WHAT PHINEY & CORALIE SAID

A few favourites that we've been gathering over the last few months...

Josephine: 'Coralie's a naughty poo head!'
Daddy: 'That's not very nice, Phiney.'
Josephine: 'Fine! She's a very...naughty...bunch of flowers."

Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie: 'Yellow!' (it's blue)
Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie: 'Yellow!' (it's red)
Mama: 'What colour's this Coralie?'
Coralie after lots of thought: 'Green?' (it's yellow)

Josephine: 'I'm so combumulated!'
Mama: 'Do you mean frustrated?'
Josephine: 'No! I mean combumulated!'

Coralie: 'Mama, where my (Playmobil) girl?'
Mama: 'Which one, Coralie? What does she look like?'
Coralie: 'A boy.'

Josephine: 'What does it say on the weather cast?'

Coralie: 'There a Mini, Mama!' (whenever she sees one, and there's a lot in Bath.)

Josephine: 'It's my gradulation today!' (pre-school graduation!)

Coralie walks in wearing a witches hat: 'Look Mama, I'm a pirate.'

Josephine: 'Mama, how do seagulls make friends?'

Josephine does a loud trump: 'It wasn't me, it was Coralie...she's in my bottom and trumped!'

Coralie: 'What that smell?' (all the time!)

Josephine: 'Babies seem so lazy to me. They never walk or do anything.'

Daddy: 'So what's the biggest difference now you're four, Phiney?'
Josephine after a lot of thought: 'That I'm not three anymore.'

Josephine: 'Mama, I want 16 Playmobil things from Father Christmas!'
Mama: 'Wow, that's a lot! Coralie, what would you like from Father Christmas?'
Coralie after a long pause: 'A chocolate bar!'

Josephine: 'Mama, I love you on Thursdays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.'
Mama: 'What about on the other days?'
Josephine: 'Yeah, I love you then too.'

Josephine: 'Coralie, do you have a spoon? Oh blastin' 'ells you haven't. I'll go get one.'
Coralie: 'Kay.'

Josephine: 'I'll get the secret Mama.' (the receipt!)

Coralie: 'Nee-nee went to cinnamon.' (the cinema)

Josephine: 'Mama, it was the most massivist poo of my whole wide life!'

Coralie, in the middle of the quiet playground as all the parents waiting for the children to come out of school: 'Mama, that bird talking to me.'
Mama: 'Is it? What's it saying?'
Coralie: 'Me a poo poo head!'
Every parent bursts out laughing!

Josephine: 'Oh, it was years ago. When I was three.'

WHAT PHINEY SAID

The Christmas holidays provided us with plenty of amazing quotes from Josephine...

"Mama, what animals do Party Rings come from?!"

Josephine: "Oh Coralie, I was going to tell you an important truth."
Mama: "What was it?"
Josephine: "For when you build towers."

"It was the biggest bug in the whole wildlife world."

"That's the funniest thing I heard in my whole wide life."

"Coralie, we're going to get married soon."

After watching her best friend Oliver jump off the stairs...
"That was so funny!"
Then seeing me watching...
"But also very dangerous!"

As I'm opening the shutters one morning...
Josephine: "What a beautiful day!"
Mama: "I hope it's going to be like this tomorrow for our walk."
Josephine: "But luckily it's nice today, remember Mama."

"You're the best sister, Coralie."

"My wee is made of glitter."

"Oh Coralie, Coralie Joe!"

Mama: "What do you think you'd like to be when you grow up?"
Josephine: "I'm too small to know that, Mama. I need more years."

"I love our conversations in the morning, Coralie. You're hilarious!"

Said very loudly in the middle of a very quiet Co-op...
"Mama, my trumps smell like I need a poo."

Josephine to Coralie: "If you ask me you're being very silly and messing me around."

On why she likes playing hospitals...
"I want to check people's hearts and be kind."

Josephine: "Where's my bombastic?"
Mama: "What's a bombastic?"
Josephine: "The stick bit on the hoover."

Daddy: "Coralie, are you going to eat some more carrot?"
Coralie: "Sssshhhh" putting her finger to her mouth.
Daddy: "No, not quiet! Carrot!"
Coralie: "Sssshhhh!"

There are a few things I don't want to forget Coralie saying too. As her speech develops more everyday, it's an amazing stage and so cute.

Coralie: "Story" meaning books
              "Mirror?" when she gets dressed or puts something from the dressing up box on
              "Where's Phiney?" the first thing she says after every nap
              "What that noise?" to any noise at all
              "Oh!" in response to everything!

