NOT Christmas

OK, so here's what you're not going to get: anything about christmas, because we still haven't even seen those videos ourselves, and maybe we never will.

But here's what you will get:

I know, right?!

Also, here are some fun words for you to read!

So, Ella has now entered the "why?" phase. Pretty big time:

Me: Ella, time for bath.

Ella: Why?

Me: So we can play in the water and get you clean.

Ella: ... but why does it get me clean?

Me: Because when you get wet all the dirt comes off.

Ella: ... but why am I gonna get wet?!

Me: Because you'll be in the water and the water is wet.

Ella: ... but! ... but! ... why is the water wet?

(Good question. I have absolutely NO IDEA.)

She will even ask it about things that she’s just said:

Me: Do you want milk or juice?

Ella: I want milk.

Me: OK, milk coming up!

Ella: Why?

Me: Because you said you wanted milk.

Ella: Why?

Me: um …?

And if she’s in the room, do NOT try to leave her out of the conversation. Say a sentence to another grown-up that's over her head, and she wants in, "What did you say?" Say two, and it's "WHAT are you TALKING ABOUT!?" Ignore that and she will get down right persnickety: "STOP TALKING!" We try to tell her that it's rude to holler at people to stop talking, but really she has a point. It is rude to leave someone out of a conversation in the first place.

And sometimes when she gets tired of listening to our explanations of things (which usually she herself has prompted), she'll start making up stuff to tell to us:

Me: Ella, do you want Oatmeal for breakfast?

Ella: off!

Me: ...

Ella: (explaining) Do you know what "off" means? It means raspberries and yogurt.

Me: Oh.

One day on the way home from our friends' house, I was trying to explain why I had just honked at a lady who had cut me off. Ella didn't quite get it, so Lauren helped, "He was letting the lady know she was doing something dangerous. ‘Whoa! Look out lady!’" Then Ella took over the explanation and started improvising. In her best announcer voice she hollered from the back seat, first something incomprehensible about a tightrope, and then:

“… THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE THERE! DON’T GO IN THERE, CARS! THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE!”

And then ended with a very small and cheerful “... bye-bye!”

We laughed and laughed and asked her what she said. So she said it again in the same warning tone:

“THERE’S A TIGHTROPE! WALK CAREFULLY! THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THE CIRCLE! GET OUT OF THERE! THIS IS NOT FOR YOU TO DRIVE! ... bye-bye!”

We laughed again and she went on:

“GET OUT OF THERE! THERE’S GOING TO BE TROUBLE!”

We were laughing so hard that Lauren said she was going to pee her pants. Ella took it in stride:

“THERE’S GOING TO BE SO MUCH TROUBLE YOU’RE GOING TO PEE IN YOUR PANTS!”

And then we all peed in our pants.