Thursday, June 25, 2009

Pennies. It's What's for Dinner.




We figured it would happen eventually. Little Man has always been a mouthy baby. Give him any food, toy, article of clothing, book, inedible object, or stuffed animal and he would happily chew away on it. In an effort to dissuade his habitual gnawing, our favourite directives became: "In your hands," "Out of your mouth." or "Show Mama what you've got!"
It never worked.

Little man and I were building a fort last weekend with the couch cushions. (I swear I do vacuum the couch... but probably not as often as I should). The sunlight was pouring in through the living room window. We saw the penny at the same moment. The sun danced beautifully across the copper maple leaf, glinting in the sun.

I was at a definite disadvantage. Little Man was within arm's reach of the tantalizing coin, while I was buried under two giant cushions and BEHIND my speedy toddler. He cocked his head over his shoulder to assess how much time he had. A grin exploded on his face when he realized he had a golden (er... copper) opportunity.

"YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!" He bellowed. And lunged. He scooped the penny up and crammed it in his mouth. Before I could react he cocked his head back like a ravenous penguin devouring a fish. (Thanks a lot, Happy Feet.)

He ate the penny.

"YOU ATE A PENNY!" I screamed. "Kevin!!! He ate a penny!" I hollered at my husband.
"He ate a what?"
"A penny!!!"
"A penny?"

Silence.

"Yes. A penny." I shouted.
"At least it wasn't a toonie."

Two days go by, and there's no sign of the penny. Off to the doctor we go. "Give it a few more days," the doctor smirked. He's quite fond of our son. Messing with his curls, he chuckled "Where's your penny?"

Little Man smiled and lifted his shirt up. "Penny button!" he smiled, pointing at his pudgy little toddler belly button.

Now any time someone greets him, he lifts his shirt, points at his navel and declares "PENNY!"

Two more days go by. STILL no penny.
"Give it a few more days," the doctor said.
"Listen, I love my son, but I'm worried about him. And these poop scavenger hunts have got to go."
"Maybe he's just backed up." he suggested.
"Or maybe he's just stubborn!"

On Saturday, if the penny hasn't reappeared, we're headed off for x-rays to see if it might have snuck past us on its way out. If it did, that's one penny I'm glad we didn't save.

Oh well. At least it wasn't a toonie.

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