Things I Didn't Expect My 4-Year-Old to Say

I wrote both my thesis and dissertation on children's language development. Specifically, I wrote about what parents can do to help children develop good language skills. I thought this might come in handy in case one of my children needed help learning to talk. As it turns out, it hasn't really been too necessary. Cole could talk the ear off an elephant. If I could have seen the future, I think choosing to write about how to keep your 4-year-old in bed or teach your 4-year-old to use a quiet voice would have been more appropriate topics. We sometimes look at each other in exasperation when he hasn't taken a breath in five minutes, but really we love to hear the things he comes us with. One of the funnest things about having an early talker was listening to him describe things to us when he was younger. It was fun to know what was going on in his head. Here are some of the things he has said in the last couple of weeks that have made us smile...

"Mom, where do you think the female that duck will mate with is?"

"Can you show me where Kolob is?" (Said while looking at constellations with me)

"Water on the rocks, please." (In response to being asked what he'd like to drink)

"Annie, you are exquisite." (Floyd says he must have heard this from me, but I'm not convinced. It sounds like my Great-Grandma Daines to me, but she died almost ten years ago so who knows where he heard it. It is true, however, that Annie is exquisite)

"Do you think if Pluto collects some of the matter around it that the scientists will let it be a planet again?" (He took it a little hard when we told him Pluto isn't a planet anymore - we had to read from an official science website the reasons why before he would be convinced)

"Do I look like a Cyclops?" (Said while covering one eye with his hand)

Although we sometimes would like it a little quieter, we wouldn't trade all his talking for anything. Thanks for being our little teacher, Coley.

Self-Portrait by Cole