Ava has entered a stage in which she’s very interested in the differences between boys and girls. She’ll often make it a point to tell us a particular individual has either a vagina or a penis.
We were picking Ava up at daycare yesterday, and as we were getting her coat and mittens on, the father of one of her friends walked by. “That’s Olivia’s daddy. He has a penis!” We laughed quietly as we stuffed Ava’s arms into her coat, then bustled her out of the building ASAP.
Lately, Ava’s been doing a good job of verbalizing the things she sees. I was sitting with her at dinner the other night, and she looked into my eyes and said, “you have pretty eyeballs.” “Thanks,” I said, unsure. Another welcome milestone occured while Ava was sitting on the counter with me last night as I cooked her supper. I was standing in front of her, trying to ask what kind of vegetable she wanted, and she said, “I’m frustrated!” I asked her what was frustrating her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. I’m sure it was me.
It’s very amazing to be around Ava. She picks up everything, and she has a memory like a steel trap. It’s particularly cool now to hear her talk about things that happened before she could talk, or talk so well. I’d always wondered if kids had any way to store memories as anything but images before they had the ability to give words to those memories, but I guess what happens is that the words come later, like explaining a dream.