Boobies!

My 4-year old daughter and I were in the shower a few weeks ago, washing her hair. This usually involves screaming, crying, and yelling, and not just by me. Four years old, and she can scream loud enough to pop my eardrums! It doesn't matter how carefully I pour the water on her head, some of it always gets in her eyes and/or ears. (And yes, she screams equally loudly with either one.) Screaming ensues, followed by guilt, and usually candy. This time, after everything is rinsed while I'm still getting soap out of my eyes, she asked that dreaded question, "Mommy, what are those?"

I wiped my eyes with my fingers, and opened them to see that she's pointing to my chest area (ok, ok, my abdomen area) and for a moment, I couldn't think of what to call "them." "The girls" sounds confusing, "breasts" sounds so clinical, "tits" so perky and vaguely obscene, for "titties" see above with a slightly lower cup size. She's still staring at me, so out popped, "Boobies, honey, those are boobies."

She looked down at her own chest-slash-abdomen, so now I'm super worried (boob-size complex in the making, Dr Phil!) and told her that mommy-boobies are different from girl boobies. She said, "Oh," and I thought I dodged a bullet.

But children never forget ANYTHING you say that can cause embarassment. Yesterday, my mother-in-law gave her a new bathing suit for summer. It was a purple two piece, bikini-style (enjoy it while you can, my sweet!) with a matching skirt. What's the first thing my little angel of inappropriateness says? She picks up the top and says, "Boobies!"