I have the rare privilege of spending the holidays with family. It's wonderful and only the first time in at least seven years. Today, I chauffeured my three year old niece and nephew around town on an errand. After singing our way lustily through every song they knew (Away in a Manger, Little Donkey, Old MacDonald, Hush Little Rooster), we moved on to discuss the eating habits of birds. And why not?

They took turns naming all the various items birds enjoy:

1. Plants
2. Leaves
3. Ivy
4. Vines
5. Seeds
6. Worms
7. Caterpillars (At which point, my niece broke in with, "You know the funny thing, Auntie Amy? The funny thing is that birds eat calerpitters. Then the calerpitters turn into butterflies and they don't know where they are.")
8. Not to be outdone, my nephew piped up with another food enjoyed by birds: Sammiches. Um, Sandwiches? Yah, sammiches. Oh. What kind of sandwiches do birds like? This led to a lengthy analysis of whether birds like meat and cheese in their sandwiches, or just meat. Birds apparently share the same tastes as my niece and nephew.

Once we settled the discussion of food for the birds, we moved on to what we know. My niece informed us that she knows everything about anything. My nephew immediately said, "Yeah, I know everything about anything, too!" I replied, "Wow, that's a lot to know...." Pregnant pause. Then the small voice of my niece from the back seat, "...well, sometimes I forget things." My nephew: "...yeah, me too."

And there you have it; three year-old wisdom for you: We all know everything about anything. We just forget things sometimes.