As always, these posts are some of my most favourite. Several of those had be laughing out loud as I typed them up. So happy we're in the habit of writing down these treasures!

treasures from a special place

A few days ago, as we rushed home from somewhere, Josephine asked me if she could pick something up that was hiding in the leaves in the gutter next to the pavement. When I asked her what she'd found, she held out a single, pristine bright pink petal and said:

"Look Mama, at this beautiful treasure. I think Grandpa dropped this for me from his special place, for me to find. And whenever we look at it we can think about him and it will make us smile and be happy."

The beautiful petal is now sitting in Josephine's flower press, ready to be tucked away in one of our scrap books alongside Josephine's story. I've never told her any stories like that before regarding my Dad, which only makes it more magical and more beautiful; that she thought of it by herself, in that fleeting moment.

That my Dad is always in her thoughts, always with her, is such a comfort to me. That he lives on within us all, even if he's not here himself. That he's never forgotten and remains a huge part of our lives and will do forever.

As happy tears filled my eyes, I cuddled my darling girl for giving that ordinary day a little bit of magic, for being so kind-hearted and seeing the wonder in the smallest thing; the beauty of that pink petal, buried in a pile of brown crunchy leaves. For talking about my Dad, and remembering him in her own such special ways.

WHAT PHINEY SAID...and Coralie too.

More priceless, hilarious observations from this brilliant girl. And a first from Coralie too! I love these posts. Definitely some of my favourites...

"Is it tomorrow today?"

Josephine: "I don't like playing with boys."
Mama: "What about Oliver, Theo and Bertie?"
Josephine: "Oh, they're my best friends. I mean all the other boys."

"A shark came, but it didn't eat anyone. That would have been a disaster!"

"Mama, am I a cartoon?"

Mama: "You're so cool, my Josephine."
Josephine: "I know I am."

Josephine (pointing at a picture of Mama): "That photo is of holiday. Was it before Coralie was born?"
Daddy: "Yes, it was before you were born too."
Josephine: "Cool...now, I'm a cowboy."

"I had tummy ache because my tummy needed some sunshine. And a poo poo."

Mama: "How many fish fingers would you like?"
Josephine: "11. No wait. Let me think about this..."

"Mama, you always smell fresh."

Mama: "What's in the garden Coralie?"
Coralie: "Bird!"
Mama: " What does a bird say?"
Coralie: "Hello!"

WHAT PHINEY SAID

I can't even tell you how much I love talking to Josephine. More conversations that I just never want to forget...

"Mama, I was SO late. I looked at my watch and it was TEN PAST FOUR!!"
*Tuts, shakes head and walks away. Moments later, she runs in, shrieking.*
"IT'S TEN PAST FOUR. AAHHHHHH!!!"
*Runs out again.*

Refusing to get her other shoe and sock on...
Me: "Josephine, you can't go to nursery with only one shoe on."
Josephine: "Yes I can. I can hop."

Me: "I'm so lucky to be your Mama."
Josephine: "I'm so lucky to be your girl."

Josephine: "I had to paint my eye last night."
Me: "Why?"
Josephine: "So the spiders didn't eat it."

Me: "You look like a little Christmas elf."
Josephine: "I'm not the elf. I'm Father Christmas."

"Spiders eat bugs and flies and plants and...bogeys."

Josephine: "Mama, can I have a cuddle?"
Me: "Of course!"
Josephine: "I love having cuddles with you."
Me: "Oh! I love having cuddles with you."
Josephine: "And I love that you stay at home with me when Daddy has to go to work."

"I wish I was a Playmobil guy and could drive this helicopter and do the steering wheel. But I'm not. I'm Josephine."

WHAT PHINEY SAID

A few more gems from the last couple of months. I could chat with Josephine all day, she amazes and delights me with the things she says...

On sitting at the table and me passing her her lunch... "It's so nice in this café!"

"It's exhausting walking in the rain, isn't it Mama?"

"That's hilarious!" (All the time!)

Josephine: "Our old house fell down!"
Mama: "Oh no!"
Josephine: "Don't worry, we weren't in it, and I've built us a new one, the same - look! Do you like it?"

"This milk is 20p. What a bargain!"

"You're good at chopping Mama, because you are grown. And cool. And Daddy and Coralie are cool. And I am cool."

After I've been singing along to Jay Z and Alicia Keys 'New York' in the car... "Oh! I really like your singing Mama."

Mama: "What do you like most about our house?"
Josephine: "That we all live here together. And Buzz Lightyear."

"Look Mama! There's Florence. Oh, no, wait...she has a different face."

"When I do quiet trumps, Mama, it tickles my bottom and leg!"