This morning, Bella wants to know, "What's that thing called so you can stand up and pee?" She mimes standing there with an imaginary something in her hands, spraying imaginary pee everywhere in a really cool way. Explaining, "See, make it go that way. Make it go over there. Make it go over here."
I smile with a confident cheerfulness I do not feel, "A penis."
She nods sagely, "A penis. Why don't I got one?"
I look around for her Dad but of course at mind-cringing moments like these, he is nowhere to be found. "Because you're a girl and only boys have a penis."
She is not happy. "What do I got then?"
More bright cheer because Im just soooo happy to be having this unexpected anatomical conversation with a five year old this morning. "You have something really special called a vagina. And a vulva! And you've got a cli...ummm...yeah, and lots of other really great things."
She's still frowning. "But I can't stand up and pee like this with a vagina."

....My blog has a new address. Please join me there for the rest of this scintillating post on Bella and penis-envy. http://laniwendtyoung.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/i-want-a-penis/