precious ROEments

For her birthday, Monroe received a fun little bathtub boat from her great grandmother (my mom's mom) Granny. One of the parts to it was a walrus. She loves the walrus, but keeps calling him a hippo. This confusion is understandable given that they are each big blubbery water-dwelling mammals that have giant teeth. I tried to clue Monroe in to some key points in the hippo/walrus distinction, which led to another great precious Roement.















Scene: Monroe is laying on the bed to be diapered and dressed just after her bath. Mommy and Daddy stand over her to chat.

Me (mommy): Monroe, this is a walrus. See, walruses and hippos have similar heads, but really different bodies. A hippo's body has four feet and a tiny little tail, a lot like a pig. But a walrus' body has a big giant fishy tail and tiny fins, a lot like a mermaid.

Monroe: It's a hippo.

Eben: No Monroe, see the fins? (Eben puts his hands up by his shoulders and flaps the, simulating little walrus fins.)

Monroe: (face lighting up) It can FLY?!?

Eben: (laughing) No, no, it doesn't have wings (uses big, full arm flaps to show 'wings.') It has little fins (again, flaps just his hands, which are tucked up by his shoulders.)

Monroe: (as if striking a bargain at a flea market) It can fly a little bit?

Mommy & Daddy dissolve into laughter at the image of a blubbery walrus flapping its stunted fins enough to get it a foot or two off the ground at a time.