Observation

As I've stated, and elaborated on, in other posts, Nancy is an astute little thing.  She is always observing, always putting two-and-two together, and always articulating those things.  I wish I had a quarter for every time I said, "That's a good observation, Nance."  Here is a short list of Awesome Nancy Observations:

This past Tuesday, one of my coworkers and I were being driven to a radio interview, and Nancy was in the car with us.  Holly was telling us a story about her childhood pet quail who didn't like the color red.  The car turns a corner, and without missing a beat in the conversation, Nancy says, "Um, Miss Holly, that Toyota sign is red, so she wouldn't like that sign..."  Holly looked at me amused, and I said, "By the transitive property..."

When we arrived at the radio station, we passed a framed poster in the stairwell of Beatles album covers.  Nancy, at hefty volume, said, "Ooh!  The Beatles!" and then sang, "I am the eggman.  I am the eggman.  I am the walrus!  Coo coo cachoo!" The girl escorting us to the studio looked stunned, and I said, "We raised her right."

We put the I SPY franchise in her life a long while ago to put those powers of observation to good use.  The books, and then CD-Rom, and eventually for her Leapster.  When she was 3 1/2 and we were doing the CD-Rom game together, I was totally stumped.  We were supposed to be looking for a trunk, and I said, "I don't see a trunk anywhere in this picture."  Nancy grabs the mouse and says, "An elephant has a trunk..." clicks on the elephant statue in the game, and the music for "correct answer" plays as I shake my head in simultaneous offspring-pride and self-shame.

I was able to take her to New York City this time last year, and we traveled there by Megabus from Providence.  The last half-hour of the trip is all within the Manhattan city limits, and Nancy was glued to her view out the window.  She saw her first yellow taxi cab, and got very excited: "Mommy!  I sawded a yellow taxi cab!"  I said, "You'll see a lot of those..." but that did not quell her repeated excitement as she observed cab after cab.  I thought, Oh Lord, we're going to be jumped by the passengers on this bus if she keeps up this level of excitement with every taxi cab we pass...  But, fortunately, the taxi cab accumulation made an impression on her fairly quickly, and she turned to me and said, "Mommy, I am so surprised.  This place is amazing full of taxi cabs..."  Chuckles can be heard in a three-row radius. 

A few days ago, I showed Nancy a picture of a good friend from Florida whom she has not seen in over a year. I assumed she wouldn't remember him at all because of her young age, but, of course, was proven wrong. I showed her a picture of David holding his 5-month old son, and Nancy said, "He looks younger!" I thought she was talking about the baby, but before I could clarify, she continued, "He used to have a beard." 

Watching The Jeff Corwin Experience on Netflix. During the teaser footage, Nancy sees a bird and says, "Ooh! A harpy eagle!" When Jeff later confirms it is, in fact, a harpy eagle, I turned to Nancy in legitimate amazement. Mommy: "How did you know that was a harpy eagle?" Nancy: "Diego."

When we were at the United Center, waiting for the start of Disney on Ice, Nancy exclaimed, "Mommy! I saw a picture of a girl who looks like you!" I said, "Oh, yeah?" Nancy: " Yes! She had red lips like you, and brown hair like you, and pretty eyes like you!" Mommy: "Aw, honey, you are so sweet." She points to the scrolling ads at the United Center: "There she is!" It's a picture of Alicia Keys...  She wasn't even 5 and she knew the way to Mommy's heart... is through her ego :o) 

The way to Mommy's heart, is NOT, however, this:   I turned around to find Nancy's naked rear end facing me... I said, "Nancy! What are you doing?" Nancy: "Showing you my bottom." Me: "Why are you showing me your bottom...?" Nancy: "I wanted you to remember it."

In New York City, Nancy observed me trying to hail a cab, and then I observed Nancy trying to help me.