Kids say the darndest things

Evelyn and I have been spending a lot of "quality" time together on the subway lately. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention; our increased transit time has led to the development several new joint activities. First is Evelyn asking me to read to her and me saying I can't because I don't want to vomit all over the subway floor. We usually settle on me holding the book so she can see the pictures and turning the pages without actually reading anything.


Another newly rediscovered favorite is singing, as long as it's Old MacDonald or Christmas carols. I am allowed to sing only the requested song. Singing of a nonrequested song leads to loud protests (e.g., "No, not that one. Not That One! NOT THAT ONE!!! THE TOY ONE! THE TOY ONE!! THE TOY ONE!!!"). If the requested song is Old MacDonald, I am required to sing verses based on animals of her choice. Our Old MacDonald has a very diverse farm with top animals being a lion, a fish, and a giraffe. (Since giraffes apparently have limited vocal abilities, Old MacDonald's giraffe makes a loud chewing noise.)


Yet a third new game is name that letter. Or the sound it makes. Or both. I love this one because it's so fun to see her learning her letters thanks to innumerable viewings of The Letter Factory; that DVD has been on repeat in our house for about a month now.


A week or so ago, we were playing this game on the A train. Those in the know will recall that the A train is also the 8th Avenue Express and the Fulton Avenue Express. I know this because of the handy electronic signs, like so:





The A train's sign circulates among 3 or 4 different messages, refreshing itself every few seconds. Every time the sign changed, Evelyn excitedly called out the first letter or two of the newly displayed phrase. Particularly, the first two letters of F U L T O N S T E X P. At first, no one really noticed. After a few repetitions, though, the toddler cheerfully yelling semi-obscenities and then clapping her hands to congratulate herself caught the attention of some fellow riders. Attempts to point out other letters on the train were unsuccessful in deterring her interest in these particular letters. Unfortunately.


We've been riding the C a lot more lately. It has older cars with paper signs.