Lucy knows a lot of words and when to use them, but not exactly what some of them mean:
• Sneezes, says, “I think I have a cold.” Pause. “Granny, what’s a cold?”
• While hiding in our blanket igloo from a snow monster: “Mom, I think we better split up.” Me, impressed with her sneakiness: “Good idea.” Lu, impressed and confused: “But Mom, what’s ’split up?’”
• In the car, Granny points out the traffic. Lu concurs, then asks what traffic is.
Vocabulary aside, her grammar is mind-blowing. She uses the following tenses: past, imperfect (past continuous), subjunctive, present perfect, conditional and some others I don’t know. She can describe what she wants to do, what she’s done and what she will be doing (oh and what she’d prefer to be doing in the future).