Things the Girls Have Said, Part 6

Tiny

11/12/23 (Beware of long exposition about the difficulties of parenting and inconsequential details.) 

Jim and I wanted to go on a walk Sunday afternoon. We have been trying to make that a regular thing. We could not get the girls to cooperate with things that needed to be done before we went. We ask them to do something, and then they disappear. They take forever to do anything. We don't understand why it's so hard, and it's upsetting. Anyway, on 11/12, we were going to walk over to the park by McAuliffe Elementary, which they love. But they ruined everything, and we said there wasn't enough time before it got dark so the walk was canceled. Jim was doing something on his computer by that point, but I thought it would be nice to get out in the neighborhood, at least. Wren and Tiny went with me on the trail around the outside of the neighborhood. Halfway around, Wren wanted to come back early via the road while Tiny and I finished on the trail along the other side. So we split, and Tiny and I came upon a swing in a tree. I believe it was the spot where long ago there was a swing we discovered with the Rob and Annas, and Anders accidentally did a partial back-flip off it and then exclaimed, "That was awesome!" That original swing had been cut down years ago, and I had never seen this new one. Anyway, Tiny got to do some swinging in the twilight, and I just love the way she appreciates nature (and swinging). At one point, she said, "Wow, this is marvelous!" As she swung, leaning way backward, she went on to say something like, "It's so beautiful, with the trees and the blue sky." (The sky was a very dark blue, as it was getting close to dark.) 

1/3/24 - When I picked Tiny up from a playdate at London Yates's house, I asked her how it was. She said, "It was really fun. We completed everything we wanted to do." I love the way she talks. "Completed"? She also says "a bit" a lot, and it's my flave. See next quote.

1/9/24 - Skiing in Big Bear, Tiny always takes off first and races to the bottom. On one run, she wasn't at the lift line when I got there with Bear, and she took a couple minutes to join us. When she finally arrived, I asked if she'd fallen or something. She said yes, she'd fallen and lost a ski on "that side part." Trying to confirm where she meant, I said, "Oh, that dirt section at the top?" (We'd had almost no snow.) She said, "Yeah, but I didn't fall because of the dirt. I was just going a bit wild."  

2/2/24 - While working on homeschool...

Tiny: "Did you just toot?"

Me: "No. In my life, yes, but recently, no."

Tiny: "Yeah, because you've been alive a long time, like long time no whammies." 

The girls frequently use my made-up words and weird sayings, and it's my favorite. 

4/7/24

I told the girls I'm speaking next Sunday on tithing. Tiny ran upstairs and returned with the book Girls Who Choose God and said it reminded her of the story in the book called "A Generous Widow." It was so cute that tithing reminded her of the widow's mite story and that she ran to get it to help me. 

5/29/24

Me: "I could snuggle you all my life, Helen!"

Tiny: "And I could listen to you read The Hobbit all my life. While snuggling, of course."

6/9/24

Tiny made a list in a little notebook of the things she wants to do on her birthday: crepes for breakfast, family presents, grilled cheese for lunch, read, party with friends. (Later added family movie/slumber party.) I said, "I love that you have 'read' on your list." She said, "Of course reading has to be there! Without reading, what is it? How is it possible to be a birthday without reading?"

7/6/24, as Tiny was putting sprinkles on her birthday cake

Me: "Ideally you would have washed your hands before you did that." 

Tiny: "Ideally. But I'm not ideal." 

I've been noticing for a while that Tiny uses good words she's learned from books. The other day she said she was "able to tolerate" something. She also used the word "disown." She told me she understands a lot of words she has read but never heard. So I guess let's hear it for her excessive reading.

7/7/24, having received a little practice balance beam and gymnastics bar the previous day for her birthday

"I think I could be amazing on floor and beam. I'm the only one who can do tricks on the floor. I, personally, am horrible at beam, but I just need to learn balance." 

8/8/24

Ever had a small cavity at her dentist appointment. I believe she had one other small cavity when she was really little. Other than that, we haven't had any. Tiny was shocked upon hearing the news and said, with feeling, "You're a horrible person!" 

9/3/24 

"I know him. I necessarily know him. He has already attended school." 

She doesn't totally seem to understand the definition of "necessarily," but she has said it multiple times lately. I enjoyed her use of "attended." She also mentioned something about being "occupied" the other day. 

