My granddaughter is ten years old now, though in some ways she will always be my baby girl.
When she was three and her brother was one, I took care of them for about a year and a half when my daughter returned to her nursing position at the Janeway Children’s Hospital. This was just before Paul and I moved to Newtown.
During the routine of caring for them, I would jot down anything our little girl said that made me smile.
At three years old:
“Nanny, I’m ‘boring’!”
“Oh, you are, are you? How about we go for a walk then?”
“Can’t we do something ‘funner’?”
Padmé was the name of her first cat. While she stroked her head gently: “I love Padmé even when she scratches me.”
While we were making cookies: “You’re going to Lead Cove this weekend, are you?”
“Yes, Nanny, so you’re going to miss us for a while.”
Her baby brother fell, bumped his head and cried. When he finally calmed down, she looked at me sadly and said, “I don’t like when that happens to my brother. It makes me scared.” (How well she articulates her feelings at such a tender age.)
“Nanny, it’s raining. Can I go outdoors with my ‘amp-brella’?”
“Your mac and cheese is ready, sweetie.”
“How come you didn’t say ‘roni’, Nanny?”
“I don’t want to grow up, Nanny.”
“Everybody grows up, honey. Why don’t you want to grow up?”
“Because I want you to always babysit me.”
She and her brother were fighting over something. “I’m so disappointed in him!”
(And continuing to build her vocabulary:) “This is so frustrating!”
(In reply to something I said to her:) “Apparently!”
This one floored me: “Oh, Nanny, I don’t know what to do with my life!”

She was telling me that she saw a cowboy when she was out with her mommy.
“He had a real cowboy hat and cowboy boots!”
“Where did you see him?”
“At the booze store.”
“When I grow up, I’m going to get married.”
“And who are you going to marry?”
Matter-of-factly, she said, “My brother.”

Four years old:
Holding her brother’s face in her hands: “His eyes are so beautiful, I could cry!”
Talking about her bad dream from the night before: “My dreams are broken.”
“What did you dream about last night, Nanny?” (I think she’s the only person who ever asked me that!)
“Nanny, you’re so sweet.”
“Why am I sweet?”
“Because you do so many things for us.”
She was telling me about the dead, mangled shrew that her cat Ginger had brought home recently. “Nanny, you could see inside it. It looked like old wires, like inside my very old couch.”
I commented on the cut on her leg.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said fearfully. The next day she announced out of the blue: “I’m ready to talk about my ‘owie’ now.”
We were out for a walk around the block when she pointed at a little girl across the street. “That’s my friend!”
“What is her name?”
“I don’t know…”
She told me about one day when another relative came to babysit. “When I saw it wasn’t you, I screeched!”
“Why, sweetheart?”
“I wanted you, Nanny, because I love you so much. I’ll love you till the stars fall from the sky…but that will never happen, so I’ll always love you.”
*Only last three photos were taken by yours truly. All others taken by the children’s Mommy and Daddy.
What cute things did your children or grandchildren say?
Please share below!
Further Reading: Kids Do Say The Darndest Things
❤️❤️
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These quotes are a priceless joy!! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for your comment! 🙂
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The things she says are really precious – you must be so happy that you wrote things down!
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Indeed I am. 😊
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She sounds like a sweet little angel.
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And she still is, Elizabeth!
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Great post! I enjoyed reading what your granddaughter said–and the title of the post brought back warm memories of the old LInkletter book and TV segments about kids saying the darnedest things.
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Thank you, Sheryl! Happy Valentines Day. 😍
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i honestly enjoy your reads 🙂
please do visit sanya512.wordpress.com
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Thank you, Sania. I will drop by for a visit in the days to come. 🙂
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Hi Jennifer, Grandchildren are so sweet. Unfortunately, I just have Buddy. Hopefully, things are calmer for you now that your book is finished and out. I will definitely get it once it is in stores.
Meanwhile, Buddy is wondering if Vivian and Maisie would like to do a guest post some Thursday on Foster Cat Chats, separately or together. It does not need to be long and photos are great.
Think about it. They could even throw in a plug for your book. Let me know. Buddy says Meow.
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Hi Brenda! Thanks so much for your comment and for your support. 🙂
Yes, my first book is finished but I continue the task of editing and polishing its sequel, so I’m still pretty busy. Thanks to your Buddy for the lovely invite to do a guest post! So sweet of him. I will check with Maisie and Vivian to see what they can come up with (too late for this Thursday but we’ll try for another week).
Thanks again! ❤
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Buddy and I are so happy you and the kitties can do this. Whenever is good for you is great because I have a few lined up now anyway. So whenever you have a chance. I can imagine how busy you are. Hi to kitties and keep on writing.
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Great! We’ll be in touch.
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🙂 Truly precious.
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Thanks. ❤
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Oh, I loved this post! The things our children and grandchildren say are such gifts to savour. My second granddaughter is one of the most amusing children I know. Recently, she put her ear to my dishwasher and announced she could hear the snakes moving around in there. Who knew? I put her best quotations on Facebook so i have a record of them.
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She sounds like a funny one, Marlene. Recording their little remarks on Facebook works well too! 🙂
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absolutely love this. So sweet and beautiful memories!! Love it 🙂 be sure to check out my latest post if you get the chance please 🙂
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Thank you for stopping by 🙂
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Just beautiufl Jennifer! Such precious memories to have.
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Priceless memories. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity before I moved
away. ❤️
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Yeah our grandchildren can crack us up at times
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They are the best source of really understanding life.
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George, they can teach us so much, it is true. 🙂
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A www! We saw our 25 month old on skype yesterday and he said, “Nanny get lots of animals, Nathan see animals.” (We have little farm and jungle animals that we bring out when we’re on Skype.)
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Aw, that’s sweet, Carole. Skype is such a godsend when you live in different provinces, isn’t it?
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You were smart to record these! I wrote down some of the things my boys said, but not many. Too bad. Rereading them makes for fond memories.
“Because I want you to always babysit me.”—Ahhhh. 🙂
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I know, Carrie, I’m glad I kept them. And nothing could make my heart swell more than those little words. 🙂
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So true. I love life through the lens of a child. Your 10-year-old granddaughter has a lot to live up to with these words in her background.
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Hi, Jacqui. I think she’s advanced in her reading skill level, which doesn’t surprise me. She’s always been a precocious child.
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