Things Kids Say

My three-year-old daughter is convinced that she arrived in the world after being in her Papu's tummy (my dad). She is adamant that this is the way she came into the world. This makes Ella's brothers COMPLETELY dissolve into giggles. No, we all explain as we chuckle around the dinner table, you were never in Papu's tummy. You were in Mommy's tummy. But Ella declares we are gravely mistaken, and that she WAS in fact in her grandfather's tummy. 

Ella has taken to threatening me lately when she is very upset with me. Here's what she says: "Mama! If you don't ____, I'm NEVER going to wear SHOES AGAIN!"

I guess she told me.

This morning she yelled from downstairs that she needed me to come from upstairs where I was trying to fold laundry. I asked what she needed because I was busy. She just kept yelling "Mama! You better come! I need you! You better come before you run out of TIME!" in a sing-songy voice. I came downstairs to see her and the puppy wrestling over one of the boys' shirts. Pretty funny.

Aidan has a before-bedtime ritual that he very rarely changes. It involves snacks and snuggling. After dinner, Aidan says he needs either ice cream (with caramel and chocolate sauces), and/or cereal. Sometimes both, sometimes just ice cream. After he eats his snack, he asks sweetly if he can snuggle with Mommy or Daddy. Then he heads for the couch. He curls up, often with his head covered by a blankie, and if Daddy or I don't make it there within approximately 32 seconds, Aidan is off to Sleepy Land. Then we carry his warm, snoozing body up to his bed. Now that he shares a room with Ella, he does sometimes come to their room while I do bedtime books with Ella. He'll snuggle in his bed and listen to me read. Then he'll fall asleep in his cozy bed. But usually it's ice cream, couch, fall asleep.

Last night I heard Ella's demands yelled down the hallway at 3 a.m. for "MOMMY!" I went to her room and climbed in her bed with her. I fell asleep and woke up to her sweet, toddlery, fantastical chatter to herself at 6 a.m. She turned to me and said "I really love you. Now it's just us two girls in the room! Because Aidan already woke up and went downstairs." Just the way she said it was so sweet. Some things my kids say I want to remember forever. 

The other day, Alex, Ben and Jonah were out together doing some Boy Stuff. Ben accidentally called Alex "Mom," followed by "Oh, sorry. I have gender issues." So funny.

Jonah YouTubes and Googles all sorts of random things all the time. His latest interest is "Anti Jokes." Jokes that aren't really jokes. This is my favorite, delivered by Jonah with a deadpan face and dry wit: "Roses are red, violets are blue. I have Alzheimer's, cheese on toast." I just laughed so hard. He cracks me up, the way he says that joke. 

I love kids. I love the way they think, the things they say, the way they see the world. Especially at certain ages, when they think they have everything figured out and want to share all their knowledge with you. Ella will sometimes say "Can we just start the day over?" That means she wants to be little again. She wants to start over. She wants a do-over. Just the fact that my preschooler thinks this thought makes me chuckle. I hope I never forget all the funny, incredible things my kids say.