Mid-Pandemic Update!

I am blithely assuming, of course, that we are mid-pandemic. It is possible that we are several months into a pandemic that will last years! Regardless, please see below an abbreviated post consisting entirely of quotes from Ellie. I hope to write more soon about Myles' vocabulary ("Dada," "Mama," and most frequently of all, "Yeah"), Ellie's many feelings, and the nascent relationship between the two siblings. I also want to note that Ellie's teacher stopped me on the playground one day at pickup and said, "I talked to my therapist about Ellie, I hope you don't mind."  She pauses while I frantically wonder what Ellie has done to the teacher. "My therapist thinks Ellie is a classic empath." I love this teacher, and Ellie really is. Without further ado, some quotes from the empath herself --

Excellent question, Ellie:

"If the germs are still here, why are there people on airplanes?"

Birds and the Bees and the Canines:

"Can mommy have a puppy in mommy's tummy or only babies?"

"No, only dog families can have puppies. You can have babies."

"But do you think we should have more babies?"
"No, because we have enough family."

Hypotheticals:

"Do you love me? Do you not love me? Would you still love me if I was covered in poop?"

I Already Read Good:

"We don't need to read some books. My friend who came over readed some books."

On Zoe's Fourth Birthday:
"I don't want it to be Zoe's birthday, I wish it were MY birthday." 

Involving Myles in Family Games:
"I spy with my little eye something loving that sometimes poops in its diaper."

Expanding Vocabulary: 
"Myles, you naughty fellow! What does naughty mean? Does it mean you do not love someone anymore?"

Before Her First Day Back at Preschool:

"That's enough talking about school, actually. We can talk more in the morning."

How Ellie Wakes Me Up:

"Surprise! It's me, the girl you love." 

Meanwhile, Myles' receptive language skills are quickly developing! While we were in the kitchen one day, I asked Myles to get his mop, and he ran over to the kids' Melissa and Doug cleaning supplies to grab his broom. When Nitin was in the bedroom with Myles and asked Myles if he wanted to go downstairs, Myles ran to the stairs. A lot going on in that sweet head of his! And someday we'll hear all about it.

To paraphrase Royal Tenenbaum, we're loving every minute with this damn crew! 

And, to end this post, I'm stealing the final line of a poem by Ross Gay, which a friend recently quoted in her Instagram, and made me think of our kids, too -- little dreamer, little hard hat, little heartbeat, little best of me.