My niece

Wednesday 10/18/23

My sister texted me yesterday to say that she and my three-year-old niece, Amelia, had just seen three crows chase off a hawk, after which the crows gathered together in one spot for a celebration. I asked her if Amelia thought this was neat and she told me that she didn't know, given that Amelia shouted, "Go away, birds!" ("But they live there!" was my thought in response). Chances are if I ask what Amelia said or her reaction was, the report will prove amusing.

Anytime Amelia is told she can't do something she wants to do, or that her older siblings are able to do, her counterargument is always the same: "I big girl." So, when I FaceTime with her, in order to instigate further mischief, I make sure I casually say at least one time, "Well, you're a big girl now," to which she says, "Yes" in the most casual, "of course I am" fashion possible.

At school recently, Amelia was trying to tell her teacher who was going to be picking her up. She's pretty hard to understand right now. When you do understand what she's saying, you sort of think, "Oh, I got one!" She's smart, though. The teacher had no idea what Amelia was saying, but when my mom got there, she was able to translate. Turns out, Amelia was saying "Barbara"--my mom's name--instead of Grammie, which is what she calls her, for the teacher's adult benefit.

My mom was babysitting the kids over the weekend, and putting Amelia to bed. This was about eight thirty, I think, Central Time. As they were sitting there, Amelia asked if she could FaceTime Colin. My mom laughed, and said, "He's probably in bed." Amelia was incredulous and replied, "In bed?" This would have been very close to the mark, in actuality. Amelia gets up early on her own, between like five or six, but my goal is to be up and at it before four. We are both early risers, though.

This is a great photo of the kids from a pumpkin farm, where you can buy a "car's worth of pumpkins," which is an awesome unit of measurement if ever there was one. I saw the loaded car--they did indeed get their money's worth.