Conversations with a two year old

Sera has been sick a lot lately. She seems to have these episodes of vomiting about once a month. We're keeping an eye on it. After throwing up on morning, Sera seemed to be feeling better by the afternoon. I asked her, "Are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?" She answered enthusiastically, "Yeah!" She then paused and looked contemplatively before answering, "Actually.....no." I was so stunned at her use of the word "actually" that I never asked why she was not ready to go back to school.
I knew that Sera wasn't going to remain small forever. She would walk, run, skip, climb, and jump (and she does). She would learn how to use the potty (which she did). She would make friends (she has). I don't think I had ever considered or was ever prepared for the changes in her speech. A little over a year ago, Sera's speech was limited to things like, "More cheese" and "Thank you."

However, which each passing day, I think she has picked up more and more words and more verbal nuances. I thought this was pretty normal. Speech grows exponentially in toddlers. During Sera's 2 year old well check, the doctor asked if Sera was speaking in at least two word sentences. I almost laughed. She speaks non-stop! The only time she seems quiet is when she's watching a movie. Even then, she occasionally turns to you and comments on the movie. "That boy not being very nice." "Ariel's daddy not listening?" "James play ball in the castle and then SMASH! Break like a window!" In fact, I think I am going to create a new blog in the future. It will be like IMDB, but Sera's description of movies. Here is what we have compiled so far (don't judge on the movies Sera has been exposed to):
Men in Black: "The bug that eat the boys"
Robocop (the PG-13 remake): "The boy that turns into a robot"
Labyrinth: "With that girl that runs from the ghost. The other Sara."

It has surprised me that Sera is only 2 1/2 and we have actual conversations.

On a broken toy:
Sera: Oh no.
Me: What is it, Sera?
Sera: (bringing a broken toy to me) It's not working very well.
Me: Hmmmm.... (fiddling with it) I'm not sure how to fix it.
Sera: Maybe daddy know how to fix it.

During a drive to the bank:
Sera: We go that way? (pointing right)
Me: No, we're going that way (pointing left) That way (pointing right) is the way we went when we saw the dinosaurs.
Sera: Let's go see them.
Me: We can't, Sera. They're not here.
Sera: Why?
Me: Because they went to visit other kids.
Sera: Oh. We see dinosaurs and the dinosaur poop and that man put his hand in it. YUCK!

(Several of Sera's memories revolve around a bodily function. Her trip to the pumpkin patch and her first pony ride was recalled with: "And the horse peed." She described a recent trip to the zoo with: "We see bat poop!")

Describing her first visit to Santa:
Craig: What did you do today?
Sera: My see Santa!
Craig: Yeah?
Sera: My sit on his lap and he give me candy cane. But I no like the candy he gave me.

Upon learning that she will go to Chuck E. Cheese:
I taped her reaction after telling her we were going to Chuck E. Cheese, thinking that she would squeal and jump in her seat. Her priorities on the visit were different than anticipated (some of these videos are closed captioned if you go to full screen):

Then, there's play. She is such an imaginative kid. Her new favorite game is to run and hide from the monsters. She will run into the room and beckon you over by folding four fingers into her palm and saying, "Come on!" You must run with her to either her room or our room. While running, she announces, "We gotta hurry! We gotta hide or monsters will find us!" We jump into a bed and pull the covers over our heads. She then looks at me, places one finger over her mouth, and says with a whisper, "Shhhh... We have to be quiet or monsters will get us." She will peek her head from under the covers and then dash back inside and scream, "Monsters!" I'll ask, "What do they look like?" She typically answers in a singing tone, "They pink and purple and red...."

Other games involve Sera playing doctor. I caught her playing school nurse last week. I guess Doughno got injured at school and she had to call his parents:

I also love that you can actually ask Sera about her day. Previously, if I would have asked her what she did, she would answer, "I played. With toys." Now I'll hear stories like, "We went on a choo-choo train in our room with our chairs." or "I make an ice cream cone with Ava." or "I play in the monkey tent today! And Oliver scared me."

She can also describe tv shows, characters, toys, and actions (like the cat bank we received for Christmas):

Most of what she says is pretty sweet. However, there are times when she becomes clearly frustrated. She speaks forcefully, her voice lowers, and her brow furrows. Sometimes I even get a finger shook at me. It's hard not to laugh when she does it.

In a moment of frustration for me, I needed a substitution for a less appropriate word. So, I borrowed from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and exclaimed, "Oh, pickle juice!" Sera then said pointedly, "No! Those Donald's words!"
Sera was asking a question repeatedly (which is not uncommon). The second time I answered the question, she turned to me and said, "No! I talking to daddy!"
Sera's favorite playground activity is the swing. However, this activity is clearly a quiet, zen moment with her. Because if I say things like, "Wheee!", I usually get a forceful "No say whee!" in return.

Then there are times when she is clearly trying, but not quite there yet. She recently climbed onto the couch and said seriously, "Mommy, I need to talk to you." I asked, "What did we need to talk about?" She looked at me seriously again and answers, "Carrot!" Another time, she climbed onto Craig's lap and said, "I have an idea!" Craig asked, "Oh? What is it?" Sera's brilliant idea was a simple, "Cookie!"

Most of this development brings me closer to Sera's world and how she perceives it. But I can also see how she is using her speech development to manipulate me. This fall and winter, Sera hates wearing a coat or jacket. The afternoon teacher has to practically wrestle Sera to get her coat on. Craig and I sometimes have to bribe her. On Saturday, it was a cool 65 degrees outside and we were headed to the playground. Sera was wearing a relatively thin hooded sweatshirt over a t-shirt. Sera told me that she planned to swing on the "black swing." As I backed the van out of the driveway, Sera says, "Mommy. The swing is not very comfortable with my jacket on." I looked at her and asked, "Did you just say 'not very comfortable'?" before I realized what she was doing. I then answered, "Nice try!" Sera gave me one of her best non-verbal responses, her devious smile and a giggle.