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[walker_percy]

I will regularly post clever things they say on this thread. You will check in periodically and agree silently that these are remarkable girls. No need to discuss.

[gennimom]

Can we (other posters) chime in with our children's comments?

[bio_prof_]

And how about aunts and honorary aunts (aunts of good friends' kids?)

[walker_percy]

Today, we listended to Elfman's title music to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both the 2 year old and the 4 year old can describe in great detail what happens where in the title music, from the swirling of chocolate, to the robot arms that wrap the chocolate bars, to the placing of the golden tickets by Willy Wonka's gloved hands, to the trucks leaving the factory and delivering the bars, to the establishing shot of Charlie's house. Each event corresponds to often very subtle changes in the music. Their astute ears pick up on these changes. And they can sing various lines of the often stratified musical textures. And they can imitate the timbres of the instruments with their voices.

[walker_percy]

ABSOLUTELY! I adore clever things kids say. I really think kids are smarter than adults in that they are so direct and honest and uninfluenced in so many matters.

[malcha]

My niece went through a stage where she would ask questions by making a statement and then tacking on "Possible?" at the end.  It was very cute, though I don't think it would fly on the Questions thread.

walker_percy, your daughters are, of course, witty beautiful geniuses.

[walker_percy]

Here's a favorite for my four year old, from a couple of years ago.

We are all looking at a book on dinosaurs. We come across a triceratops. "What's that?" we ask. "It's a 'ceratops," she said. "TRIceratops," we corrected. Then she licked the picture of the triceratops. At first we were puzzled by the response, then we realized that our daughter heard us say, insistently, "TRY 'ceratops" so she obliged us by giving the picture a lick.  

[walker_percy]

My niece went through a stage where she would ask questions by making a statement and then tacking on "Possible?" at the end.  It was very cute, though I don't think it would fly on the Questions thread.

walker_percy, your daughters are, of course, witty beautiful geniuses.

I love that. And you know they heard mom or dad do that once and then thought, this is how it's done, or I really like this method of constructing sentences.

[nightowl]

And I adore totally smitten adults who are amazed at their children/nieces/nephews/grandkids etc.

Here's my favorite from a friend's daughter,  She wanted to know why everyone called her pet fish a pet when she could not pet it?

My son at age 2.5 could recognize different the sound of different instruments in an orchestral piece and name them.  I was totally amazed because my husband and I score very low on musical ability in all forms.  Yet all my kids are musical and quite talented.  

[bio_prof_]

Here's a favorite for my four year old, from a couple of years ago.

We are all looking at a book on dinosaurs. We come across a triceratops. "What's that?" we ask. "It's a 'ceratops," she said. "TRIceratops," we corrected. Then she licked the picture of the triceratops. At first we were puzzled by the response, then we realized that our daughter heard us say, insistently, "TRY 'ceratops" so she obliged us by giving the picture a lick.  

OMG, that is awesome.

my neice and nephew are learning two foreign languages as well as American Sign Language. They are two and four, respectively.  My sib and I grew up speaking two languages and both of us found it invaluable. I'm so glad she's carrying on the "tradition."

[kishter]

Love this thread!  w_p, your stories are great.

My little one is cute, too, so I'd like to play.  She's 2.

When we want her to say please, we say, "what do you say?" after she asks a question.

Now she runs around saying, "whaddya say, whaddya say" like a wheeler-dealer on a used-car lot.  (This makes me wonder, was the term "wheeler-dealer" originally used to describe car salesmen?  I must go look this up ...)

[nightowl]

I think wheeler/dealer comes from Vegas - Roulette wheeler, Black Jack dealer.  Just a guess.

I am going down memory lane for more "kids say the darnedest things."

[walker_percy]

Everyone play. I hearby officially relinquish the monoploy, not that I really did or could have one!

[bio_prof_]

My honorary nephew had the terrible twos, and he'd overhear his parents saying "ah, well, he's two" during his tantrums. During and episode his mom asked, "What's wrong?"

His tearful reply: "I'm two."

[walker_percy]

Bio, where do they learn the languages?