Santa

Gwen: Mom, how will Santa get in the house?
Me: Down the chimney.
Gwen: Why?
Me: He doesn't have the keys and he only comes down when we are all asleep.
Gwen: But he has a big belly (because he eats a lot of sweets) so he might get stuck in the chimney, like Winnie-the-Pooh. Should we just give him the key?

Good little girl

We were discussing how Santa will bring presents to those who are 'good' and 'listen to their parents'
Gwen: Mom, when he asks you, you'll tell him that I am good, and do not tell him that I do not listen to you most of the time, right?

Looking for a husband

Gwen: I will always sleep alone.
Me: No, when you grow up, you will marry a prince.
Gwen: I do not need a prince, just a husband. But I will never find him.
Me: I will help you.
Gwen: Do I have to wait a long, long, long time? Can we start looking soon?

Husband

Third goodnight kiss.
Gwen: Mom, why don't you sleep with me? It is so lonely with just me and my sheep (her night toy).
Me: You know I can't because I sleep with Daddy.
Gwen: Can we buy him a sheep, so that you can sleep with me?

Real Princess

We were at a friend's house. Lesha (our favorite boy in the world, who is 4 years old) was playing at being a Royal Archer. He put a dragon at the wall and was trying to shoot him with his arrow.
Me: Gwenchik, why don't you try?
Gwen: No, I can't
Me: Why?
Gwen: Because I am a princess, and they do not shoot anything.
So I tried to tell her about the Amazon women or contemporary women archers.
Gwen: But I am a REAL princess :)

Hide-and-seek

We are in the bathroom getting ready to brush our teeth. Gwenchik covers her head with a towel.
Gwen: Mom, can you find me?
Me: Yes, I can see your legs sticking out from under the towel.
Gwen: Silly mom, you should look for my eyes, not my legs!

Kolobok

We are getting out of the car, and decide to race to the door. Gwenchik turns around and asks really nicely for me to "wait near the car, please until I call out". As soon as she reaches the door:
Gwen: I won, I won!
Me: Only because I waited as you asked.
Gwen: Oh, well. I am just so sly, just like a fox (lisichka-sestrichka). You shouldn't listen to me all the time, otherwise you'll end up like Kolobok (eaten).

Sleeping Beauty Ball

Gwenchik is putting away her favorite dress.
Gwen: Mom, you need a ballgown to go to the ball.
Me: What kind of ball?
Gwen: Sleeping Beauty. There will be a door, with the sign "Sleeping Beauty Ball", and we go in and we will be the extra (zapasnie) Sleeping Beauties, because there will probably be a lot of Princes.

After the Nutcracker

From Veronika

We are driving home after the Nutcracker. Gwenchik and Avishka are overstimulated, so they start to get very silly:
Gwen: You are a monster.
Avi: You are a black witch.
Gwen: You are a car.
Avi: You are a tree. I run into you and smash you.
Gwen: You are a boy.
Avi (not silly anymore): No, you are a boy.
Gwen (also very seriously): I am not a boy, I AM A GIRL!

Inside the Lion

Driving home from the childcare. Gwenchik found a toy lion.
Gwen: Mom, the Lion will eat you. And I will be very sad and cry, and cry, and cry.
Me: ?
Gwen: Then I will open his mouth and jump in with you, because I miss you.
Me: What about Dad?
Gwen: He will jump in with us, but he is so big, that we will have to all get out. And it is really wet down there.

Decision making

We had a bit of a row, and agreed that Mommy and Daddy make the final decisions.
A bit later, I asked her to put on pants, because she was coughing. She said she didn't want to.

Me: But didn't we agree that Mommy and Daddy make the decisions?
Gwen: Yes, yes. I made decisions for a long time, now it's your turn. Go ahead, make some decisions.

a bit later when we are going outside.
Gwen: Oops, forgot to put on the pants. But I didn't really want to, anyway. So that's all right. But Mom you did got to make a decision, right? So you are happy?

Time-out for adults

From Veronika

Gwen: Do you like going doing time-out?  I do not like it at all.
V: Does everyone at daycare has time-out in the corner?

 I went through the kids names - most of them had to go to the corner at some point in time.

