You sit down on the floor, Daddy, and I'm gonna read books to you.

Claire: You sit down on the floor, Daddy, and I'm gonna read books to you.

(Claire is reading a book to Daddy.)
Alex: I've got a game you might like, Claire. You read a book to Daddy, and I'll be a bad guy and take the book!
Daddy: No, I don't think she'll like that game.



Claire (talking about an airplane): When it’s tired – when it’s, when it’s, when it’s tired of flying? It can land.


Alex: Claire can I tell you something? Please.
Claire (doing her own thing): Peekaboo.
Alex (whiny): No. Please? Uh. Claire?! Claire?!
(Claire laughs while she continues to do her own thing.)
Alex: Claire, Claire this is gonna be a fun game. Let’s build a town out of pillows, so we can walk in it, and live in some houses!
Claire: Okay!
Alex: Okay!
Alex: She listened, Daddy!!
Daddy: Oh good!
Alex: Let’s go in – let’s go in the family room, so we can get lots of stuff, and build the town!
(Alex and Claire run into the family room.)

Alex: And then we pull them out! So we can build a house!
Claire: Uh-huh!
Alex: We need a town, whoa!
Claire: We need a town, whoa!
Alex: We need to get all this stuff, the materials we need for the town. So let’s get it, let’s put it, in a big pile!
(Alex laughs.)
Alex: One more.
(Alex laughs.)
Alex: Another roof I’ve got!
Claire: Can I put this in?
Alex: No, that’s a hard thing. We want a soft house. So no people get hurt.
Claire: I can get a soft toy.
Alex: No, I think this is enough materials, Claire. So let’s go to work. Whoa!! Ouch, ouch, ouch. I fell in all these materials. Calire, I like this pile. Claire, can you pull me out? I’m stuck.
Alex: Oooh! Ugh! My foot’s stuck in the plastic! Ooh! Ugh!
Alex: Pull me out! Please! One, two, three pull! Help me, Claire! My foot’s stuck! See!
Alex: Ugh! Ugh! Uh!
Claire: There!
Alex: Pulled me out of the plastic! That was so dirty! So I had to get out again!
Alex: Ah! Ah! There’s a crab (mumble).
Alex: Claire! Can we use Juju and Mallory! (Unintelligible)! Just like Elly and Bobo are in the pile! Claire! Let’s get to work, and start building our town!
Alex: C’mon, Claire! Ugh!
Claire: I need this to draw the town. I need this –
Alex: That can be our constructions!
Claire: No I need to draw this town.
Alex: Claire. Let – let’s draw all the things we need to – to draw the whole town. The – the – so we can – have – the basement. I can – I don’t think that looks like a town, but I can make one. Can I? Can I? Can I draw?
(Claire draws on her own and ignores Alex.)
Claire: (Unintelligible). And then do this. There, now, you can draw. There.
Alex: Now. I get the crayon. Can I turn it around? And…
Claire: Then I can, smooth it up, Alex.
Alex: Now the next thing, our construction… I, I drew a window, Claire. Now, Claire!
Claire: There.
Alex: Claire, you put black all over my building!
Daddy: Oh, Claire. Can you say you’re sorry?
Alex: I didn’t need that! Let me try again.
Alex: Stop it, Claire!
Daddy: Hey Claire, let him do some too.

