Purple House

School starts in about two weeks and needless to say I'm excited. This summer has dragged by in the worst way, partly because Little Froggy saw fit to whine the whole time she was home and partly because she made so much progress when she was in school before that I'm dying to see how well she does when she gets to go for more than a few weeks.

This summer she hasn't made any progress, really. If anything, she lost a little of what she learned. But in the midst of all the whining and screaming a few things really stuck out.

For example: The other day Little Froggy was whining and going on and on with her new favorite question, "What's wrong with it?" It took us a little while but finally we got her to be more specific, and she asked us what was wrong with the house. We told her nothing was wrong with the house, that it's a good house, to which she responded, "It's a mess!" We were surprised, of course. Then she asked again what was wrong with the house, and so we told her that her toys are what's wrong with it--she makes messes that she doesn't clean up. We told her that if she would pick up her toys and if Mommy could just manage to fold all of the clothes that land on the couch after doing laundry the house wouldn't look so bad. I told her we just have too many things, and our house is just too small.

Here's where it got funny for us.

Her reply? "We need a bigger house."

No joke.

So I started asking questions. When I asked her what kind of house she wanted and how big it should be her first answer was simply, "School." I explained that we couldn't get a house the size of a school but we could get a bigger one. So finally she told me that she wants a purple house with five beds and four bathtubs.

When she said she wanted a bigger house she really wasn't playing around.

So all of this might not sound like much to parents of the average (almost) four-year-old, but this was the first "extended" conversation she's ever had with me. While I sat there trying to keep a straight face as my child told me about the purple house she wanted my inner "me" was jumping up and down and clapping her hands like an excited kid. I was tickled pink (purple?).

My mom has also been coaching her to tell us she loves us. I wish she'd say it spontaneously, or at least as a reply, but at least it's better than nothing.

I'm really looking forward to more of these talks, especially once she's back in school and she opens up a bit more again. I love talking to her and I can't wait for the next time she decides to try.