome! Thalia rocks. You should get her to do all the Chris Farley sketches… except maybe that one where he was a male stripper competing with Patrick Swayze. Remember that one? That was awesome.
BWAHAHAHAHA! That’s hilarious.I’m waiting for the post where you say she says to you, “Remember that time when I lived in a van down by the river?”
echoing Mama T on that, which is exactly what I thought when I read this, followed by – god, I hope she never imitates the “so I don’t “SMELL” like normal people, and, okay, maybe I don’t “SHOWER REGULARLY, OR EVER,” and, sure, maybe I’m not “ATTRACTIVE,” or even “DECENT-LOOKING,” …and then suddenly, wham!, she’s being carried away from you by an errant trapeze-wire attached to her back.’cause that would be bad.
Snicker. I love her creative description of the birth!
That has got to be one of the sweetest things ever!! She is quite a cut-up. I love the Chris Farley comparison. And I’m crying over mamatulips comment. HAH-LAR-RE-OUS!!
The little angel has in the past three months begun begging me to recant her history to her at all times. She wants to hear about the time a mouse came to our house when she was a baby. She wants to hear the story of when she learned to walk. I love that she’s giving me the chance to tell her her own history and create those family stories we all have. I can picture Thalia doing the same thing.
I’m waiting for the post where you say she says to you, “Remember that time when I lived in a van down by the river?”
That’s a hell of a memory she has!