In the Life of a Three Year Old

When I said, "Bed time" Liani sorta threw herself on her bed and lightly bonked her head on the wall. I left the room with her OK and smiling. When I came back in a minute later I saw her walking around the room holding her head saying, "Oh the pain, the pain." over and over in this melo-dramatic way.



Here is a typical conversation with Liani:
One of my boys asked me something about mammals. I replied with a comment on how not all animals are mammals. The following conversation ensued with Liani, who pretty much 'knows everything', and I:

Liani: Mammals are not mammals.

Mom: Mammals are animals that feed their babies milk. Even people are mammals.

Liani: People are not animals, because mammals are not people. And birds can fly.

Mom: Animals can be reptiles like crocodiles, mammals like dogs, birds and fish.

Liani: I know, but, when animals are mammals the fish can swim, but crocodiles don't fly, they come to eat you.

...and on it goes.



Vanity
Liani is the vain one of the family. Here are some reasons why I know:

a. She can't wear a sweater over her dress because then she does not look like a girl.
b. When she dances, she needs to wear a skirt or some sort of special dress otherwise, in her own words, she 'dances like a boy'.
c. She needs sparkely, golden shoes to dance because that is what dancers wear.
d. I will find her wearing a different set of clothes at an odd time of the day and it would be because 'my pants don't spin', 'my shirt did not match' (as if...), or 'they didn't make me pretty'.



After being outside, Liani ran in the room saying, "That was the fweakiest thing ever. It was so fweaky. That was the worst thing in the life." I was picturing all the horrible things a 3 year old could see that would prompt such an outburst. "What was freaky?" I asked. "Daddy took pictures of us in the snow without our jackets. It was fweaky."