A cashier in Whole Foods was trying to be friendly and chat Noel up while I was paying for our groceries one day (in May), but Noel was not being overly receptive to his attention. The man kept talking to Noel, and Noel went from glaring at the guy, to trying to bury his face in my shoulder to hide from him, to whipping his head around and saying, "Don't...look...me..." Yikes, Mr. Social!
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This summer, we were at a Block Party that was being visited by a few life-sized characters (Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Mother Goose). The kids were so excited to see some of their favorites in person. First of all, when Elmo came walking down the road, Noel got super excited and went running to greet him. Unfortunately, Elmo didn't see him coming (or perhaps just lost track of him at his feet) and plowed poor Noel-y down. Noel stood himself up, brushed off his knees, flashed Elmo a mean look, and then ran over to me and Jeff and declared, "I no like Melmo, more." Then, when Mickey Mouse arrived, Avery was jumping and dancing around him with excitement. She went to hold his hand, and instead of grabbing the puffy, white-gloved hand that she was expecting, she was met with a petite (woman's), human hand. She quickly dropped the shocking extremity, gave Mickey a long, hard stare-down, and then walked over to me and said, "Mickey Mouse's human hands are kinda freakin' me out..." She is such a riot! And, she was right...they were pretty freaky...
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The four of us were outside, when I (Ellie), while trying to look up at Jeff with the sun shining behind his head, said, "I can't see a thing"...to which Jeff, trying to be witty, replied, "because you're being blinded by my awesomeness"...to which Avery added, "and attractiveness." Apparently we have seen "Kung Fu Panda"* one too many times...
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Jeff was trying to get Avery to go on a run with him (he runs and she rides in the stroller), and Avery said, "Okay, but Noel-y will miss us if we go without him, so let's wake him up first." Jeff said, "You're right...let's go get him"...to which Avery replied,"Let's get Noel up and then play for four hours and then we'll go running in 10 minutes...okay?"
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"Go, Daddy, go!... Go, Daddy, go!... Go, Daddy, go!... Go, Daddy, go!" This chanting occurred for the whole first mile of a run with Avery and Noel (in the jogging stroller) and Jeff. Not-so-coincidentally, Avery was dressed in the cheerleading outfit--pom-poms and all--that Nana gave her. Significant conflict of interest for Jeff...though the neighbors found it quite entertaining...
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Avery's fish, Blue Lou Spot, died, but I was waiting for Jeff to be home to help me tell her the bad news. Jeff worked late for a couple nights in a row--and I didn't want Avery to find out about the demise of her beloved pet right before bedtime--so our family meeting kept getting pushed off. Because the fish had been dead for a few days, I decided to flush him (her?) and hide the empty bowl. Of course, Avery noticed that her pet's home was missing and quizzed me about its whereabouts, so I had to fill her in on her loss.
Me: "Avery, Blue Lou died. I'm really sorry, sweetie..."
Avery: "What happened to him?"
Me: "What do you think happened to him?" (You like that? Evasion. Jeff taught me that trick...)
Avery: "I think he probably got super sick...or maybe he was just really old when we bought him, and we didn't know it..."
Me: "Maybe so..."
Avery: "What happened to his body?"
Me: "I flushed it down the potty."
Avery: "Ewww...why? I don't want Blue Lou Spot to have to be with poo-poos and pee-pees!"
Me: "No, he's not with poo-poos and pee-pees. I flushed him so his body could go back to the ocean where he came from (although Blue Lou was a Betta Fish, and they actually live in rice paddies and puddles). Remember in 'Finding Nemo?' All drains lead to the ocean..."
Avery: "But is he in Heaven with God and my grandmother?"
Me: "Yes. I'm sure Blue Lou is in Heaven..."
Avery: (obviously pondering our conversation...and then suddenly getting a confused and disgusted look on her face) "Does God live in our potty?"
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From Avery to Noel while they were playing in their room one morning: "Okay, Noel...are you ready to play "extrapolator?" Extrapolator? Very interesting...
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During one of our most recent visits to the Philadelphia Zoo, we were looking at the rhino exhibit when Noel said, about a rhinoceros who was lying on his/her side, taking a rest, "Shhh...quiet! Monster's sleeping..."
* Here is the movie quote Avery (and Jeff) were referencing:
Narrator P0: "He was so deadly, in fact, that his enemies would go blind from overexposure to pure AWESOMENESS."
Random Male Character: "He's too awesome..."
Random Female Character: "And attractive..."
Other Random Male Character: "How can we repay you?"
Po: "There is no charge for awesomeness...or attractiveness."
(watch it here)
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