Alex: No. I’m trying to draw, and – I’m not working it out. Because of you, Claire.
(Pause.)
Alex: Stop this! No rectangle, just a square!
(Pause.)
Alex: Stop this! I can’t build this house like this!
(Pause.)
Alex: This is not letting me draw what I want to draw!
Daddy: Oh. I’m sorry. Maybe you should just build your house.
Alex: But – what if I don’t know how to build it? I need constructions.
Daddy: Oh.
Alex: So this is gonna be our construction.
(Alex tries again to draw his instructions.)
Alex (angry at his picture): Stop this! Stop it! Don’t do it that again!!
Daddy: Are you gonna put the pad in time out, Alex?
Alex: No. I don’t like it.
(Alex tries again.)
Alex: Stop it! I don’t like it.
(Alex fusses.)
Daddy: All right, let’s do something else.
Alex: I need to do the constructions, so I can know how to do the house.
Daddy: Maybe you could just do them in your head, you could think about –
Alex: No! Noooooo!
(Alex fusses.)
Daddy: What’s wrong, Alex? What’s happening?
Alex: This building’s not working!
Daddy: It’s not drawing the way you want it to?
AlexL Yeah.
Daddy: It looks great to me. Would you rather do it on paper?
Claire: Can I –
Alex: No!
Daddy: Do you wanna get some paper and do it?
Alex: No.
Claire: Can I – can you get some paper and I do it?
Daddy: Yes.
(Daddy and Claire go to get some paper.)
Alex: I wanna do it on paper. This is part of it.
Daddy: Okay.
Alex: If I want to see how to do the rest for the first part, I’ll just go to that one.

Alex: So we know how to bake this house. So we’ll have to draw a town, and a house, so we’ll know how.

Alex (angry at his new picture): I don’t like it! It’s not straight lines like these!

Claire: Look, Daddy! It’s a book!
Daddy: Oh I like it!
Claire: It has lots of pictures on it. It has Alex, and Claire, and Daddy, and Mommy, and Grommie.
Daddy: I like it, Claire.
Alex: I don’t see Alex.
Claire: That’s Alex. No – no that’s Alex.
Alex: No – no – those are not called people. They’re just pictures.
Claire: But I just draw everything, those, those are pictures. I’m gonna draw, a balloon.
Alex: So then, we, make a, biiiiiig… rectangle… then we make a roof up top…
Claire: There! It’s a straight line, it’s a – that’s a road, and that’s a road, and that’s a balloon!
Daddy: Oh!
Alex: And then… we make a door… oops… and then have a doorknob. And then…
Claire: There! Now, I need another color.
Alex: We put the piece together, and make more houses… And then we put that line there… put this line here… put this line here…
Claire: There! Now it’s a circle!
Alex: And now…
Claire: I made a circle!
Alex: Put this here…
Claire: I made a balloon…
Alex: Put this here…
Claire: ..and a star, circle, and a book, *and another circle. Everything I made!
Daddy: Oh good, I like it!
Claire: I make something else on this one. Yellow.
Alex (frustrated): Awwwww!
Daddy: Do you feel frustrated?
Alex: I’m feeling frustrated because I’m not putting, the – the – coloring isn’t helping me make the constructions.
Daddy: May I take a look?
Alex: Yes.
Alex: Look at this window! All… look, it just has lines, lines, lines, lines.
Daddy: But you can tell it’s a window.
Alex: No it’s not.
Daddy: So it’s good for constructions.
Alex: No!
Daddy: Ohh. You don’t like it?
Alex: I don’t like it. Can you help me build one?
Daddy: Where do you want there to be a window?
Alex: Um –
Daddy: You know, if I drew it, I think it would look like that too.
Alex: It would look like this!
Daddy: It’s hard to make the lines straight – really really straight like that. You did a good job on that one. I’m not sure I could do it.
Alex: It has to go like this.
Alex: Like that.
Daddy: Okay.
Alex: See that small square? That’s what it’s supposed to look like.
Daddy: Well that looks good!
Claire: There! I really did – really – it’s a party with all the toys.
Daddy: Oh!
Claire: And the balloon needs to be in the sky, and the book needs to be inside, and the circle needs to be outside, that circle needs to be outside, that circle needs to be outside, that circle needs to be outside. Put all the changing tables.
Daddy: Oh, all the changing tables? Okay.
Claire: It’s gonna be a house.

