questions of a 3 year-old

why does all the people have belly buttons?

how many squares of toilet paper do i use?

am i bigger than curious george?
what does the sun taste like?
how does the baby in your belly take a bath?
why is daddy taking a break from his sunglasses?

i love ella's questions. so innocent and also a little window into the workings of her mind. she seems to come up with something every day that makes me giggle or gets me thinking about just how amazing it is to be a mom and watch my little girl begin to understand the world. it got me thinking about one conversation we had that was especially memorable:

ella: "does God have to yell to stop the wind?"

me: "he doesn't have to, but he can. or he can whisper. or he doesn't even have to say anything. he can just make it happen."

ella: "does he have to go outside to stop the wind?"

me: "ummm...."

ella: "when he goes outside, does Jesus stay inside with maddie?" (maddie is our dog who died earlier this year. maddie is in heaven. not sure about the theological correctness of this, but hopefully we can work that out in a few years.)

me: "well... i guess he might." (i'm still trying to figure out how to guide this conversation.)

ella: "why doesn't Jesus have to feed maddie?" (because maddie's dog food dish was here long after she was, ella has always been concerned about maddie eating in heaven.)

me: "well, we don't need to eat food in heaven. its a perfect place. but although we don't need food, there still may be a feast of amazing treats just for fun. i'm not real sure on all the details i just know its going to be really, really great. but i've never been to heaven so i don't really know."

ella: "oh, i've been there."

me: "really?" never had this conversation before.

ella (looking out the window like no big deal): "yeah, when i got made." long pause. "but mommy, i don't really remember it because it was a long, long time ago."