Very Busy and Important
October 03, 2007
A few sessions ago, Noah's speech therapist brought him a Mr. Potato Head. She made a big whole show of how she doesn't usually bring Mr. Potato Head to children Noah's age, but Noah is just so exceptional and she was just dying to see what he did with it -- a speech so loaded with bullshit that was clearly all for my benefit since Noah figured out exactly how the toy worked in about five seconds flat -- and after she left I was immediately on the phone with my mother because OMG MY CHILD IS BRILLIANT, THE TOY IS LABELED TWO AND UP AND NOAH IS LIKE, THREE WHOLE WEEKS YOUNGER THAN TWO OMG.
(Kidding aside, that's a whole other entry I have no idea how to approach, but suffice to say: Noah is starting to creep me and Jason and random salespeople at the mall out with the smartness. The cashier at Sephora asked Noah to give him five yesterday, and Noah shot him a withering gaze, held up five fingers and proceeded to count them, like "dude, you should know this.")
(He counts in his own little alien language, that is, where one = eh and two = eh and three = eeeeeeee and etc.)
(I don't know. Is that smart? Or is he just kind of weird?)
(Don't answer that. Allow me my delusions that while I am accomplishing pretty much nothing with my life, at least I'm changing the diapers of someone smart.)
(Whenhereadshisbooks hecantellmethewhole storyinsignlanguagetoo and tellsjokes and yesterdayhereadtheword "hot" allbyhimself endbragging!)
Ahem. Anyway. My mom got him the Mr. Potato Head for his birthday. (Also, thank you to everybody who emailed photos of their kids doing the same thing with the little glasses. It appears to be a universal and timeless passage of weirdness for two-year-olds.) This is all we have done all morning.
He calls this one PopPop. (Sorry, Dad.)
Aaaaaaaaand. Yes. He's brilliant.
(He is also not napping right now, but is instead jumping up and down in his crib and screaming YA YA YA YA YA YA to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Or maybe it's the alphabet song. Or Baa Baa Black Sheep. All I know is I hope he's read the weight and stress limits warning label on the crib and follows them accordingly, little Mr. Smarty McEngineeryPants.)
(A new content-to-parentheses ratio record! Yes! I knew I had it in me.)
Well you see, he's probably ya ya-ing the tune to an entirely DIFFERENT song. That's how brilliant he is! :) He also happens to be insanely adorable, even and especially with his new haircut. LOVE.
ooooo...i'm second
going back to read now
happy delurking!!!
You're maybe just a tiiiiiiiny bit neurotic.
But I'm ok with that.
Our Mr. Potato Head is missing the ass flap that holds the parts in. As well as everything else. Poor guy, can't even scratch his junk.
WTF is wrong with me?
PS- I'm still kicking myself for not getting the Vader Tater (Mr. Potato Head as Darth Vader!)
The possibilities with a Mr. Potato Head are endless...endless I tell ya!!! Noah's imagination is hard at work with Mr. Potato Head!!!
Gawd, am i the only one that didnt take a picture of my kid wearing the potato head glasses???
Im such a shitty mom.
I say he's counting in factorials. He's that smart.
Zoe is constantly singing her own version of the ABCs/twinkle twinkle/baa baa black sheep. Once in a while it's la la la la la la la. But, usually it's mom-my mom-my mom-my mommy, mom-my mom-my mom-my mommy. It's lovely.
Too sweet! I loved the Pop Pop one! Made me laugh!
That last potato head picture? That's exactly how I feel after a night of wine over-indulgence. Thank you, Noah, for embodying my experience so effectively.
Remember when Mr. Potato Head was a smoker? That was wild.
I'm not very good at the delurking thing, I am too consumed by the idea that it has been nearly 2 weeks since I have seen Noah, and I find this completely unacceptable. Also, is there a section on toddler intelligence tests for sarcasm? Because that high five thing kind of reeks of it.
we love "Ta-toe head" in our house. This past spring hubby's co-worker got him the Mr. Potato-Head Easter package with three Spuds. Gavin will put an arm coming out of the feet or hat hole, or an ear where the eyes should be, then shouts enthusiastically, "FUNNY TA-TOE HEAD!!!!!" He also wears the glasses, but since we suck with the camera, we have no photographic proof. But we do have a couple of cute pics of him being happy with his Ta-Toe Head...just suck because we don't have them on hubby's blog or mine. :(
That second Potato head reminds me of Slaughterhouse Five. Even though those guys were toilet plungers and not potatoes. And their eyes were in their palms. You know what? It's just the hand going straight up that reminds me of Slaughterhouse Five. But perhaps Noah reads more than you think, eh?
Hi!
Not to brag or anything but my two year old counts to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish, and sings his ABC's. Its not my fault tho, I blame Dora.
I didn't do it.
Freaky..
PS Noah is beautiful
Mr. Potato Head comes with black teeth now!? I have a lot to learn before the little man turns 2.
That Mr. Potato Head is so cool, way cooler than the one I had when I was younger!
