Dominic is studying about abstract nouns. Pia is listening.
Dominic: (reading) "An abstract noun is a noun that you cannot touch but can be thought about"
Daddy: Do you get what an abstract noun is? It's something you cannot touch.
Pia: Daddy, I know an abstract noun!
Daddy: Ok
Pia: A poisonous spider!
* * *
Dominic and Daddy are playing chess. Pia wants to learn chess too:
Pia: Daddy, can I play chess?
Daddy: Sure, when we finish this game you can play. But do you know how to play?
Pia: I know what the pieces are called.
Daddy: (holding up a castle) What is this piece?
Pia: Rook!
Daddy: Good. What's another name for it?
Pia: Roof!
* *
Daddy plucks out a piece of hair from his nose.
Pia: Daddy, why do you take out hair from your nose?
Daddy: Because it was getting long
Pia: Is it painful?
Daddy: Yes -- don't do it.
Pia: (pointing to where mustaches grow) But if the hair in my nose grows long, I will have a beard, like Santa Claus
* * *
Daddy is busy at the computer. Mummy is busy at the computer. Pia is playing and doing something interesting to herself.
Pia: Look at me!
(no one looks at her)
Pia: Daddy, look at me!
(Daddy is uninterested and doesn't look even though Pia is just behind him)
Pia: Hey, Daddy, look at me. I'm easy to look at.
* * *
Mummy has started training Sammy to go without nappies. Every 30 minutes, Mummy asks Sammy if he wants to pee. It's not easy -- Sammy still has difficulty understanding the difference between "I will pee" and "I already peed".
One day, Sammy, without pants, got his plate, and slid it between his legs:
Pia: (seeing the act) Sammy! That's disgusting!
* * *
While praying before bed:
Daddy, Dominic, Pia: "And give us this day our daily bread..."
Daddy: (interrupts, to help the children understand the prayer) What does our daily bread mean?
Pia: The bread in church
Daddy: Yes, but also it means the things we need, like food, clothing, ...
Dominic: and toilets
* * *
Still teaching Sammy math:
Daddy: Two plus three?
Sammy: Two!
Daddy: No, it's "five"
Sammy: Fight!
Daddy: "Five"
Sammy: Fight
Daddy: "Fiv-uh"
Sammy: Fight-uh
* * *
Sammy has been exceedingly good in math:
Daddy: One plus one?
Sammy: Two!
Daddy: 8 divided by 4?
Sammy: Two!
Daddy: square root of 4?
Sammy: Two!
So we decided it was time for the next level:
Daddy: Two plus two?
Sammy: Two!
Daddy: No, it's "Four"
Sammy: Faaaart
Daddy: Four!
Sammy: Fart!
Daddy: Fooooooor
Sammy:Faaaaaaaaart
* * *
Daddy and Sammy are in the kitchen. Mummy's mug of green tea is on the table, in front of Daddy. He goes into teaching mode and decides to teach Sammy a new word:
Daddy: (pointing to the mug of tea) Sammy, say 'Tea'
Sammy: (pointing to the mug) Pee
Daddy: No, 'Tea'
Sammy: (with more enthusiasm -- he has learned a new word) Pee!
Daddy: Tuh-eee
Sammy: Puh-eee
Daddy: (losing hope) Tea
Sammy: Pee.
* * *
Dominic and Pia pray each night. Sometimes we pray the Our Father and other prayers. They know the words, but are too young to understand many of the bigger ones, but we slowly explain to them what the phrases mean:
Daddy, Dominic, Pia: "Angel of God, my guardian dear..."
Daddy: <pausing> What does 'guardian' mean?
Pia: Where we plant flowers and vegetables?
* * *
Sammy has started watching Barney and enjoys it tremendously. It's the same set of Barney shows that Pia and Dominic watched in Hong Kong when they were Sammy's age.
The current episode he's watching over and over is about Numbers. Stella (a magic story teller), lost the numbers from the face of her magic alarm clock. 'Oh no!' she exclaims upon finding out. Sammy watches this episode every day.
One day, while Daddy was putting on Sammy's socks:
Sammy: (looks up at the wall clock and points to it) Oh no! It's eight!
* * *
