Alden lets us know when he’s having a good time by screaming. He is a loud little kid. He waves his arms and pops your eardrums. That’s usually when Elisa says that he’s total boy.

Eden said she was going to sing Happy Birthday to Alden. Then she started making up a song: “Happy birthday, Alden! And we’re going to have cheese… and Jesus… and Noah, and then it’s time for a boat ride, and then there’s a little rain… Boom! Crash!” I guess Elisa and Omi had told her the story of Noah a few hours earlier, and so it made its way into her narration.

Eden woke up sad from her afternoon nap. I asked her what happened in her dream. She said, “Somebody was going to push somebody, and somebody popped the bubbles.”

Here’s what Eden sounds like these days. Yesterday she was walking to McKaila’s house, and met her sister Rianna on the way. Rianna was wearing a 10-gallon hat. As much as I can remember, this is what she said.

I am gonna… Are you a cowboy? Oh dear, you’re a silly cowboy! Is McKaila can play… Look at my sandals! They’re pretty! I am ask McKayla can, uh, wanting to play with me… That sounds gonna be fun!

Once she starts complaining, she really gets on a roll. Today she was sad because some dress-up clothes were lost. She was carrying a wand and she had one glittery slipper on.

But I don’t want to look for it. But I don’t know where I left my shoe. Mhhhrrrrn! But I don’t want to raise my wand to turn this ball into a real Papi boy, like you’re a real Papi boy.

I don’t know exactly where she was going with that. She likes to wave her wand at things and cast spells like on Sesame Street.

One of her signature words is “get-for” because she thinks that means “forget,” as in, “Don’t get-for my water.” She also loves the number 5. She uses it like it means “infinity.” When we ask her how many books she wants to read and she wants a ton, she says, “5!” Another fun thing is when we have to remind her to ask nicely for something. She adopts a cloying tone of voice and goes up about three octaves when she gets to “please.”

Can I please have some chocolate milk pleee-ease?

One more: this is what Eden told me  a couple days ago while she was holding a wand.

I’m going to turn you into a princess! Zippety-zappety-zoo! You’re a princess! … I don’t think it worked!