random conversations

conversation with eliana this week:

Eliana: mom, how old do you have to be to change your name?
Mom: well, i guess 18, to officially change your name, but some people decide to go by nicknames. like some people call you ellie, or marie, your middle name.
Eliana: oh. okay. i think i'll change my name to Katie when i'm 18. I like that name better.
Mom: Oh. Okay. I really like your name, Eliana, but that's okay if you want to change it then. It's up to you:) (really I'm trying to act nonchalant about the whole thing, when really I'm thinking...you're only 3!!! how can you want to change your name already??? I don't even know where you got the idea that someone would change their name!)

conversation with asher (my 18 month old):

(In background, hear the toilet flush; only Asher is missing).

Mom: (calling from playroom): Asher, did you flush the toilet (stupid question, seeing as how he's the only one missing from the room, AND the kid can't talk, so it's not like he's going to answer me anyway)?
(walk to the bathroom to see Asher standing by toilet, looking at me with the most innocent, excited look, as if to say, "that was so cool, mom, you should have seen it!"
again...
Mom: Asher, did you flush the toilet?
Asher: nods head yes.
Mom: (notice Asher is no longer wearing Eliana's beaded necklace around his neck that he was wearing only 3 minutes ago when he left the playroom) Did you flush ellie's necklace down the toilet?
Asher: an excited head nodding yes, with a very adorable smile on his face that is REALLY hard to remain serious with.
Mom: Asher, you can't flush things in the toilet....really, I pretty much said this same sentence over and over, with slightly different wording each time, for the next two minutes, while Asher looked back at me very seriously, like, "wow, mom, okay, I had no idea."
20 minutes later...
Eliana: Hey mom! I found my necklaces! They were in the bedroom! YEA!!!
Mom: oops. sorry about that Asher. I still mean everything I said about the whole flushing the toilet thing, hypothetically, in case you're ever thinking that might be a good idea sometime in the future. yeah. sorry about the lecture.

And Nathan:

(setting)Mom and Dad very seriously discussing/debating presidential candidates/legislation of christian moral ethics, etc.
Nathan: I think Martin Luther King Jr. is my favorite president.
Dad: Actually, Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't a president; he was a pastor.
Nathan: Oh. Well, I definitely think he's my favorite pastor, too.
Dad: why is that?
Nathan: because a lot of my friends are black, and if it wasn't for him, i wouldn't have many friends here.
Dad: that's a great reason, Nathan. I think he's a pretty great preacher, too.

And other random news:
Eliana cut her hair last week. Yes, I know, most children do it at least once, but I was a little sad when I noticed that she had done it. I tried hard not to let her see my disappointment in how it looked, but apparently I didn't hide it well enough, because she cried for quite a while and forbid me to talk about it with anyone for the first 2 days, which is a little difficult, because it's kind of obvious that her hair is different, so people ask. I don't think she'll ever do it again, though. And honestly, it could have been MUCH worse. In fact, she surprisingly cut it fairly evenly given a pair of preschool scissors and no mirror. I was a little sad, though, having worked so hard to never cut bangs on her hair so that it was all one length, to now having bangs, and a sort of tapered, layered look on the sides.

Nathan and Ellie have decided that dancing together is a great activity to do in the mornings. usually ellie wants to put on a very pretty dress, and they turn on music and dance around the living room. it's very cute, until they both end up on the floor crying, having tripped over one anothers feet.