Gwen: Adults never have time-out.
V: You are right. When adults break the rules, adults usually have to pay fines, money.
Gwen: Do you know who is the biggest adult?
V: ?
Gwen: Ira (kindergarten's supervisor). She would never pay any fines.
V: What about time-out?

Gwenchik just laughed and laughed, and laughed.

Brothers/Sisters

From Veronika
Gwen(out of the blue): I wish I had brothers and sisters.
V: How many?
Gwen: I am thinking.
V: Five? - her favorite number
Gwen: No, just one brother or just one sister.
V: Why?
Gwen: I will teach them the rules.
V: What else are you going to do with your brother or sister?
Gwen: I will put them to bed. I will sing them the song.
(George told me that she sang HIM a very long song - 8 parts or more - when he was putting her to bed last night).

Good/bad toys

From Veronika

Gwenchik is looking at a Winnie-The-Pooh book: 

Gwen: Winnie-the-Pooh, rabbit, Tiger --- they all are a family. Yes, I am their mama and I am very strict.

V.: ?
Gwen: I say No-No-No-No. Don't do this.
V: Is it when they do not follow the rules?
Gwen: Yes. I put them in the corner. No crying.
V.: And then they start to follow the rules
Gwen: No, they never follow the rules. They all are always in the corner. But they are good. They are not bad. They do not talk but they are good toys. 

Alice in Wonderland

From Veronika (on the drive to childcare):
Gwen: Do you know that Alice is a big girl?
Veronika: ?
Gwen: Yes, she is a big girl. She knows how to read books. She knows what to do when visiting. She does not eat sweets. She knows how to count and every letter.

 I think she may be 5 years old

Veronika: Does she know how to speak Russian?
Gwen: No, but I do.
Veronika: How did you meet Alice?
Gwen: She is in the cartoons.
Veronika: Is she Alice from the Wonderland?
Gwen: Yes. She is my big sister.

Nutcracker

Gwenchik will be going to the Nutcracker production this upcoming weekend. And she is soooooo excited, as her parents go once in a while to ballet productions and always bring her pictures and tell stories. If I can, we listen to music from these: Carmen is her favorite.

So we agreed, that because it will be all just dance, we should discuss the story ahead of time. So I tried to describe the Wooden Prince, the Mouse King, and the Plum Fairy. And Gwenchik listens intently and as soon as I finish wants to hear the story again.

So after the yet another retelling of the story I ask if she understands what happens.
And her conclusions are:
** "Even the bad prince needs love, but it is not nice to hit the Mouse King with the shoe, as he was a prince once"
** "It can't be scary if everyone will be dancing"
** "After the sweets finish dancing, will the girl and the Wooden Prince eat all the Sugar Fairies?"

I guess there is some undeniable logic to these....

The old white horse

From Veronika (on the drive to childcare):
It was the first snow of the season. I was singing "Snow, Snow, Snow is circling over the fields - in Russian -... What do you see in your dreams?..." - a popular Russian song of my youth.
Gwen: I saw horses in my dream
V: ?
Gwen: There was one big white horse. The head was white, the body was white, tail was also white. It was a very old horse.
V: Why are you so sad?
Gwen: Old is supposed to be sad, even when it is not sad. So we do not offend old ones.

Prince dilemma

Gwenchik (a Russian variation on an old Welsh name Gwyneth) is an adorable, very opinionated, and lately obsessed with anything having to do with princesses, 3.3 year old daughter. About a month ago, while picking Gwenchik up from her childcare, to my question: "How was your day?" 
Gwen: Mom, I have a dilemma.
Me: Dilemma? What does that mean?
Gwen: I don't know, but I need a prince. Lesha (the love of her life for the moment) wants to be a Lion and not my prince.
Me: What about Shane (another boy at childcare)?
Gwen: Oh, no. He can't be a prince, because he still wears a diaper. Princes do not wear one. Ira asked him, and I tried, but he doesn't want to take it off.
Me: What about Osya?
Gwen: Mom, he is SHORT! There are no short princes. So now I am without a prince.

Origin

Just got an email from my mother-in-law that one of our far removed relatives (long story), a 4.5 old girl, has a blog and Gwyneth doesn't! Imagine that!

So to keep up with the Bernsteins :) we set up this blog about Gwyneth Lea and her life so far.