Abby Talk

"Momma, when I grow up, will I be big and will you be little?"

As we're driving along in my trusty, but rusty, old '89 Accord, Abby said, "This is a good car." "Why do you think that, Abby?" I asked. She replied, "This is a good car because it keeps going and going and going." Ah, such wise words from one so young. :)

My mom was reading Abby a book and asked her if she knew what kind of birds were in the picture. After hesitating a moment or two, Abby replied, "Beagles!" My mom corrected her, telling her they were "seagulls" and that "beagles" were actually a kind of dog. Abby thought this was hilarious and giggled on and on about "seagull-beagles."

As we were at a stoplight, a motorcycle pulled up behind us and Abby remarked about the loud engine sound, "Mama, a car is tooting! It's not me tooting; it's a car tooting outside! What a silly car!"

As we pulled up into the Fred Meyer parking lot, Abby said, "This isn't Costco." "No," I replied, "Remember, I said we were going to Fred Meyer." She then spotted the store name and started reading the letters as she usually does now wherever we go, "F-R-E-D M-E-E-Y-R " (yes, I know, she switched two of them, but not bad for a 2 1/2 year old). "Wow," she continued, "This store has A LOT of letters."

After telling me the letters of a word in a book we were reading, Abby then pointed to the exclamation mark at the end of the word and asked, "What is that?" After making what I thought was a pretty good, simple explanation, she then pointed to the quotation marks surrounding the word and asked what they were too. Oh boy. Who knew I'd have to start explaining punctuation already!!

After her nightly teeth brushing, Abby and I looked into the bathroom mirror together, smiling and hugging. Thinking back about a recent comment someone made to me about Abby looking a lot like me (usually the comments are that she takes after the Marks family more than the Gardners), I asked her, "Do you think we look alike?" She replied, "Yep. We both have two eyes." Well, there. That settles it. :)

As I put my makeup on, I listened to Abby blabbering to herself while she sat on the toilet...."This poop says, 'Oh, I'm big! Oh, I'm stroooong!' And this poop says, 'Where are my friends?' Oh, there's a little, miggett poop.'" (miggett = midget, I guess :) And sure, enough, when I helped her off, there was indeed a "big" and a "little" poop.

Abby said to me when we were having a discussion about springtime and flowers, "Usually, I pick flowers. I like to pick little flowers for me and I like to pick little flowers for Ben. I pick big flowers for you and I pick big flowers for Daddy. I pick little flowers for myself."

As she watched Kevin walk out the door, she turned to me and said, "Daddy took his keys with him." Then she paused and asked, "Is it he or him?" I replied, "You said it right. It's 'Daddy took his keys with him.'" I love that she is only two and is already concerned about using proper grammar!

Aunt Becky was tickling Abby and Abby said, "I like that sound." My sister replied questioningly, "What sound?" Abby answered, "The sound of tickling!!!" Becky laughed at that and then Abby said, "And I'm funny too!"

"I am like a little flower that grows up."

As we sat at a red light, Abby noticed the neon picture signs of an Aquarium and Reptile store next to us and said, "They have fish and dinosaurs at that store!" "Actually," I told her, "They have fish and lizards, not dinosaurs. Dinosaurs lived a long time ago and are now dead. You can't find any dinosaurs alive anymore." Abby replied, remembering her goldfish that died recently, "Oh! They died and got flushed down the toilet!"