New vocab today

It never ceased to amaze me how fast Nicole grows up. Everyday there's always something new. Just turned three less than 2 months ago, she is already as tall as a four-year old or even taller.

Today we went to Festival Leisure Park in Basildon, Essex. There was Angelina Ballerina, face-painting activities for children. She wanted to be a butterfly.
So her face was painted as a pink butterfly with sparkles... of course.. some things that Nicole loves the most are the colour pink and anything that glitters. Well, at the moment, the glitters are limited to shiny paper, beads, sequins and sparkly things. No jewellery or expensive items (yet...)
Anyway, on the way home.. satisfied with her butterfly face and a floaty balloon of Angelina Ballerina, she sat back on her car seat and suddenly said,.. "Mummy,.. I am soooo attractive"
Slightly taken aback, I answered, "Yes, darling, I think so too... I think you are the most beautiful girl in the world" (which of course, she is by the way..)
Then she had the sun in her eyes and protested, "Mummy.. the sun's in my eyes!..."
"Just close your eyes, now"
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"Yes, you can"
"Where's the sun, mummy?"
"It's behind those trees, baby"
"So the trees are protecting us?"
"Yes, sweetheart, they are...."
Was that a conversation between a forty-something and a three-year old?.. well, it was.

Why?..

Some studies suggest that a child can focus on something for as many minutes as is double to their age.

Nicole is going to be three years old next month. However, her speech ability and vocabulary is more like a mini adult. My husband and I always try to speak to her normally like to another adult; obviously with a much slower pace. We believe that the more you speak to her as we would to another adult, she will be able to communicate better. She does. And so much more.

Driving home from the nursery today, she asked, "Where's daddy, mummy?"
"Daddy's at work, babe"
"Why?"
"Because Daddy has to work"
"Why?"
"Because Daddy has to earn some money for us"
"Why?"
"To buy your milk? And chicken? And pasta?"
"Why?"
"So that we can eat"
"Why?"
"Well, ... (hmmm, think!..) if we don't eat, we'll get hungry, sweetheart"
"Why?"

???
Half a minute...

"You don't like to be hungry, do you Nicole?"

A glance through the rear view mirror showed that she was mesmerized by a huge pigeon perching on the electricity cable.

"Mummy.... a bird.. a bird..!"
"Yes, darling, it's a big bird, isn't it?"

The question and answer lasted about 5 minutes. Almost the end of her attention span. And I was still thinking of the answer to her last question.