Last night, in a somewhat frazzled attempt to sit down and feed Madeleine some pureed veggies and Cheerios while taking a few minutes away from cooking dinner at the stove, I somehow kicked over the box of Cheerios and spilled them all over the dining room floor. I had just finished spooning the last bite of veggie into Madeleine's mouth and knew I needed to run into the kitchen and stir the rice pilaf, so I deliberately left the Cheerios to deal with later. Julia jumped up from the table and said, "Mama, I'll clean then up for you!" I thanked her profusely and raved on and on about what a wonderful helper she is. "It's okay, Mama. I don't mind," she responded sweetly. 30 seconds later she must have become overwhelmed with the enormity of her task, because she then asked, "Mama? Uh, could you help me clean these up?" I had not intended to have her really clean them all up, of course, but appreciated her enthusiastic efforts, and she enjoyed helping me push them all into a big pile and then watch the vacuum zap them up.
On the subject of cleaning up messes, today while I was on the phone with my mother, Madeleine did one of her up the back of the diaper poops, which I conveniently got all over my hand. I had Julia take the phone to talk to Yia-yia while I tried to clean both myself and Madeleine, and I gathered from what I heard Julia saying that Yia-yia had complimented her on "Hold my hand on the Side-waaaaalk!" She then must have asked Julia if she plans on being a singer when she grows up, which prompted this response: "Uh, no, I picked that I'm going to drive a car when I grow up for my job." Yia-yia asked her what color her car was going to be, and Julia replied, "Well, I think I'm just going to use the car that Mommy and Daddy have." She must have more faith in our little 2001 car than Ethan or I do if she thinks it's going to be around in 15 years or so - let alone workable enough for her to drive it as her job! And this is not the first time I've heard her say she's going to drive a car for her job; in fact, it's pretty much her standard response when asked what she wants to be when she grows up. A very funny response coming from the daughter of parents who really dislike driving and who take the kids around town in the double stroller whenever possible instead of going in the car. Maybe I can hire her to run my errands for me 13 years or so down the line - or at the very least, work as my personal chauffeur...
And finally, I share with you this conversation:
ETHAN: (finishing up a conversation with me about a bottle of wine that has been open for awhile) It S-U-C-K-S.
JULIA: Mama, what does S-U-C-K-S mean?
ME: Um, it means it sort of stinks.
JULIA: Oh.
ME: (trying to redirect) Julia, I L-O-V-E you.
JULIA: What?
ME: I L-O-V-E you.
JULIA: What?
ME: I L-O-V-E you.
JULIA: Mama, does that spell stinks too?
ME: No. What does L-O-V-E spell?
JULIA: Um, "go?"
ME: How do you spell go?
JULIA: G-O!
ME: So what does L-O-V-E spell?
JULIA: Love?
ME: Yes, so what does I L-O-V-E you spell?
JULIA: Mama? Is this a pocket on Dickie Dragon?
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