this is the one that refers to a certain male body part a lot

my favorite part of prenatal doctor appointments is the ultrasound. it's thrilling to see your baby moving and thinking about the personality he's forming and how he's real and how he's developing. . .

my doctor with ava didn't have one of those little ultrasound machines in her office, but my doctor with seth did. so every month i'd squint at that tiny screen to see my even tinier baby suck his thumb or "wave" (so exciting) or kick his little legs. right after we had the big ultrasound to discovery that all of his body parts were in place and that he was, indeed, a boy, i was in my dr's office and squinting at the tv screen while she attempted to zone in on seth's boy parts one more time. she found them and said, "oh! there's his little wee!"

my brain said, HIS WHAT?

i was horrified. this woman went to medical school for crying out loud! she was a doctor who dealt specifically with reproductive organs! and yet, when presented with the male anatomy she says, "wee"?

it was then i swore my children would never make that mistake. in our house, i decided, we're going to call it what it is. well, i wasn't aware at how quickly ava would catch on to the differences between boys and girls. but, i stuck to my decision, i tell her the truth. straight up.

i think ryan perhaps wishes i had not decided this decision. because the other day when he was going to the bathroom, ava threw open the bathroom door and said, "dad? you have a penis?"

"uh, yes." said ryan.

"oh. i don't."

and yet again, while at seth's doctor appointment, when the pediatrician removed seth's diaper ava leaned over and informed dr. n'dell that what he was looking at right there? that is seth's penis. and he was touching it. and he has one, too.

"thank you, ava, for that anatomy lesson." dr. n'dell replied gravely.

ava replied, just as gravely, "you're welcome." these things, they are no launghing matter, you know.

and then, while at target, we passed the women's underwear section. ava nearly screamed, "those cover up your nipples, mom! barack obama has nipples too! and a penis!"

so i ask you this: should i have used a silly nickname that i will risk my children using even when they reach adulthood and avoid embarassment? or have i done the right thing despite all of our embarassing moments and the future embarassing moments?