“There’s still two puddings left.”
– Mama, reviewing the options for dessert

“One for me and one for him!”
– Emily, taking matters into her own hands

“Who?”
– Daddy, somewhat surprised

“Me and you!”
– Emily, making friends with Daddy

“What about her?”
– Daddy, pointing to Amanda

“Cookie!”
– Emily, still seeing no problems with this arrangement, despite Amanda’s cries of “Puddie!” in the background

“My tummy is hungry and tired, Mama.”
– Emily

“Well, I’m going to take you home and put food in your tummy.”
– Mama, trying to head off the whining

“No, Mama! I’M going to put food in my tummy!”
– Emily, a bit outraged

“OK, I’ll put food on your plate.”
– Mama

“That’s better!”
– Emily, sounding very pleased

“What was Adam made of?”
– Mama, reviewing the previous day’s lesson

“Dust!”
– Emily

“Right! And what about Eve?”
– Mama

“Ribbon! No, a rib!”
– Emily, correcting herself after Mama laughed

“1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings, 1st & 2nd … croconuts?”
– Emily, reciting the books of the Bible… with a twist

“Mama, my hair is definitely all tanglish. You need to comb it.”
– Emily, unhappy with her own painful attempts to comb her hair after bath

“Emily, you have hair just like Mama’s– soft, smooth, shiny… and you can’t do a thing with it.”
– Mama, trying to get all Emily’s slippery hair in a neat pony tail

“Mama, I can do one thing with my hair.”
– Emily

“What’s that?”
– Mama

“I can put a hat on it!”
– Emily

“Mom, it’s too hot! I can’t eat it yet!”
– Emily

“Well, then, just be patient”
– Mama

“But Mom, patient makes me hungry!!”
– Emily

“I’m all done picking up toys!”
– Emily, with enthusiasm but not accuracy

“I see toys over here that need to be picked up.”
– Mama, trying not to sound tired and frustrated

“What else do you see?”
– Emily, after repeating her “all done” speech three more times

“Emily, I see a little girl that I love very much.”
– Mama, who was about to yell and decided it wasn’t worth it

“You know what I see, Mama? I see a big person that I love very much.”
– Emily, making Mama very glad she didn’t yell!

“Emily, tell Mama what happened on the way to the pizza store.”
– Daddy, embarrased

“Daddy missed the store!”
– Emily, excited

“He did?”
– Mama, amazed (not!)

“Yeah…and he turned around!”
– Emily, still excited (really!)

“He did a U-turn?”
– Mama

“No, Mama, Daddy turned around!”
– Emily

“Your 10-month-old ripped the door off of my kitchen cabinet!”
– Shannon’s mother, pointing out the amazing fact that Amanda is a pint-sized powerhouse. She had really done it too — pulled the door open, despite the child-lock, with enough force to separate the top hinge from the cabinet.