quick on her feet

John and I joke that E is going to make the best lawyer some day because she can argue like nobody's business. Her retorts have left us stumped on several occasions and I fear what it will be like in the teenaged years when she has had more time to hone her skills.

A has recently picked up one of E's oft-used argument of the "Never, Ever." We never let them stay up late...or never let them have desert...or we drive on and on and on and will never reach our destination. Because we are mean, mean parents, I tell you.

So last night as we were pulling in from dinner, a couple of kids were playing in the cul-de-sac. But it was close to bedtime. And they had already had a busy weekend where they were outside all day Saturday and we had a two-hour jaunt to the pool on Sunday. And a certain un-named almost three-year-old had not napped all weekend. So when said three-year-old asked to play outside and was told that she could not, she sighed and said,

"I neber get to play outside."
To which her sister responded, "You went to the pool today, A. Is the pool outside or inside?"

Most times when E steps on our parental toes we are quick to remind her that she is not the mommy. But, last night, we were giggling at her quick thinking and thankful that A had no comeback of her own.

"You're pretty smart for an almost five-year-old," John told E as they walked into the house.
"I know, Daddy. Maybe they'll let me skip kindergarten," was her reply.