Erika-isms

A word Erika invented and uses a lot is "shiggle". It's that shimmy-shake wiggle that dogs do when they come out of the water after a swim, and spray water all over you. It's also the way your body convulses when you're wet from swimming in the ocean, and a cool breeze blows along the beach as you sit there on a cool autumn day.

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We were finishing dinner, and I asked Erika, "do you think we should go for icecream after this?"
Erika shrugged her shoulders and said: "You're the adult, you make all the decisions anyway!"

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Now that she's three years old, I've also talked to Erika about appropriate and inappropriate touch. (At 1+ years old, we talked about female and male anatomy so she understand penises and vaginas; at 2 years old, we discussed why mommies' bodies look different than children's as a result of something called puberty). So when I dropped her off at school on her first day, I said "goodbye, I love you, and be good!" She waved happily as she went with her teachers, then suddenly turned back, cupped her hands around her mouth to project her voice, and yelled loudly: "Like not poking anyone in their vaginas or butt holes!! Right, mommy?!"  You should've seen the look on her pre-K teachers' faces...