On Generosity.....
        Ryan and Emily had gotten ice cream treats from the ice cream man at Grandma and Pop-Pop's house.  After finishing all of his ice cream, Ryan went over by Emily who still had half left and announced, "Now I'm gonna share!"

On Maintaining a Healthy Diet.....
        “Mom, you won’t believe this ... listen to this," Ryan recapped one Sunday night.  "Friday was Emily’s birthday party and we had pizza.  Saturday was the soccer party -- pizza.  Saturday night was James’ birthday party -- pizza!  Then tonight Aaron’s mom took us out to eat - PIZZA!”
        "Are you sick of pizza now?" I asked. 
        "No, I love it.  I’m used to it now."

On Personality Flaws.....
        After nagging him to clean up his toys, I got scolded by Ryan.
        "Mom, don't be such an attitude!"

On Fantasy.....
        Out of the blue, Emily came up with this pronouncement in the car:
        "Oh, I get it, Mom!  Dreams come from your brain!"
        When I asked her where she'd learned that, she answered, "Oh, I just figured it out because I'm smart."

On Healing.....
        Jaime was crying after bumping her front tooth.  Ryan went up to her and said, "Do you want to put a bandaid on your tooth?"

On Silence.....
        Dad was carrying Ryan upstairs to bed.  He told Ryan that he should be really quiet so he didn't wake up Emily.  After holding his breath for a moment, Ryan whispered, "But Dad, I gotta breathe cuz that's the way you live!"

On Agriculture.....
        Ryan and Emily had just gotten out of the bath. I combed Emily's hair back with a wide-toothed comb, making rows.  Ryan noticed and commented, "Ooooh, that looks like a good garden!"

On Erosion.....
        On an extremely foggy day, I noticed that I couldn't even see the park just beyond our backyard. Calling Emily to the window, I said, "Look! It's so foggy you can't even see the park!"
        Emily's lower lip went out, and she got tears in her eyes as she answered, "But Mom ... I don't want them to take away my park!"

On Phases of Life.....
        "Mom, when I grow up will I be your mom?"

On Ecology.....
        Ryan was sitting on the edge of the sink.  Just for fun he had his bare feet in warm, soapy water.  He spotted a dirty glass on the counter and decided to wash it.  When it was all clean, he said, "Look how clean!  No dust, no mud, no pollution, no anything!"

On Geography.....
        After Grandma and Grandpa's trip to Hong Kong, Ryan, Emily and I picked them up from the airport. We spent some time at their home afterwards, visiting and hearing about their trip.
        At one point, Ryan asked, "Grandma, did you see Hong Kong?"
        "Yes, that's where we were," Grandma replied.
        "Oh, he's a really big gorilla!"
        "I think you mean King Kong, honey," Grandma realized aloud.

On Flotation.....
        "If you dig a hole in an island, will it sink?"

On Common Courtesy.....
        While taking a walk in the woods with Alec (3), I was entertained by watching his thrill over finding fallen trees. Each time he spotted one, he would remark in absolute wonder, "OOOOohhh there's another one!"
        At one point we came across a smaller tree that had fallen right over the path. It had broken in the middle, leaving a small opening through which you could continue walking right on the path. "We don't have to climb over this one, Mom," Alec commented. Then, as an afterthought, he turned back, looked at the tree, and yelled, "Thanks, tree, for cracking up for us!"

On Emotion.....
        On the Ferris Wheel, Alec (3) must have gotten butterflies. Just as we finished rounding the top, he put his hand on his tummy and commented with a smile, "Mom, my feelings hurt."

On Time.....^NEW!
        Grandma stopped by and noticed a new piece of furniture. "Oh, your new table is beautiful," she commented to Alec (4). "When did your mom get that?"
        "Tomorrow."

On Blame.....^NEW!
        "When somebody drops a cup, it's the cup's fault, right?"

On Communication.....
     It was the last day of Sunday School for the year, and my 17 year old daughter was helping with the preschoolers. One little guy, Spencer, had just finished eating his chocolate cake. Noticing that he had done a great job of covering his face with it, she asked him to wipe his mouth off. Spencer looked at her with big round eyes and said, "Not my mouth, I use it to talk!" -Royal One

On Playing...
        When my son was four, he and I were walking through the park. Suddenly, he stopped and pulled out an imaginary gun. "Bang, bang, bang!" he shouted. After a short while, he quit shooting and dug deep into his pockets. Then he started fumbling with his "gun." I marveled that--at his tender age--he understood the concept of ammunition.
        "Putting in bullets?" I asked.
        "Nope," he replied, not missing a beat. "Batteries." -Deb in Redmond

On Eating...
        When my son was six, I served him a cold pasta salad for dinner. He took one bite, then chewed very slowly. He turned to me, a bit confused, and said, "Mom...did you forget to cook this?" -Deb in Redmond

On Learning...
        Devis was learning the state names in Kindergarten. One night, Dad and Devis were watching a spy program on T.V.  Devis turned to his Dad and asked, "Dad, is this show 'Michigan Impossible'?" -Deb in Redmond

On Getting Lost.....
        Our family, one weekend, was hiking in a nature park near our home. Our son, Andrew, who was 7 at the time, when asked which way we should go announced, "I know where we are, I've been here before, and we're LOST!" -Lani in Charlottesville

On Skincare...
        From my grandniece, Ashley, holding a conch shell up to hear ear: "Oh! I can hear the lotion!" -scbrabeck

On Digestion...
        From my daughter, from inside the car, watching the other vehicles whiz by: "Oh Mom! There goes a hiccup truck!" -scbrabeck

On Equal Opportunity...    
     I was giving my daughter a quarter for something that she had done and she looked at the quarter and said, "Daddy, that's not enough, I need some for both pockets!" -John P.

On Manners...
        When my daughter, Heather, was about 4 she asked me to pass her something at the dinner table. She hadn't said please so I asked her, "What's the magic word?"
        She thought for a moment and then replied, "Abracadabra???" -Kmc429

On Surprises...
        My mom had been getting on my little sisters about not picking up their clothes. I was sitting in my room, and heard my mom say, "Who left all this underwear all over the floor?"
        As innocently as an angel, my sister Anne replied, "The Panty Fairy came and left us presents!" -Katherine Danley

On Parentage...
        My mom told me this story about my older brother. Mike had been asking her what adoption was, and my mom explained the whole concept. Later that day, my mom was talking to one of her friends about Mike (who was standing right there) and said, "He's such a good kid. He's so adaptable."
        At which point Mike broke into tears, "I don't want to be adapted! I want to live with you!" -Katherine Danley

On  Cats...
       When my son was about five years old our cat went into heat. She was grumpy and he asked what was wrong with her. I told him "She's in heat."
       He managed to pick her up and replied, "She is not Mom - she's cold." -Cindy

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