when a bicyclist blithely pedaled through a red light and i almost killed her:
v: why did you slam the brakes, mama?
me: so i wouldn't hit that girl on the bike. it wasn't her turn to go.
v: why wasn't it her turn?
me: she had the red light. we had the green light.
v: why did she go?
me: she had the red light. we had the green light.
v: why did she go?
me: she must have forgotten the rules.
v: why did she forget the rules?
me: we all forget things sometimes. do you forget things sometimes?
v: no. (true)
violet is particularly obsessed with why people are rude or mean, and she loves to drum up old injustices. months ago some teenagers at the park were having a water fight and got the bucket swings so muddy that i wouldn't let violet swing. now, out of nowhere, she'll ask me, "why did the big kids get mud on the little kid swings?" the first time, when the incident was in progress, i answered loudly enough for the big kids to hear me, "i guess they were just being rude." (OMFG i'm that mom now. WHY???) violet is especially put out that the siamese cats in lady and the tramp are mean to lady.
last night rudy (our jack russell terrier mix) toyed with a moth as it fluttered to its demise. chasing a ball is beneath him, but catching a moth, and then nipping little bits off its wings as it dies a slow death, is probably his favorite thing in life. "why does rudy like to kill bugs?" violet asks. when i don't like where the course of one of her interrogations is leading, i usually attempt to distract her. it's tempting to just shout "goddamnit!" because that's a guaranteed off-ramp into her very favorite line of questioning: "why do grown-ups sometimes say goddamnit?" i can almost always turn a conversation about frustration into one with donald duck. but then, it's not like she forgets anything. my boss brought her some adorable molded chocolate animals from switzerland in january. last week, i asked violet if she wanted to come to a party at my office, and she replied, "i want to come to the party and i want your boss to give me some more chocolate truffles."
on the subject of chocolate
she woke up the other morning and declared, "if i drink all my hot cocoa it will make my boobs strong and i will grow nursies!" and if you're not awestruck enough that she's a genius who just invented chocolate milk lactation, the other day at peet's she declared, "when i'm a grown-up i want to mix coffee in my cocoa!" yeah, she just invented the mocha, legit. fingers crossed that she lands on an idea i can trademark!
the reason i have these quotes handy is because i've been trying to type my favorites into my phone so i don't forget them. her first declarations of the day are still the best. a recent morning:
v: it never rains in los angeles.
me: well, not too often, but it does sometimes.
v: it never rains hot dogs in los angeles.
me: oh! that's true. it never rains hot dogs here.
v: i don't like hot dogs with jam inside.
me: do you mean ketchup?
v: no. i like to dip hot dogs in ketchup. (false)
speaking of hot dogs, she also loves to work "penis" into any conversation. this is pretty much always funny to me (though i try not to laugh out loud because i'm a good parent like that), but i don't think kevin shares my amusement. luckily not too many "why" questions on that front yet, although she was disappointed at a recent princess party
that her goodie bag had a tutu and tiara while the boys got light sabers. in heavy rotation: "why did only the boys get swords?" while there were many butterfly and heart options available at the art table, here's the photo frame she decorated:
she also sat at the boys table for pizza, and when nana asked what she wanted for her own birthday, she looked up and replied, very matter of fact, "dump trucks." but before i project my tomboy leanings onto her, i should add that she demanded to put on four skirts for our backyard cookout.
her biggest obsession remains max & ruby. she plays with the entire town of characters constantly, and when the show is on, she doesn't blink, literally. i don't know if you can see it, but tears are streaming down her face as she watches.
we're also playing a lot of hide and go seek lately. when she's the seeker, she dictates where you have to hide, but she gets to hide wherever she wants.
typically to avoid potty accidents (sorry for the ball pit = urine transition but i'm running out of time), we hound her about whether or not she needs to go to the bathroom, but lately she's been running in there and just going on her own, which needless to say is freaking great. this weekend she peered into the bowl to observe her poop, a pebbly one, and exclaimed with delight: "it's a family of poo poo! the toilet is their home!"
she is so much fun. smelling roses:
last night rudy (our jack russell terrier mix) toyed with a moth as it fluttered to its demise. chasing a ball is beneath him, but catching a moth, and then nipping little bits off its wings as it dies a slow death, is probably his favorite thing in life. "why does rudy like to kill bugs?" violet asks. when i don't like where the course of one of her interrogations is leading, i usually attempt to distract her. it's tempting to just shout "goddamnit!" because that's a guaranteed off-ramp into her very favorite line of questioning: "why do grown-ups sometimes say goddamnit?" i can almost always turn a conversation about frustration into one with donald duck. but then, it's not like she forgets anything. my boss brought her some adorable molded chocolate animals from switzerland in january. last week, i asked violet if she wanted to come to a party at my office, and she replied, "i want to come to the party and i want your boss to give me some more chocolate truffles."
on the subject of chocolate
she woke up the other morning and declared, "if i drink all my hot cocoa it will make my boobs strong and i will grow nursies!" and if you're not awestruck enough that she's a genius who just invented chocolate milk lactation, the other day at peet's she declared, "when i'm a grown-up i want to mix coffee in my cocoa!" yeah, she just invented the mocha, legit. fingers crossed that she lands on an idea i can trademark!
the reason i have these quotes handy is because i've been trying to type my favorites into my phone so i don't forget them. her first declarations of the day are still the best. a recent morning:
v: it never rains in los angeles.
me: well, not too often, but it does sometimes.
v: it never rains hot dogs in los angeles.
me: oh! that's true. it never rains hot dogs here.
v: i don't like hot dogs with jam inside.
me: do you mean ketchup?
v: no. i like to dip hot dogs in ketchup. (false)
speaking of hot dogs, she also loves to work "penis" into any conversation. this is pretty much always funny to me (though i try not to laugh out loud because i'm a good parent like that), but i don't think kevin shares my amusement. luckily not too many "why" questions on that front yet, although she was disappointed at a recent princess party
that her goodie bag had a tutu and tiara while the boys got light sabers. in heavy rotation: "why did only the boys get swords?" while there were many butterfly and heart options available at the art table, here's the photo frame she decorated:
she also sat at the boys table for pizza, and when nana asked what she wanted for her own birthday, she looked up and replied, very matter of fact, "dump trucks." but before i project my tomboy leanings onto her, i should add that she demanded to put on four skirts for our backyard cookout.
her biggest obsession remains max & ruby. she plays with the entire town of characters constantly, and when the show is on, she doesn't blink, literally. i don't know if you can see it, but tears are streaming down her face as she watches.
we're also playing a lot of hide and go seek lately. when she's the seeker, she dictates where you have to hide, but she gets to hide wherever she wants.
typically to avoid potty accidents (sorry for the ball pit = urine transition but i'm running out of time), we hound her about whether or not she needs to go to the bathroom, but lately she's been running in there and just going on her own, which needless to say is freaking great. this weekend she peered into the bowl to observe her poop, a pebbly one, and exclaimed with delight: "it's a family of poo poo! the toilet is their home!"
she is so much fun. smelling roses:
