Montessori would have their hands full with this one...

I present to you perhaps the WEIRDEST drawing that Dakota has ever done. Won't you take a look with me? The largest "person" (I use this term loosely) is Daddy. Note his flat hair, the "baby" in his belly and his generous "line penis". The longish otter shaped creature is Mommy, and it appears that my "fuzzy vagina" has been cut off in the scan, which is just as well. No need to see that, honestly. We also have Grandpa, Grandma, Dakota, Jackson, Montana and Bradyn, as well as an unnamed creature by Grandpa. Everyone is anatomically correct and all appear to be pregnant, except for Jackson, who is a baby himself. When Dakota presented this drawing to me, which was painstakingly created during the other kids naptime, I didn't know what to say or do. Except laugh. Laughter should be the only initial response when looking at line penises (peni?) and fuzzy vaginas.

The drawing does raise some questions for us, as parents though.

1. How on earth did she get so smart? She's frickin' 3 years old, people!
2. Is it appropriate? Or just plain funny?
3. When should we have the talk about "private" parts?
4. How do we have that talk without making them feel shameful or embarrassing?

I have thought about this question and my conclusion is this: Dakota is awesome. She's an extremely intelligent girl and I am so proud of her. I give her props for being able to make the connection and notice the difference between genders, both verbally and visually. She's ahead of her time in her perception and imangination. I think it makes me take a step back and realize that she is a force to be reckond with, and I can only pray that God gives me the wisdom to raise this little one. It's a delicate balance between creating a pompous,conceited monster and raising a well-balanced, intelligent child. I think we'll keep an eye on her...cross the private parts bridge when we come to it.

Still, with all this serious talk about what our next steps should be, I can't help but look at that picture and laugh. Fuzzy vaginas...hiliarious!

--Heather is best when served well chilled