Astronomy Lesson Part Two: Student becomes the Teacher

Following my miserable attempt at explaining (away) day and night, I have pledged to be more precise in my answers to the flood of three-year-old "whys." Even ventured a little science lesson on the way to school this morning. After several days of overcast, fall weather, the sun was shining brightly this morning.

I mentioned to Bryn that the sun is really a big, big star. (smiling to myself that I had gotten it right this time, and that I would little by little add to what she knew about the solar system--and correctly from here on out.) I think her first response was "Oh." But about a mile later, she added.

"Mommy, the sun is a biiiiig, biiiiiggg CIRCLE, not a STAR."

Honestly, how can you argue with that?

Still 2, but counting down

It struck me that today is nearly a trifecta of 2-ness. October 2 and Bryn is two...at least for another week.

I was looking through some pictures last night, so thought I'd pull some quickly to capture her 2nd year.

At her 2nd Birthday party...
(October)

Christmas morning....

At the Wildflower Center...

(April)

At the beach for the first time...

(July)

And kickin' it with all her fairy friends. (August)

She's grown so much in the past year. The "terrible twos" weren't at all terrible. We've enjoyed watching her grown, learn, and develop into a precious, thoughtful, determined, smart, beautiful little girl.

Mini-Me

As Bryn nears three years old, I'm constantly taken with how many of my words and idiosyncrasies are telegraphed back to me like SONAR or something. I hear plenty of Beau in Bryn's words, too, particularly when she's pretending to be on the phone.

Yesterday, Bryn and I went to the grocery store while Beau was out working cattle. She is an AWESOME helper when properly rested. Cart selection is a big deal at our grocery store. There are carts that have working radios (at $1 per visit--only used once, but still a temptation), regular carts, little carts that Bryn can push but that don't hold very much, and the find-of-all-finds the cart built to look like a race car. The race car carts are such commodities that they have their own covered parking out in the parking lot--strategically placed by the "Customers with Children" parking. The wise people at HEB have it ALL figured out.

We apparently were due some good fortune because there was a red race car cart with our name all over it--totally out of place in the normal "cart corral" right by my normal parking space. So Bryn carefully buckled into her seat and commenced to "drive" all through the grocery store.

I was searching for a package of ground beef with a tolerable amount of fat mixed in (I'm really a 90% lean kind of gal regardless of application), when I hear Bryn (leaning over the edge of her "car") saying, "I want a cheeseburger, fries, and a milk....white milk." I must have chuckled audibly because she offered, over her shoulder, "I'm pretending. I take it home." By the time we made it to dairy, she was leaning out punching all manner of imaginary buttons. I asked what she was pretending now.

"I have to go to the bank," she said.

Is it wrong for a three-year old to know how to use an ATM?