Turtles and Tweet Tweets

Toddlers are so cute. I don't know what kept us entertained and amused before Theresa became a toddler. Toddlers are a G rated comedy that screens all day long. All this talk of "terrible toddlers" - I think it's just a ruse so that the parents can keep the toddler, and the funnyness all to themselves. You should get a toddler, if not in your family, then somewhere in your life. Because they're just too funny not to have around.

Our toddler is infinitely confused about the difference between turtles and birds. Well, she doesn't think she's confused, but one day, the penny will drop, and I hope she won't be too devastated when she finds out turtles don't fly, and birds don't swim.

It started with the beautiful painting of a turtle that we have by her changing table. Consequently, turtle was one of her first words. Mama (which means, help, I need something, give me), Dadda (that lovely guy who cuddles me and lets me play with the spanners and ratchets), turtle (the animal that I see every day when my nappy gets changed).

Ok, then in her room, she has lots of birds - birds on the walls, a bird mobile by the window, a tweeting bird that is attached to one of the bars on the cot. So I would say, "bird, Theresa, bird. Tweet tweet."

Well, you can see how it happened. She got hooked on the "tweet tweet" part and very quickly, "tweet tweet" turned into "turtle." She sees a bird in a book and she says "turtle". She sees a bird in a tree and she says "turtle." She sees a bird on the wall and says "turtle". And then she points to the turtle on the wall and says "turtle," turns to the other birds on the wall and stills ays "turtle." Even when we were at music for toddlers yesterday, there was a parrot in the book so Theresa pipes up "turtle".

She honestly thinks they're the same thing: turtles and tweet tweets. Oh well, she's only one and a half.

In other cute Theresa stories, yesterday I found her doing "round and round the garden" on her palm, complete with a "tikatikatika" sound when she had walked her fingers up to her arm pit.

And then yesterday, when we were looking at "row row row your boat" pictures, she went behind me and started pushing me, laughing deliriously because she was making me row -and joining in with a happy toddler scream at the crocodile.

Too cute.