Mercedes and the Girls

Conversation between Mac and I at bedtime:

Mac:  "Mommy, why aren't the stars out?"
Me:  "They'll come out soon.  When it's cloudy, though, we can't see them.  Just like we can't see the sun when it's cloudy."
Mac:  "The moon is like a star."
Me:  "No, the moon is a moon."
Mac:  "The moon breaks into pieces!  And then all the pieces come back together and it's round again."
Me:  ??     then...
Me:  "Silly Mac.  The moon doesn't break into pieces!  It's always just the moon."  (I'm imagining some awful apocalyptic vision in her head.)
Mac:  "But sometimes the moon looks like a 'c'."
Me:  (Aha! Now I understand what she's thinking, but how do I explain the phases of the moon to a three year old?!)  "Oh, now I understand.  The moon is always a whole ball shape, just like the earth.  It just looks different to us when the sun hits it in different ways."  (Because that makes so much more sense to a three year old than it breaking into pieces and coming back together.  Right.)
Mac: "The earth is a ball because it's circle-y." 
Me:  "Yep.  It's circle-y."  (Notice the lack of comment about the moon.  Because she's thinking in her head, 'Silly Mommy, the moon breaks apart!')

Mac is really coming into a fun new phase this last little while, pretty much coinciding with her entry into preschool and becoming what in her mind is a really big girl.  She makes the most interesting observations and has so much to say.  She has become much more interested in letters, writing, letter sounds--even just her drawings have become much more detailed and 'understandable'.  She's really showing some growth and change in her mental processing abilities and reasoning.  I'm loving the new Mac!