You know how sometimes a kid wakes up and they seem like they grew two inches overnight? Today was one of those days where I felt like Siena gained 2 IQ points overnight.

• While we were reading a beautifully-designed book (All Aboard by Bill Mayer) at school during the standard pick-up ritual, we got to a page that shows the front of a cruise ship and the word Voyage (the hull of the ship forming the letter V). I said, “V is for Voyage.” And Siena said, “It’s .. it’s .. like a long, long trip.” I exclaimed, “Wow, where did you learn that?” Siena pointed at the book and said, “Here.” One of the teachers nearby said, “Siena, you are just too smart.” (Ignore for the moment that I later found out that Mama had explained what voyage meant to Siena just the prior day.)
• In the car on the way home, we saw a particular object that I’ve “trained” (encouraged) Siena to respond to with a certain phrase. She finally said it without prompting. I’m leaving it vague here for now because I’m hoping she says it for Mama in the car and gets her to laugh. But it was the first time she said it for me without any assistance.
• Right after Siena said the target phrase, I cheered and, stretching my arm into the backseat, asked her to give me a high five. Normally she’s very good at this, but she had a big toy bus on her lap, and when she went to smack my hand she whacked her arm on the truck. I said, “ouch that sounded like it hurt.” And she said (again, a first for me): “That was my fault. That wasn’t your fault daddy.” And I thought, “Wow, and she’s only two!” Later on, when I bumped her and said, “Sorry, that was my fault,” she started getting upset and said, “No it’s my fault” with that rising pitched voice she uses, as if fault was something she needed to possess instantly like a baby doll. And I thought, “Yeah, she’s only two.”
• Finally during dinner, while eating a biscuit, she put a little too much in her mouth at once and had trouble chewing it all and getting it swallowed. I didn’t see that at the time, but I did see her expression as she was working the dough and trying to get it down. Of course I get worried in situations where she seems to be having difficulties like this, so I asked her if she was OK. She said, “I put the whole biscuit in my mouth [ed. not precisely true] and started to choke [ed. ditto].” I don’t think I’ve ever heard her assemble the logic of that sentence before.

All in all an impressive day from the girl.