Alexis, 4, is quite a chatterbox. Here's an excerpt from one of her monologues: "You can like boys or you can like girls. You can like anything you want. You can like vegetables or you can like snakes. You can eat vegetables, but you can't eat snakes. Snakes are yucky. You can't eat snakes, except for that guy on TV."

Ariana, 7, can outtalk her younger sister -- usually. Sometimes Alexis can leave her speechless, such as this exchange one day in the car:

Alexis: "That house over there looks like Kwajo's house."

Ariana: "Which one?"

Alexis: "That one right there."

Ariana (pointing): "Which one, that one?"

Alexis: "No, that one!"

Ariana: "I don't know which house you're talking about. Anyway, Kwajo doesn't live in this neighborhood; he lives far away."

Alexis: "I know. He lives far away, but he lives in this neighborhood."

Ariana (sighing): "How do you know what Kwajo's house looks like? Have you ever been there?"

Alexis (impatiently, as if it were a dumb question): "No!"

Ariana can be quite a drama queen, and food seems to bring it out in her. For instance, one day I asked if she wanted me to bring her back anything from a breakfast at her sister's school:

"I want doughnuts, but if they don't have chocolate, don't even think about getting them. If they do have chocolate (lowering her voice to a dramatic whisper), that's what I want."

Another time I asked her if she wanted her sausage sliced or on a bun like a hot dog:

"On a bun like a hot dog. (Cocking her head and pointing at me, like a smarmy cocktail lounge singer) Oh, yeah, baby!"

The kids are learning to deal with others' feelings -- slowly:

Alexis (comforting her sister): "Everybody makes mistakes. Even big, fat daddy makes mistakes."

Ariana (asked how she liked the dinner I cooked): "Very interesting."