I can see getting away with calling a ladybug's carapace "wings" if you're looking at a picture.

But if the ladybug is on Hunter's hand and the carapace opens so its wings can come out and it flies away, then yes, I'm going to tell Hunter that the orange part with spots is a protective shell called a "carapace" that keeps the wings safe and opens up so the wings can come out.*

Sorry if I seem testy. I think I'm reacting to someone's surprise that Hunter knows his basic colors and shapes and can actually count items up to four. Maybe he is unusually bright, but I think a lot of it comes from actually spending time with him and showing him the world and explaining things to him as you experience them together. I really wish more parents would do the same.

In a related note (this is pretty stream of consciousness at this point), a recent long-term study showed that children under the age of five who spend 60 or more hours in daycare a week have a far greater chance of being aggressive and getting into trouble in their later years.

Well, duh. They're lacking a basic security in their familial relationship.

60 hours a week seems an awfully long time to have your kid in daycare, but if you work a 40 hour week plus a half hour for lunch plus an hour commute each way, I can see it easily adding up to more than 60 hours.

Unfortunately, especially for single parents, it's not a matter of not working. I would suggest trying to find something closer to home that takes out that commuting time.

And here's the rub: if you're spending that sort of time working and commuting, you're going to be exhausted. Unfortunately, if you want your kids to be secure, you have to be able to give them that emotional security. When you are with them, you need to be with them -- not watching TV, not going, "Uh huh" while doing something else -- for as long as it takes for them to relax and know that they are safe. And in order to be able to do this, you need to take time for you.

I know: it may seem like there aren't enough hours in the day. But what is the point of putting food in their mouths if their souls are starving?

I know I'm incredibly blessed to have family which is both willing and able to help us so I can spend time with Hunter. I honestly don't know how people who go back to work full-time six weeks after their baby is born can do it. I'm incredibly grateful not to have had to make that choice.

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* And, having told him it's a carapace, I looked it up and discovered that carapace refers specifically to crustaceans, and that the wing-cases on beetles are called the "elytra" (singular: elytron) and are, in fact, considered wings, even if they are not used for flying. Hmm. Learn something new every day.

I've also been chagrined to discovered that I don't know the name of every single type of construction vehicle.