From the mind of Boy Wonder

Some selections of what Boy Wonder’s three-year-old mind has come up with recently, followed by explanations—because not everyone lives in my head.


“Grandma, how is your purple Elmo?” (My mother slipped on some ice a couple of weeks ago, bruising her elBOW quite colorfully.)

“Do ogres have big butts?” (This question, along with others along similar lines— “Do all dragons have fire come out their mouths? Why does that monster have two heads? Are there red monsters here?”—inspired by World of Warcraft, which Boy Wonder has taken an interest in watching Dragon play lately. Check back in a few years for Boy Wonder’s new hit single, “Ogre Got Back.” )

“Mommy? I have a sister!” (One would think that one curious baby brother would be enough for any three-year-old, but Boy Wonder seems determined to acquire extra siblings. First, he announced that Other Boy Wonder, a daycare companion who shares his first name, was his brother; now, he has decided that he has a sister. His new “sister,” the daughter of one of my friends, is six; she and her mom came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and I guess Boy Wonder really enjoyed their visit. Fortunately, they’re coming over again on Saturday.)

Other recent topics of conversation have included birthday cakes (he changes his mind every other day, but now seems pretty set on having a Scooby-Doo cake for his birthday, and says that Action Hero would also like a Scooby-Doo birthday cake, because babies don’t like Elmo), days of the week (“Today is Monday! And tomorrow is Friday, so I can go to Grandma’s!”), and seasons (“It is sunny out, so I do not need to wear a jacket! It is summer now!”). Ah, the life of a three-year old: skipping effortlessly from Monday to Friday, thinking that sunshine always goes hand-in-hand with warmth, and having the year's biggest decision be, "What cartoon character should grace my birthday cake this year?"