Things they say

4yo: Do you like me?

Me: Sometimes

4yo: Is now one of the times?

***

Going to bed one day, with her rag doll Piccolo, Nidhi says "I want a real person to sleep with me"

What's not ours

Rohan has been hard-trimming the overgrown hedge. When completed, he looks proudly at it and seeks Nidhi appreciation.

4yo (obligingly): Look Mummy, daddy has made the hedge look so neat!

Me: Yeah, and we have more space now!

4yo: How?

Rohan: Because the hedge was taking up a lot of space in the garden, so now we have more space in the garden.

4yo: Is that Doris's space? (Doris being the neighbour with whom we share the hedge)

Nuts!

At breakfast Nidhi is picking out various nuts from her muesli and asking me to identify them for her.

4yo: Which nut is this?

Me: That's an almond

4yo: And this one?

Me: That's hazelnut

4yo (stares ahead thoughtfully): Do the Indian squirrels eat coconuts?

The art of negotiation

I am downstairs when Nidhi wakes up in the morning and calls for me.

Me (entering her bedroom): Time to wake up!

4yo: Sleep with me for some time. Sleep with me for 3 minutes.

Me (hoping to negotiate): 1 minute

4yo: No, 3 minutes. (Pause). Because you said 1 minute, I am going to make it 4 minutes.

You can't win.