Table Talk

The most interesting conversations happen at the kids' table. Some bits and pieces from the past few days:

Thursday, breakfast

Andres: Daddy I have a really hard question.
Me: What's that?
A: Which is better, a lion or a rhino?
Me: I don't know, that's a great question. What do you think?
A: Well, I think the lion because it is the king of beasts.
Me: Probably a good answer.

He's been really into lions recently. And thanks to Wild Kratts, his new favorite show on PBS, he knows that lions are the King of Beasts, so he enjoys throwing that term around whenever he can. I'm not sure why he was trying to compare lions and rhinos at all. The question has not been revisited since.

Today, lunch

Andres and Celia are sitting at the table enjoying their sandwiches. Andres starts swishing his feet back and forth under the table. He decides this would make for a good game of "guess that sound" for Celia.

Andres: Celia do you hear that noise?
Celia: Yes.
A: Celia what body part do you think is making that sound?
C: I don't know. [She looks around to try to figure out the source of the sound.]
A: DON'T LOOK UNDER THE TABLE!
C: Um, I don't know.
A: It is a body part under the table.
C: A penguin.
A: Celia it is a body part under my legs.
C: A monkey.

What is most remarkable about this whole exchange is that while my own head was exploding because of Celia's answers, Andres took it all in stride. He didn't say anything like, "WHAT?! A PENGUIN?!" He didn't even get upset that Celia seemed barely to be listening to any of his hints. It continued.

A: Celia here's a hint. It starts with "feeeeeeeee".
C: A alligator.
A: Celia it ends in "t".

Here she paused, as if really considering the question anew. Or maybe just for the first time. She looked at him (and perhaps under the table).

C: FEET!
A: Yes!
C: FEET! I got it brother!
A: Good job Celia!

Then she made her happy-beyond-belief face, which is all teeth and scrunched up eyes. She laughed. Andres seemed happy for her too. And thankfully, that was the end of that.

Enjoying a fine pizza dinner at the table tonight. Still a couple years until Lucia gets her own chair.