And yes, clearly Noah is a genius, as evidenced by his Picasso-esque placement of Mr. Potato Head's various body parts.
Michael was given that toy at 1.5 and loved it so much. Now, at 2.5 he's like been there, done that.
So mr. potato head has black teeth...Does he also come with a blinged out grille??
Parentheses are the new black. If you hadn't heard.
Of course he is brillant! The Mr. Potato head thing just proves it. I think the arm on the head means "reaching towards the heavens" or something.....
Delurking today, I particularly like the expressive quality of the second Mr. Potatohead.
Though you aren't using the fancy Mofo Delurking Badge, I'm delurking to comment. Comment!
Just thought you'd like to know I'm taking my FOUR yr. old to the speech evaluation place thanks to you and your posts about Noah. I obviously delayed much too long.
But I thought you'd like to know your posts about Noah inspired me to stop wondering and just figure it out already. :)
The 2nd Mr. Potato Head reminds me of Picasso! Noah is clearly going to be a brilliant artist.
Delurking because the interwebs tell me too.
You know I love reading your site. I started up hardcore in the blogging world right before your son was born and seeing him reminds me of how long it seems. I'm a youngin' - so two years is for-eva!
You're funny. I like you. But not in a creepy way.
My son had this one Mr. Potato Head when he was little that when you pressed the button by his feet, would make a loud farting noise and then blow out all his pieces and you'd have to start over again. No, I'm not joking. I wish I were.
Oh, and obviously Noah is a genius. :)
Wow, Mr. Potato Head has gotten way cooler since I was a kid.
Noah is clearly a genius. He's totally going to grow up to be a double-threat: Looks and Brains. You may have to fight the girls off with a stick. (Or a Mr. Potato Head arm.)
I love Mr. Potatoe Head! My kids never got into it. They maybe looked at him for 5 minutes, and then went back to playing with their million + 1 Hotwheels. So I played with Mr. Potatoe Head.
That second one reeks of Picasso, maybe Noah is a talented artist and us simple folk just don't see his vision. :)
And we actually have the vader tater, sadly I bought it for my star wars collecting husband years ago. Boogie will probably never even get to play with it.
"PopPop Mr. P-Head" that's great!
I love his muscles. Now, if he had a Porsche -- that would be my alter-ego.
Teo is counting in EXACTLY the same way. The only number that sounds anything like the real thing is eight. (He says "eh!") He's attracted to clocks and one of his favorite toys is a wooden ruler.
You should get Noah "Kids' Favorite Songs"--Elmo stars in it, but Telly does this thing where he combines the Alphabet Song, Twinkle Twinkle & BaaBaa Black Sheep in one song.
Ooooooooooo... never thought of a Mr. Potato Head. Aren't they like a 3 and up toy? B's birthday is today, and despite the fact that we have 10,000 gifts for her (all Dora-related; I SWORE I wouldn't do that), I may have to stop by the toy store and get her one. What the hell. I already got her a little toy Dyson vacuum cleaner! That kid LOVES to clean, and pick up and throw stuff away and put it all in its very own spot and that-is-exactly-where-it-goes... No, she did NOT inherit my OCD. Sheesh!
Love picture #2 by the way. It's obviously a self-portrait of him in the womb. He is truly BRILLIANT!
Yes, Noah is a genius. And a sarcastic one at that. Love it.
I call my grandpa "PopPop" too!
Ah, Mr. P. Good Times. Good Times... Ours is currently devoid of all appendages and we can only find 1/3 of what he came with. So, if we want to "make" Mr. P, we end up with eyes, an arm, a flower (wtf is that for, anyway?) and a few noses. Very Picassoish.
We just came back from Disney World and they have their own disney pieces for Mr Potato Head. Of course I dished out $40 for 2 boxes of disney pieces, but the hour I get a day while my 3 year old plays with them is priceless.
I'm in my 40's and can't resist Mr. Potato Head. Although I will deny that I wear the glasses in the privacy of my own home. Deny..deny...deny.
We should exchange freaky my-kid-is weirdly-smart-but-also-needs-therapy stories. Totally.
I'm coming out of Lurkdom here.....
I think you've got a Picasso in the making! Those are awesome Mr. Tater Noggins! :)
hi. delurking to say that Noah is cute and I am lame. (goes back to the corner to lurk)
That last potato head pic looked like some kind of cartoon character. Perhaps Noah will one day be the next great animator for Pixar.
I say he's brilliant!
He's either experimenting with sarcasm (per other post, can't remember who!), OR, you have such an extreme, smart, gorgeous little nerd-child on your hands that he has no social skills. Expect to spend the rest of your life amazed by his brilliance but concerned over his lack of street skillz.
Ha, I love that Mr Potato Head. I'm a wee bit older than two, but I promise I'd look after him ...
I think Noah is secretly enjoying himself, and is also quite clever.
I love the PopPop one!
Delurking for
The Great Mofo Delurk 2007
My first child was extremely brilliant. His second birthday video has him picking up random number and letter flash cards and identifying each and every one...this is quite boring to others, but pure entertainment to me.His vocab was that of a 30 year old.
