Observations

General.
You know when you hear your kids say something, and it's like they've taken the words right out of your mouth?
This morning, Ariel made a familiar comment.
"Where's Elyse?" I asked her.
"She's upstairs, with her beloved father."  She stretched the word beloved out, mockingly, and rolled her eyes. 

Elyse has grown up a daddy's girl, and admittedly, she likes to follow him around the house.
That's partly why I'm especially pleased with how our time together is shaping up after school.
When I ask her if she wants to do homework with me, it's "Yeah, sure!"  She climbs onto my lap, cozies in, and we get to work.

Then there's Penelope.  The snuggle bear.  That kid doles out hugs, and actively searches out snuggles. 
"Hug!  Hug!"  she says, and comes running.  Walking no longer exists.  We must RUUUNNNNN everywhere.  Her request for snuggles, actually sounds like a request for a snack, "Hun-gie? Hun-gie?"  I want to gobble her up.

Specific.
Penelope says to me on the way home in the car today, "Mommy, fast!  Fast, mommy!"
"Yes, we're going fast," I admit.
Up until the revelation we were traveling fast, the conversation was:
"Cat!  Pumpkin?  Cat!  Pumpkin?"
"Yes, that is a giant inflatable cat on a pumpkin."
"Cat!  Pumpkin!  Cat on the pumpkin!"  Over and over.  Until we got too far away, then it was,
"Caaaaaatttt....pumpkiiiin".
Until finally, "bus?"  Thank god.

Elyse, after school.  "Is daddy home?  Where's daddy?"

(The Art of Conversing with a grade-schooler)
Me, discussing a topic I know will get Ariel talking.  "Did you have your Artshine class today?"
Ariel, "YES! And we made these really cool lizards.  I erased mine a bunch of times until I got it right."
Later, on the car ride to gymnastics,  Ariel says,
"All the kids were in a big rush today to get to Artshine.  Everyone was hurrying up to get there, because they were so excited."  I'm sure they were.   You don't say.