Some things Siena has said recently:

• “…then everyone in the house will be dressed. Everyone, that is, except for me.” (“everyone, that is, except for” is from one of her books)
• In response to my saying we don’t need another 5 babies in the house that she is pretending are new additions to the family: “Just deal” (I guess I or Mama says this to her more often than we realize)
• “Ok. Here’s the deal.”
• “You take care of Mama. She’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of Thalia. Thalia will take care of me.”
• “I was only pretending” (strong emphasis on “pretending”), said when she claims something to be true and is then told that she’s wrong.
• “Goodnight I love you don’t let the bed bugs bite” (what she wants me to say to her when I come in to say goodnight).
• “ethiopiachad” (she’s compounded Ethiopia and Chad from the Map of the World shower curtain in her bathroom and says it very fast)
• “I’m pretending I’m 12” (this is her current pretend age for most of her pretend activities; often followed by one of her baby dolls being “zero” or “just out of my tummy today.”