See Daddy? See the pieces of her head falling?

Alex: I kinda wanna do something fun in the fall. I wanna rake leaves.


(Claire doesn’t want to wash hands before lunch.)
Claire: Maybe we could do… hannitizer.


(lunch)

Alex: Thank you for my cheese sandwich.
Claire: Thank you for my cheese sandwich.
Mommy: You’re welcome.


(Claire and Alex are watching the same Berenstain Bears episode for the second time in a row.)
Claire: Daddy, maybe we could always watch this one, ‘cause I always like it!


(Claire shows Daddy the page on which she’s been practicing writing the letter C.)
Claire: That’s a C, and that’s a A, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C, and that’s a C.
Daddy: Good!

(Claire shows Daddy the picture she drew of several people.)
Claire (pointing to each person): Hey Daddy, that’s when I was big, and that’s when Alex was big, and that’s when I was bigger, and that’s when I was a baby again, that’s when I was so little, I didn’t have any hands.

(Alex is coloring too.)
Alex: It’s a roller coaster! Look what I made, a roller coaster!
Daddy: Yeah!
Alex: And there’s another one that’s way – uh, that’s behind!
Daddy: I like it.
Alex: Uh, there’s two starting lines.

Alex: One of them is too big, but it’s okay.

Alex: One of them – some of them are going up the hill.

Alex: Well one of them is going down the hill.
Daddy: Yeah.
Alex: Well one of them is for grown-ups. It’s because, it’s a really really steep hill.
Alex: Did you know it’s a really really steep hill?
Daddy: I know it now.
Alex: But one of them’s for kids.

Alex: Look at all the persons!
Daddy: Yeah.
Alex: And then there’s another roller coaster.

Alex: Claire, you wanna see the roller coaster?

Alex (to Claire): And I made a little – little roller coaster far away, and those are persons – it’s just little, ‘cause they’re far away, and those are persons. They’re just little.

Daddy: Alex, this is really good. Can we save it?
Alex: Yeah. I made Busch Gardens. And there are some really little people right here, they’re on a roller coaster so they think they’re little.

Alex: Uh, Daddy, it’s just – theres’s a lotta people, it’s just – there’s everybody that wants to go on the roller coaster. So there’s nobody in this seat.

Alex (shouting up the stairs): Mommy! There’s a really good picture I drew!

Daddy: What are you drawing, Claire?
(Claire holds out her picture to Daddy. It’s a person.)
Daddy: What is it?
(Claire holds it out closer to Daddy.)
Daddy: Tell me about it.
Claire: He is walking where the other guys is, but he’s lost in the forest.
Daddy: Oh! I like it!

Claire (showing Daddy her picture): Look Daddy.
Daddy: I like that! What are they doing?
Claire: Um… You… is the daddy. We’re playing Daddy and Mommy, but – Alex is the daddy, and you’re the daddy, and I’m the mommy.
Daddy: Oh!

Claire (to Mommy): C’mere, I wanna show you more of my pictures.

(Mommy is preparing for a yard sale.)
Mommy: Claire, how much would you pay for this toy?
Claire: What?
Mommy: How much would you pay for this toy?
Claire: I don’t wanna pay that toy away.
Mommy: Claire how much would you pay for this toy? If you had to buy it?
Claire: Three.
Mommy: Three?
Claire: Mm-hm.
Mommy: Uh, I was gonna say two.

Alex: I’m making the goodest roller coaster ever! I’m making the goodest roller coaster ever.

(Alex is showing his latest roller coaster picture to Daddy.)
Alex: This one?
Daddy: Yeah?
Alex (gravely): It crashed right into the roller coaster. It went puh! It went straight into the ground.
Daddy: Wow.
Alex (gravely): It was going really fast and it went puh!
Daddy: Wow.
Alex (gravely): And the person broke his leg.
Daddy: Wow.
Alex (gravely): He was right up here, and he went right down here.
Daddy: Wow. That must have hurt.
Alex (gravely): He broke his leg. He had to go to the hospital. That must be bad.

