Olivia says...

Olivia has been saying such "grown-up" things lately. She is sure that four years old has made her into an adult. Here are just a few examples:

A few days ago, Olivia and I were shopping together. It was just her and I and so we decided to take advantage of the time alone. We were at Target and somehow worked our way into the accessories and hats. I tried on a wide brimmed hat and asked her if I looked good in it. She rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated huff and told me no. I put the hat back and grabbed another one which was not quite as wide brimmed. I again asked her if this one was better and, once again, she shook her head and told me no. As I turned around to put the hat away, I heard her say in a sing-song voice, "My mom is crazy!!"

Olivia is fluent in "Chinese". She can translate any word, just ask her. She will often ask me how to say something in Chinese, for example, "Mom, how do you say 'towel' in Chinese?" "I am not sure." "It is Nee-how." Then she will say, "Mom, how do you say 'purse' in Chinese?" "I don't know." "It is How-nee." It is always a version of the same few word sounds.

Today she asked something about how they speak in Mexico. I was thrilled as I learned Spanish and I can remember some of the basic words that I thought she might ask about. She said, "In Mexico they say 'Who-la'." "Do you mean 'hola'?" "No. I mean Who-la. And Mom, I know the Mexico song." "You do?" "Yep," and she started singing, to no tune in particular, "Mexico. Mexico. Mexico. Mexico." It was really a wonderful rendition.

Olivia and I spend all day together every day since she is not in preschool and neither one of us has much of a social agenda. Tonight she came down after dinner to dry the few dishes I had to wash by hand. She pulled the stool over to the counter, grabbed a towel, and climbed up and said, "So, how was your day today?".

She is learning so much. It is fun to watch her experiment with phrases and words. She is a joy to have around.