Straight from Ellie's Mouth

Ellie LOVES "making" fairies on the Disney website. They let you pick out every little detail from the color of eyes, hair, and skin, to jewelry, hair style, and even arm and leg placement. Then for the finishing touch, you get to name your fairy or simply hit the "random" button until the computer comes up with a name that you like. We have allowed Ellie to print out about 6 or 7 of her fairies over the past few months. Some of my personal favorites are Libby Prettystorm and Melody Sweetsong.

So yesterday, Ellie came barging into the bathroom to plead, "Mom, can I please get on the computer and make another fairy?"

"I suppose so..."

"I'm going to name this one 'Deaf.'"

To clarify, I asked, "You're going to name it 'Death?'" I worried immediately, has our recent viewing of Star Wars begun influencing her creative thought?!? :-)

Apparently not picking up on the subtle difference, Ellie responded, "Yeah, 'Deaf.' Only she's going to be only a little deaf. Do you know what people do who are only a little deaf?"

Still trying to determine whether we're talking about "death" or "deaf," my mind is struggling to keep up. I replied,"no what?"

"They speak Spanish instead of with their hands."

Ah, so we have been talking about "deaf" all along! Again, I find myself at a loss for words. Where do I start re-explaining things? ...it seems like mere moments ago I was going to the bathroom BY MYSELF!!!!!

After a meager attempt at correcting all of the various aforementioned misconceptions, Ellie went on to make a beautiful Tinker Fairy named Ella Yarrowpond. And knowing her, she probably still thinks that all Spanish-speaking people are actually hard-of-hearing.

Perhaps Disney is missing the boat...maybe there should be a spot after selecting abilities to select dis-abilities for your fairy...