Let's talk about...

This is Ian's new conversation starter. When we get in the car, he will say, "Mommy, let's talk about ___, ok?" It's either that or "I don't want to talk right now, Mommy."

Tuesday afternoon started off with "Let's talk about seas, Mommy." I thought, "Seas? He wants to talk about the ocean?" Makes sense, he's been bringing his sharks to school this week. OK, let's talk about seas.

Ian: "There are two kinds of c's, a hard c and a soft c. A hard c sounds like the letter k. A soft c sounds like the letter s. Mommy, what word begins with hard c?"
Me: "Um... cookie?"
Ian: "NO! Cookie begins with k!"
Me: "No, cookie begins with c."
Ian: "No, no, no. Let's talk about soft c. It sounds like s. What word begins with s?"
Me: "S-s-s-snake!"
Ian: "That's right! And Swiper! Swiper begins with s!" (He is a little obsessed with Dora the Explorer right now.)
Me: "What about soft c? What word begins with a soft c? How about 'circle'?"
Ian: "No, I don't want to talk about c anymore. Let's talk about the letter g."
Me: "Ok, there's a hard g and a soft g."
Ian: "No, I don't want to talk anymore."

Yesterday morning, we had this conversation:

Ian: "Mommy, do foxes live in the cold?"
Me: "Ummm... some do."
Ian: "Some do? Some do and some don't!"
Me: "That's right."
Ian: "Mommy, what do foxes eat?"
Me: "Um... I think foxes eat rabbits and squirrels... and fish... and birds..."
Ian: "Foxes eat fishes and birds? Sharks like to eat fishes."
Me (in Chinese): "Foxes like to eat little animals."
Ian (in Chinese): "Lions like to eat meat."
Me (in Chinese): "Do foxes like to eat bananas?"
Ian (laughing like I'm the funniest person ever): "No! Hu2 li2 bu1 chi1 xiang1 jiao1!" ("Foxes don't eat bananas!")
Me (in Chinese): "What animal eats bananas?"
Ian (after a thoughtful pause): "Hu2 zi!"
Me: "What?!?"
Ian (laughing): "No, HOU2 zi! I said HU2 zi!" ("Monkey! I said 'moustache'!")
Ian (after calming down): "Shei2 you3 hu2 zi?" ("Who has a moustache?")
Me: "Grandpa Coach. And Uncle Francis."
Ian: "Who else?"
Me: "Dennis' daddy."
Ian (pauses to think about that one): "Mommy, Dennis de4 mommy ne1?" ("Where is Dennis' mommy?")
Me: "Dennis de4 mommy bu2 zai4 le." ("Dennis' mommy passed away." Literally, it's she is not here anymore.)
Ian: "Oh. Ta1 jiao4 she3 me4 ming2 zi?" ("What is her name?")
Me (in Chinese): "I don't know. We will have to ask Tio Dennis next time."
Ian: "Ok."