Dinner time math lessons

The girls tried their hands at counting last night during dinner:

JULIA: (pointing to one finger at a time) One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Nine fingers! (looking confused.) Wait, I have ten fingers. That can't be right. (counting again) One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Ten fingers!
ME: Great job, Julesie!
MADELEINE: One, two, fee, four. Four finners! (Looking around proudly.)
JULIA: Madeleine, can you count to eleven?
MADELEINE: Twelve, firteen, fourteen.
ME: (cheering and clapping) Hooray, Madeleine!
MADELEINE: (pointing at one finger at a time) One, two, fee, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.
ME: Good counting, Madeleine!!!

In the "too much of a good thing" category, it soon became clear that Madeleine was so distracted by counting that she had no interest in eating her cheeseburger, so I decided it was time to re-direct her attention.

ME: Can you eat your dinner please?
JULIA: Who are you telling it to?
ME: Madeleine.
JULIA: Why, Mama? What is she doing instead of eating? Counting?
ME: Yup. Madeleine, can you eat your burger?
MADELEINE: Grrrrr! GRRRRR! GRRRRR!!!!! BURGEEEERRRRR!!!
ME: Burger, Madeleine, not tiger.

This of course generated giggles all around the table, leading to repeated growling performances and expectant looks around at all of us. Before I knew it, the entire table (myself, the lone hold-out insisting on the importance of eating dinner, excluded) was loudly growling and exclaiming "TIGERRRRRRRR!!!" and causing a general raucous uproar. Happily for me, the growling did not come to an end even after dinner had been eaten. As I changed Madeleine into pajamas and got her ready for bed, she entertained us both with more growling: "GRRRRRR!!! Tiger! No, no, Cwawa, no gowwing!"

I guess Clara's growling is as threatening to her as a tiger's. ???

This morning the growling has been forgotten, but she did get on a repetitive loop with her little people as they climbed into the orange dump truck, exclaiming "I'm SWEATY!" to each other over and over again. The things kids pick up. One never knows what to expect.