Claire: There! Now it’s a house!
Claire: Where’s Alex?
Claire: He’s drinking some water.
Claire: Now I need some red. I need red.
(Alex returns.)
Daddy: Sometimes when I get frustrated I just need to take a break.
Claire: Why did Alex need to take a break?
Alex: Watch, Daddy! I wanna show you how I got o – get over there a different way!
Daddy: Okay.
Alex: Jump!
Alex: Now.
Alex: See?
Alex: Now…
Alex: That’s not really how to get over there, but…
Alex: Like this… push… this…
Daddy: That looks like it’s gonna be hard.
Alex: Then pull… I got over there, see?
Daddy: Good job!
Alex: I jumped on the chair, jumped on there, and I puuuuuuullledid myself over to the sofa. That’s how I got over here.
Daddy: Good work.
Alex: Daddy?
Daddy: Yes, Alex?
Alex: Can you help me make constructions?
Alex: Maybe I should just go ahead and build my house.
Daddy: I think that’s a good idea.
Alex: Claire? Can you help me build my town?
Claire: But.
Alex: It’s ready. It’s ready, it’s ready!
Claire: But I need to draw, one of the house. There.
Alex: The deer cross. The deer cross sign. The deer cross. Whoa. The deer cross sign.
Claire: There. It’s all finished.
Alex: Look, Daddy!
(Alex laughs.)
Alex: I’m upside-down!
Alex: Honk honk honk honk honk honk.
Alex: Honk honk, honk honk. Whoa! Claire? Are you ready for the house?
Claire: I’m gonna be upside-down.
(cross-talk)
Claire: I’m upside-down!
Daddy: You’re upside-down? Look at you, silly.
(Claire laughs.)
Claire: Woww, howww!
(Alex runs off and comes back.)
Alex: I got the constructions, hats. Here’s your construction hat!
Claire: Thank youuuuuuuu.
Claire: I have my construction hat.
Alex: Let’s get to work. Oh, it’s hot in here. Whew. Whew.
Claire: It’s hot in here. Whew. Whew.
Alex: I don’t need that hat.
Claire: I don’t need that hat.
Claire: I need it, because, my head is cold.
Alex: No no no no.
Alex: It’s hot in here, Daddy. Can you turn on the heat? I’m getting thirsty because it’s really hot in here.
Claire: I’m getting thirsty because I need some water.
Alex: Daddy, can you turn on the heat? We’re getting really thirsty because it’s really hot in here.
Daddy: Well, it’s already on, buddy. It should get better in a little bit. It’s mostly ‘cause you’ve been running around that makes you hot.
Alex: And thirsty?
Daddy: Yeah, and thirsty.
Claire: I need to clean up my mess!
Daddy: What mess did you make, sweetie?
Alex: She spilled.
Daddy: How much water did you spill?
Alex: Mommy! Your hair looks funny!
(Alex laughs.)
Alex: We were trying to build a town, and all the ‘structions are not letting me, draw how I want to draw. So I’m gonna go ahead and build my house! But Claire’s not – Claire’s not helping!
Mommy: She’s not?
Alex: Would you like to help?
Mommy: Um, I need to do my hair first.
Alex: Okay.
(Alex laughs.)
Daddy: Mommy was playing a joke.
Alex: Yes she was. She was playing a joke!
Alex: Daddy, I’m putting my house over here.
Daddy: Oh! Good work!
Alex: I put – I put the little side, like, this! It’s like, this part, see?
(cross-talk)
Mommy (to Claire): You cleaned it all up?
Claire: And Daddy helped!
Alex: Next! We have to put on this little big, big rectangle… where’s the big rectangle? Oh! One of those pillows! But I wanna go over there but I can’t, whoa! Uh. Uh. Uh. Straight one and straight one and straight one and straight! Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Straight. Whoa. Oh no! Whoooaa! Daddy.
Daddy: Oh, what happened?
Alex: I just fell right down into the, pile of stuff.

Alex: Oh. Thanks for helping me get out.
Alex: Whoaaa!!!!