Basic Anatomy

Llama is 4. She is blatantly honest. She is curious. And loudly talkative... And I thought it would be cool to buy a 'lift-the-flap' book about the human body. Slap me.

It really is a fun book, we get to talk about the lungs and how smoking affects them. We dwell on how muscles move bones; how the heart pumps blood and why we need to eat good food. Red blood cells, taste buds, spinal cord, and snot.

Llama and crew are now obsessed with the digestive system. The book describes, in perfect child-level detail, how the food goes from the mouth, through the body, to the toilet- all with revealing flaps at each stop along the way. And the wonderful authors of this book, with its nifty flaps, had the forethought to include a very exciting flap.... the flap that reveals what happens to food once it comes to the end of the line, so to speak.

Yes, I speak of that 'P' word that rhymes with 'soup'. Ok, so I'll just say it- poop. There, happy?
The book calls it Waste, but we children LOVE the cartoonish brown blob under that flap at the end of the large intestine. I mean, judging by their reaction, it's like the biggest thrill of their lives thus far. (excluding their first trip to Chuck-E-Cheese's, of course).

And that's not all, they roll around in fits of laughter to learn that our rear-end is just a muscle that helps us move our legs. You'd think we were looking at a bare fanny from the reaction! Oh, wait, you'd have to see the faces when we find out what boogers are made of! Bet you wish you could lift that flap personally! :) And the poor kidneys and bladder are getting their flap worn out, all for the love of seeing some pee-yellow colored drips.

I say all this to let you know that this Llama is so smart, so aware, that she entertains herself (and tortures me) with the retelling of how her anatomy works while in the public bathroom at Kohls. While eating lunch at McDonalds. While 40 people are waiting to use the packed stalls at the movies.
Everywhere, unsuspecting children, elderly and anyone within hearing distance will shortly learn how asthma constricts the lungs. How the eyeball sees. How the brain sends messages down our spine. And what poop is. Never forget, you need to know what poop is. If you aren't sure what poop is, ask Llama.

It is wonderful that she learns so quickly. I do love teaching her new things. And,really, it might be helpful information for some stranger at Walmart, right?

I am considering a slight delay on the reproductive anatomy lesson, however, until she can learn to stop announcing where she doesn't want to grow hair when she grows up- to the nice lady in the stall next to hers at Walmart...