Unfortunately, you measure the rest by what "he was doing at that age" and my other kids were not doing this by the start of kindergarten. I secretly wondered if the others were as dumb as a bag o' rocks.
I had the smartest baby alive until my brother's daughter was saying things like "Mother, could you please retieve my jacket" at 16 months old, did first grade work at 3 and is now doing fractions and percentages at 4. (She goes to one of those, work at your own pace, expensive private pre-school/reg school thingies.)
I secretly say things to others like "Geeze, our four year old is just a four year old...why push 'em, ya know what I mean??" as she is just learning the difference between the colors black, gray and white. Which when shown says "ummmm, red??"
(Personally, I think it's great that his smartness freaks people out.) Once he gets older it may be (a little) too freaky. But (for now) is cute. (also, love the withering gaze thing)
(And the PopPop Potato is the best.)
I completely forgot that we have Darth Tater! Must dig that out soon.
He's adorable and brilliant. I wonder how many times you've been told that Einstein didn't speak until such-and-such age and look where that got him?!
I know I posted before, but OMG, look what I found on this Aussie news website:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mr-potato-head-is-mr-ecstasy-head/2007/10/04/1191091232255.html
Yipes!
Mr. Potato Head = best toy ever.
delurking.
Noah is adorable. And little kids do the craziest smart things! My 1 year old was clicking her tongue on 2s and 4s when the jazz station came on the other day... wild, but the shape sorter? Forget it!
Plastic glasses? I wish. My little guy wears the red earrings on his lobes. Both of them. I started to call him a pirate and he said, "ARGGH!"
I love mr potatoe head....
Yes, Noah is beautiful & brilliant. Always. But you? Are so very funny. Always!
Yay for Mr. Potato Head!
(My kids all do the glasses thing, too. My theory is that they put them on the cheeks because they get jabbed in the eye when they're used the proper way.)
LOVE the hand coming out of the head.
And final random statement...both my daughter and my older son did the whole bouncing wildly while singing twinkle baa ABC thing with 1 sound while staying awake. Weird, yes. What amazes me more is that they were EXHAUSTED while doing this but were REFUSING to sleep. I don't get it...
My son's speech therapist also used a Mr. Potato Head...but she called it "Mr. Pot Head." Every time I see that toy, I chuckle!
Love it! There is definitely a picture from Christmas circa 1979/1980 with yours truly in the old school yellow 'tater glasses, the lipstick mouth and the pipe. Did any of us not do this?
Lucky you, you can keep them in the crib till age 5! Although when they start climbing out it's usually a good idea to move them onto a big kid bed.
And I think I peed myself a little laughing so hard from Amy M's "scratch his junk" comment.
Happy Delurking Day!
Am I alone in loathing Mr Potato head? Maybe I just have altogether too many children? All those BITS to endlessly pick up and say " take that out of your mouth!" and "OUCH! Damn MR Potato head will you pick up your bloody eyes? If I step on them one more time I swear they are going in the bin." Also....the fighting of 3 little boys all wanting the same ear at the same time. Mr potato head went on a holiday to the landfill site, 3 days after some thoughtless cousin gave it to Eli as a gift. Mean me.
Noah, if you play with this toy and give your mommy joy...you are indeed quite brilliant!
Noah is probably not singing along to any song. He's probably composing a new one.
Am I the only one who thinks the PopPop Mr. Potato Head looks gangsta?
That's what makes two so freakin' great even though it's all terrible! Everything they've been absorbing starts coming back at you and builds on itself! He's like, A PERSON! Who throws a fit when one small thing doesn't go his way, but still, A PERSON!
Baa Baa Black Sheep is DIFFERENT in two lines! The last line is completely different! I didn't notice it was different until I was driving to Uni the other day. I know it is a little obsessive but I remebered the discussion about it once before and ever since then I've been dying for it to come up so I could share my findings!
(I have an Honours degree in music and I'm excited about realising Baa Baa Black Sheep has a different tune. I feel ashamed already.)
By the way, yay for smart Noah! Seeing this is what this entry is ABOUT, and all. lol. Thats so cool about Mr. Potatohead!
I'm quite certain there are pictures somewhere of me sporting the same Mr. Potato Head glasses. Really... I do think everyone does it.
Also? I call my grandfather PopPop. So tel your dad he chose an EXCELLENT grandfather name.
Delurking today...Also I think that Noah has single handedly driven me to want to buy a Mr. Potato Head...for myself.
Let Noah's obvious brilliance shine through! I love his response to the Sephora clerk!
And it's nice to hear about so many "Pop Pop"s. I married an East Coaster & dragged him back with me to the Midwest. My friends & relatives think it's a weird term.
A little update on Mr. Potato Head news!
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmVQoIUg_kbwlqAcFOiearP8Npow
Careful, you are going to give Bossy's kids Potato Head Envy. (They didn't have one. Or an Easy-Bake oven, or Operation.) (Bossy is a mean mean mom.)