Lullabies, peanut butter and the farm

Last night after I sang Julia her lullaby, she decided to sing one to me as well, with her own made-up-on-the-spot words, to the tune of Frere Jacques. Random much?:

I love Mommy, I love Mommy
She loves me too, she loves me too
Will you buy me apple cider? Yeeees Iiiiiii wiiiiill
Love you too. Love you too.

This morning she attempted to impress me with her spelling capabilities rather than her poetic lyrics.

JULIA: Mommy, do you think I don't know how to spell "peanut butter?"
ME: Uh, yeah, I bet you don't.
JULIA: Okay, I'm just gonna take a guess and you can tell me if I'm right.
ME: Okay.
JULIA: Okay, I'm just guessing. J-I-F! (waiting expectantly.)
ME: (confused.)
JULIA: J-I-F! (looking at me and attempting to hide her pride and self-pleasure.)

It suddenly dawned on me what must be going through her head:



I hated to burst her bubble and let her know that Jiffy was actually the brand of peanut butter and did not, in fact, spell "peanut butter."

Later on in the day, Madeleine and I got to visit Julia's school and see the animals from the Li'l Folks Farm, who were the special attraction of the day. Both girls had a blast looking at, petting, and brushing the various farm animals:




Madeleine had so much fun that she was heartbroken about leaving. She was so crushed to leave the animals behind that the whole car ride home was filled with her plaintive lament: "A sheep a hoooooorse! A sheep a hooooooorse!"

I wonder if those were her two favorite animals, or if she simply figured they were the easiest combination to cry out about. Maybe she decided "A chicken an alpaaacaaaa!" would be way too much of a mouthful.