9/12/24

The lady a few houses up the street has annoying chickens that used to poop all over our driveway because she just lets them roam. They haven't been on our property for a long time, but two showed up in the backyard this afternoon. Tiny ran out and started shooing them with a broom, but they kept running into our glass doors because she was pushing them toward the house. Finally she got them along the side of the house and out through the side gate. She came back and reported that there were two, and "I think they are a married couple. I got one through the gate, and then it stood there and waited for the other one."  

9/22/24

Tiny and Wrenzy were building with Legos instead of going to bed, and I went to regulate but was also singing Phantom of the Opera music. Tiny said, "It's not the time to vocalize. You don't vocalize right before bed." 

6/9/25

The Littles have been on summer break for a couple weeks; Ever is finishing her school year in a few days. Today, the Littles asked me to play the game of Life with them. After I triumphed, Tiny said, "Well, you didn't actually win because you didn't have any children, so you'll be forever sorrowful." Wren says Tiny speaks like an adult. She sort of does, and I love it. 

7/5/25

Tiny and I were making her birthday cake, and she said we needed to spray the pans. I asked if we needed to spray and flour or just spray, and she said, "You can spray, or you can butter and flour. That's my understanding." 

7/11/25

Tiny told me she wants to have five kids and lots of grandkids. She wants the grandkids to be babies. I said, "You know babies grow up, right?" She said, "They'll have one baby, and then three years later they'll have another baby, and then three years later, they'll have another baby..." I said that the other grandkids will be sad when she only likes the babies, and she said, "I'll like them all. I just need to have new personages to make it interesting." 

That same day, Tiny was eating at the table while I was in the kitchen. She said, "I want to snuggle somebody." I repeated, "You want to snuggle somebody?" "Yeah," she said, "I feel like it." 

7/31/25

I asked Tiny to pick up the fly that was dying on the kitchen counter and throw it away. She said she'd pick it up and take it outside. I said, "Why does it need to go outside? Why can't you just throw it away?" She answered, "It needs a tomb!"  

8/5/25

Tiny tried a cookie I made, and I asked her how it was. She answered dramatically, "It was spectacular."

Wren

11/5/23 - Wren told me her life plan: JCS Mountain Oaks through middle school, Sage Creek High School, BYU, and then live in Wisconsin and drive a pink Jeep. "Do you know why I want a pink Jeep? Because pink cars are good luck, so I want to give people good luck." 

11/15/23 

Berry has been saying "I love you" a lot before bed. We go back and forth a few times. Here's a sample:

Me (or Jim) "'Night, Bear. Love you."

Bear: "'Night. Love you, Mom."  

Me: "Love you, Berry." 

Bear: "'Night, love you." 

Tonight she explained to me that she feels like she has to say "I love you" last because the person might die in his sleep. Or get kidnapped or something. I'm not sure if I should be concerned.  

6/13/24

While we were driving home from swim lessons, Berry suddenly said, "Mom? How much money does it take to start a business?" I told her it depends on the type of business. She said she wants to start a baking business (inspired by the cafe in The Bookwanderers) where they sell baked goods described in different stories (in other words, they're making and selling in real life the fantastic made-up treats from books). At home, she and Tiny were brainstorming, and Berry said, "I'm going to go get clothes on, and then we can talk more." They're so cute together.

6/30/24

Tiny warmed herself up some chicken nuggets, and she forgot that I had asked her to have peas and corn, too. We were discussing this, and Berry said, "Well she could just have some freeze-dog." I add "dog" to the end of lots of things. And the Littles often eat their peas and corn frozen instead of warmed with butter and salt as Ever prefers them. I just love to hear them say my weird language inventions.  

8/25/24

Wren and Jim made cookies quickly after church so that we could take some to our 1:00 meetup with a new piano teacher (and the rest to the Karners' that night when we went for dinner). As they were making the cookies, Wren started calling herself an "exceptionary" baker, confusing the words "exceptional" and "extraordinary." So she and Jim became the "Exceptionary Bakers." 

9/7/24

We are having a nightmarish heat wave and decided to take Wren home after her soccer game in the morning rather than have her wait in the heat for an hour and a half and then watch Tiny's game with us. I was talking to Wren about what she should do while we were gone, and she told me this was her plan: "Shower, get dressed, acai [she's obsessed with making herself acai smoothies/bowls], Wordle, piano, weekly job." 

