Lola the Storyteller

I've met a lot of kids who are Lola's age and have large vocabularies and high-level conceptualization. The one thing we notice about Lola that is definitely advanced is (surprise) her independent storytelling ability. From blog evidence I have seen, I can confidently say that she shares this ability with her cousin Brooke. We always make an effort at dinnertime to talk only at Lola's level, so she won't have to sit and eat while she's being ignored or bored. Tonight we asked her to tell a story. What kind of pet would she prefer? "A horse." What is its name? "Herrot." (The parents gave each other the look at this point--kids usually can't invent names at this age, and we had never asked her to do it before.) What color is he? "Yellow." What animal is his friend? "A cow." What's its name? "Sophina." (Parents look at each other again). Does she have goat friends? "Yes." What's the goat's name? "Sophina." What's the other goat's name? "Sophina." Well, she's definitely got good taste in names! By the way, no one around her has a name anything like "Herrot" or "Sophina." Even her books don't have anyone by those names.--K