(Alex continues to draw, or enhance, his roller coaster pictures throughout this extended conversation.)

Alex: But Mommy, I’m making a roller coaster, but on it, there’s something bad that happened on it.
Mommy: What?
Alex: It’s just pretend, but…
(Alex explains about the horrific roller coaster accident.)

Alex: And… too bad.

Alex: Daddy?
Daddy: Yes?
Alex: Here I’ll show you. Uh…
Alex: I’m gonna show you. Just a minute.
Alex: Okay.
Alex: This! Is the roller coaster. Look. Its wheels fell off.
Daddy: Oh no.
Alex: See its wheels fell off?
Daddy: Yeah.
Alex: That’s when he fell.
Daddy: Oh no.
Alex: I’m gonna show Mommy.

Alex: And now the boy – he fell on – her coach, and now her head, broke, open.
Daddy: Oh no.
(Alex draws some more on his picture.)
Alex: See Daddy? See the pieces of her head falling? And the – and the wheels falling? And that one – and that seat falling? And that’s part of her head, see that? That was a dangerous thing.

Alex: Uh-oh!
Alex: Oh no! At the accident, Daddy.
Daddy: Yeah?
Alex: There’s something – look, this – this coach is coming to crash into him! That – that’s when the accident – almost happened. And it crashed and then – it fell down.
Daddy: Wow.
Alex: There’s a lot of coaches about to fall down.
Daddy: Wow.
Alex: And that’s the same person that – that might be on the roller coaster.
(Alex colors some more.)
Alex: And – he – there’s another person! Crashing – gonna crash into him! Look – he’s gonna crash into the – person – he’s gonna go over the cliff! He’s – going – he’s gonna bump into the cliff and – fly over the cliff! But he’s gonna bump into his head and – break open his head!
Daddy: Oh no!

Alex: Look at all the coach – and broke open heads falling! Look! Look at all that falling from the cliff!
Daddy: Oh no!

Alex: He, made the crash. But it was a accident, because somebody – somebody – well, the roller coaster – actually it wasn’t like that, it was going
(Alex says the following with many hand gestures and sound effects.)
Alex: Rrrrrr… puh, puh, puh, puh…
Alex: And onto the ground. He was going:
Alex (more sound effects and gestures): Rrrr… puh…
Alex: He made it to the ground. He made his wheel, he had a flat tire, but it went out, and – actually made a hole, and – it was a bump, bump bump, big bump, and – and then he was falling upside down over – over, his head and – and landed up on the ground. He landed like this.
Daddy: Oh.
Alex: But it’s good that his head didn’t break. He was falling like this.
(Alex does more gestures and sound effects.)
Alex: So he musta been hurt, he has to go to the hospital.

(Alex continues to describe the gruesome wreckage.)
Daddy: I don’t know why anybody would ride this roller coaster.
Alex: Well – they didn’t know if it would break, but – they couldn’t stop it, Daddy! It was because everybody, was – was –
(Alex continues.)
Alex: There was something wrong with the roller coaster up there. There was something in the way. So, all the persons who worked there, had to go get it. But they passed it on the way, so, they had to jump up there. They were going going going going and then!
(Alex does some gestures and sound effects.)
Alex: Down to the floor like that.

Alex: It’s gonna break somebody’s head!

Alex: Guess what – how? They’re falling like this, Daddy. They’re up here and then they go – but wheels and see, wheels and see, but – it goes – but – that, it goes, all the way down here, but – it goes through – and – it cracked her head! And it’s falling.

Alex: Ahhh!

Alex: Finished. Look at all the falling people! They’re falling everywhere!
Daddy: Yeah!

Alex: And – look at all the people falling and falling and falling. And broken heads, and broken heads – and seats and seats and seats. And stuff like that.

(Please note that the above is just a sampling. Alex drew, and described, tragic roller coaster accidents for a good 90 minutes straight.)