In her words

Three fairly recent conversations with Carolyn.

CONVERSATION #1: We were driving down the road and passed a cyclist. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I can see the little wheels in her mind turning. She asked, "Mom, why does our car go fast? Super-fast, faster than that man on the bicycle?" "Well," I hesitated a moment, thinking about how I would answer this question in a way that she would understand. She then said, "Is it because cars have engines?" "Yes, Carolyn, that is right." I was amazed that she had come up with a better answer than I was trying to come up with in my mind to tell her. Then, she asked, "Do we go to the station [gas station] to put gas in the engine? Does gas give the car energy? Is that why our car goes super-fast? And the bike not as fast?" Holy smokes, I could not have come up with a better answer for her.

CONVERSATION #2: On a sunny afternoon, we were blowing bubbles in the yard. She also had a small ball in her hand. As she was running after the bubbles to catch them (POP!), she dropped her ball. Then, she stopped, picked up her ball, looked at the bubbles floating away, and then looked up at me. Uh oh. I knew a question was coming. You can see it on her face. "Mom, why does my ball drop to the ground and my bubbles float in the air?" I told her because the bubbles are lighter than the ball, but that she would have to ask Daddy for a better answer. So, she immediately went inside and asked Daddy. He tried to come up with a better answer. I am not sure his answer satisfied her, but some other wonder of the world amazed her next annd she was on to a new question. Thank god for short attention spans.

CONVERSATION #3: We were driving on an elevated road, and we had a good view of the entire valley, both to the east (toward the mountains) and the west (toward the lake). It was in the evening, around dusk. She looked toward the lake and said, "The sky is getting pink, so the sun must be going to bed." Then, she looked toward the mountain where the moon was already high in the sky, saying "But, mom, I can see the moon over there. I see both the sun and the moon. Why can I see both the sun and the moon?" When we got home, the first thing she told Steve about her day was, "Daddy, I saw both the sun and the moon at the same time. Isn't that funny, daddy? The moon comes when the sun goes to bed. He must have come early today. "

Ah. I just love to see her little mind at work. But, I fear that I may not always be able to answer her questions. Her curiosity is already bumping with my knowledge about the physical world (admitedly, not one of my strong points -- THANK GOD for Steve!).

In her words

Every morning, Carolyn asks why I giver her a vitamin. I tell her because it will make her grow big and strong.

Carolyn has a friend named Ella, who is 6 months younger than her and is tiny for her age.

The other day, Carolyn said, "I want to invite Ella to my house to play." Then she said, "I am going to feed Ella my vitamins."

Apparently, she was thinking that Ella needed to grow big and strong, too.

In her words ...

Just another funny thing out of Carolyn's mouth:

The other day we all went and got our flu shots. Carolyn was a big girl and stopped crying as quickly as she started. The crying stopped because the nurse gave her a lollipop and a sticker to distract her. In the car on the way home, she was very much enjoying her lollipop (one of those mini tootsie roll pops). As she got to the tootsie center, she said, "Mom, the doctor put meat in my lollipop." I guess the chewy, gooey brown center resembled meat to her.

In her words

On our way to school this beautiful autumn morning, Carolyn said to me, "Look, mama, the trees are purple!" She pointed to four trees lining the road that had turned a beautiful redish purple. She then started muttering something about how they were not green and how trees were supposed to be green. I asked her how the trees might have turned purple. She said, "those little boys must have painted them," while pointing to a few kids who were standing by the trees waiting for the bus.

In her words

Getting a toddler up, dressed, fed, and out the door is not exactly a smooth process. It seems to take 3 times longer than I anticipate.

This morning as we were finally walking out the door, an hour after I had intended to leave, Carolyn decided that she wanted to play with her lawnmower (or "line-mower" as she calls it). I told her that I was not waiting any more and that the car was leaving. So, she quickly put the mower away and come over to the car.

As I was buckling her into her carseat, she said "Mama, do you need more patience?"

I chuckled, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Yes. Thank you for the reminder."

In her words

The other day while in the car, some driver pulled out right in front of me, slammed on his brakes, and then did a u-turn in the middle of the road. Needless to say, as I was slamming on my brakes to avoid an accident, some choice swear-laden words came out of my mouth. It was something to the effect of "What the F*** are you doing, dumb-A**?"

Carolyn then said, "Mama, You mad at the driver?"

Oh yes. I was mad. But then she told all of her friends at gymboree that "Mama mad at the driver." And now everytime we get in the car, she asks if I am mad at the other drivers.

In her words

This morning, Carolyn came over to me and said "Mama, need a horse please." I sadly told her that "No, I do not think we will be getting a horse." She seemed a little sad, maybe a bit frustrated.

So, she went over to her drawer and pulled out a hair-band. She then said, "Need a horse. Pink hairband. Please." I love that she kept saying "please" with this request.

By now, I realize that she does not really want a pet horse, but I did not put two and two together yet.

Next she says, "Mama, want tail like Elise. Please." Her please was not as sweet this time, but sounded a little desperate (Elise is her friend, who is a bit older and has longer hair).

Ah ha!

So I asked, "Carolyn, do you want a pony tail in your hair?"

Old McDonald Had a Farm....E-I E-I E-I-O

On Sunday, Carolyn and I went to Wheeler Farm. It is a county-maintained park with a bunch of animals and beautiful grounds. When I was parking the car, Carolyn spotted the cows and the sheep. When we got out of the car:

Mama said: Carolyn, where are we?

Carolyn said: Old Donald's House!