The Munchkin Files

Today, I had to have the "Birds and the Bees" talk with M1.  You know, the one that goes "the birds and the bees like the leaves and flowers to stay on the plants, and so does Mommy."

My poor jade plant.  It's the only houseplant that survived my cats.  (Well, mostly survived.  If you look closely at the leaves you can see some healed teeth marks.)

So, once you've proudly shown the leaves you harvested to Mommy, what's a toddler to do with them?  Why, set the table, of course!


The narrative, supplied by M1, is as follows:

One for you.  One for you.  One for you.  One for me.  One for me.

When he was done, there were three small piles of leaves.  One in each of our places at the table.

M1 one also has an obsession with flatware.  To the  point where we regularly have to tell him, "Do not drink milk with your fork."  So of course, the nearest handy utensil must now be added to the mix.


He is attempting to cut the leaves with the side of his fork.  He's fascinated by the way grown-ups can do that sort of thing with food.  He just hasn't figured out how it works yet.

By the way, I did take the fork away from him at this point.  I didn't care to find out the answer to the question, "Will he eat the jade leaves if he can stab them with his fork?"

I'm afraid I know what the answer might be.  M1 is pretty good about not putting non-food items in his mouth, but as I mentioned, he's got this thing about flatware.