She's like an old person, totally addicted to Wordle and other New York Times word games. She wants to do them every day. Ever got her into them.

9/always/24

While watching one of Ever's soccer games, Wrenzy needed to use the restroom and asked Tiny to go with her. Wren said, "I'll give you a favor, but it can't be, like, I don't have to go to the bathroom with you." And thus it came to our attention that the girls have a favor system. They ask one another other for favors and keep track and pay one another back when a favor is called in. It's pretty cute. 

7/10/25

After family prayer at night, Wrenzy has been asking me to carry her to bed "wedding-style." That means like a groom carries his bride over the threshold. She even lets me snuggle her face while I carry her, and it's amazing.  

8/5/25

Wren and Tiny played with Luc and Amelie Oddou and their cousin Olivia (who is visiting) this morning at our house. Wren and I had to leave for a piano lesson, so the other kids went up to Oddous'. At piano, Wren asked, "When we get home from piano, will they still be up there [at Oddous'], or will they have dispersed?"

11/2/25

Jim calls his phone his "dhone" (I don't know how to spell that, but it rhymes with "phone"). I sometimes use "dhone" but more frequently call it a "denwa bango," which means "phone number" in Japanese. I say "denwa bango" instead of just "denwa" (which would actually be the correct term) just because it's more fun to say. So one afternoon, Jim said, "Where's my dhone?" Wren said, "What's your dhone? Your denwa bango?"  

Ever

6/14/24

Wren, Ever, and I went to Leela's dance recital and took flowers. I was debating leaving the flowers in the car in water during the show and then running out to grab them afterward versus holding them the whole recital. I told Ever that I think I worry more about keeping plants in water than other people. She said, "That's funny because other people keep their plants alive." Truer words were never spoken. I kill everything instantly. Touché, Goose. 

8/8/24

Ever got super mad - like, crying mad - at me for not taking her to use a Starbucks gift card (which I desperately wish she had never gotten) after her dentist appointment on account of our recent excessive sugar intake and a lack of time (we had to pick up Mel and Alina Karner to go with us to middle school registration). Then when we got to MLK, she got mad at me for not telling her that she was going to get her picture taken. I said, "Add it to the list of things you hate me for." She retorted, "I will." Then, "It's a long list. There's not any more room." So this is not a fun memory but a parenting memory, nonetheless. 

9/4/24

We have a middle-school carpool going with three other Henie Hills girls - Alina Karner, Maggie Gustafson, and Evan something-or-other who lives near Maggie. We've been picking up the girls 20 minutes after school gets out so that traffic isn't insane. Conner Warr, a boy from the ward, lives close to the school and walks home. He started hanging out with the girls while they wait for their ride, and it's very cute. Ever came home from school today and said Evan asked, "Why didn't your boyfriend come talk to you today?" Ever said, "A) He's not my boyfriend, and B) [he's at] cross-country."

When I heard (and saw) Conner chatting with the girls (mainly Ever) after school, I suspected that there was a mutual crush, but I hadn't said anything to Ever. Her story about Evan's comment gave me a natural opening. I said, "I wondered if you and Conner had the hots for each other." Ever had never heard that term before and laughed about it. Then she said, "I'm going to date when I'm 16." I said, "And Conner is on the list of potential dates?" She responded, "All Mormon boys are." Enigmatic as to her feelings about Conner, but excellent answers.  

8/23/24

Ever was telling me about a boy in one of her classes, and I asked what his name is. She said, "I don't know. To me, he's a Gavin." 

10/4/24

Jim had an NWSL soccer game on, and the rest of us were doing things and talking in the vicinity. He said something about how he would really like to hear what the commentators have to say about that play, but he couldn't hear anything because everyone was talking. After a beat, Ever, who was sort of bending over near the couch for some reason, said, "Is that what they call ... microaggressions?" 

6/22/25

While walking by the Provo River and chatting, Ever announced that she is not getting married. "I'll go on some dates, but I am not getting serious with anyone, and I am not getting married." I asked why she didn't want to get married, and Tiny said, "Because dating, kissing, all of that." Ever concurred emphatically, "Yes, all of that." 

Jim (bonus)

8/13/24

Jim talks in his sleep not in frequently, and he has said some funny stuff. Tonight, as I was heading to bed he said: "Oh, no. Took my pants again, Par."