Madeleine Takes On the World

One thing that I love about Madeleine is that, despite the fact that she often has no idea what she's talking about, she's never afraid to forge on ahead with utter confidence as she spouts her nonsense. 

Take, for instance, this comment she made to me as she sat on the potty this morning:
MADELEINE: Mom?  Yiayia's my mommy TOO!  Yeah!  Yiayia is YOUR mommy, and Yiayia is MY mommy too!  I have TWO mommies!

Or the comment she made to me the other day while I sat on the potty:
MADELEINE: Mom, Kitchen.  Mom, Kitchen.  Mom, Kitchen.  Mom and Kitchen RHYME!  Uh...do Mom and Kitchen rhyme?
ME: No.

It's such a contrast to Julia, who is constantly asking questions to help her understand the world better, and who is ever wary of misquoting a fact.  Early this morning, as the girls and I worked on a puzzle in Madeleine's room, Julia began to wonder aloud about the pictures on the puzzle pieces.

JULIA: Mom?  Is some of this puzzle REAL pictures, and some of it painted pictures? 
ME: I think it's all real photos.
JULIA: Well, this part looks like it's PAINTED.  Or am I wrong?
MADELEINE: (chiming in) No, you're right.  Julia, you're a GENIUS!

(For the record, Julia was wrong, but I'm glad her little sister is her cheerleader, and a true believer in Julia's intelligence.)

Then again, of course Madeleine would champion her sister's observation, whether it be accurate or not.  In Madeleine's mind, just saying something makes it true.  Like our bedtime conversation last evening:

MADELEINE: Mom?  When I grow up and I turn into a BOY, I'm gonna be a KING.
ME: You are, huh?  Do you think you'll turn into a boy when you grow up?
MADELEINE: Um...YES!  And I'm gonna be SIMBA!

Speaking of Simba, Madeleine has been on a huge "Lion King" kick lately.  Not only does she have to crawl around the house on all fours and answer anyone who calls her by name with, "Um, no, I'm SIMBA," but she insists that Julia be Mufasa and speak like James Earl Jones at all times.  She is also randomly throwing out "Lion King" quotes all day long, saying things like this as I get her into her carseat: "Hakuna Matata means NO WORRIES for the rest of your days, Mom." 

It's funny that she is SO into acting out the movie, because she is actually quite intimidated by the lions when she's watching it.  She compulsively needs to be wrapped in a blanket for protection in order to even view the movie.  Her head is allowed to stick out, but just for safety, the remainder of her body remains wrapped up:

Luckily, despite her nervousness when watching, Madeleine does not suffer from any night-time distress related to the movies she sees.  Unlike Julia, who is on temporary hiatus from "The Care Bears Movie" until she stops being afraid of the evil spirit's green face at night, Madeleine can happily chatter away about Simba and quote lines from the movie in her bed without needing anyone to come and protect her.  I guess it makes sense, because she has a blanket in her bed, too, so as long as she's covered, she's all good.

And it's helpful that she spends time in her bed quoting lines from the movie, because, after all, if she's going to grow up and turn into Simba, she'd better get his dialogue down.