I Love Lucy

A few things I love about my niece:

1. For several months now, her young toddler vocabulary has included "hummus" and "tortilla." Also two of her favorite foods. Chips are really just a vehicle by which to shovel massive quantities of hummus into her mouth. The soggy chip remnant is then put back in the hummus bowl for the next person's scooping convenience.
   
2. Sometimes when she says "puppy" to my dog, she mimics an adult's lower-voiced warning tone, as in, "puppy, no hummus for you." But when she does it, she sounds like Eddie Vedder, or some other loose-voweled rocker (read that carefully).
   
3. Ever since Christmastime, not a visit to my parents' house goes by without this exchange eventually taking place: Lucy: "Jesus?" Us: "Where is Jesus, Lu?" Lucy: "Box." The Fisher-Price Nativity set. It's not just for Christmas anymore, no matter how many times my mother tries to pack it away.