Borrowing the idea from our friends James and Julie, a few years back we decided to start including humorous "kid quips" with our annual Christmas letter.  Here, we’ve set out some of our favorites from 2017.  Special thanks to Aunt Brenna, who once again captured many of this year's best lines.

• While watching Pete's dragon, Aunt Brenna asks if the dragon speaks English, to which Truman responds “No, he speaks dragon.”
• August, describing the woman who drives his carpool each day, "she's my friend’s babysitter, but they call it something else... like Oprah?" It was his friend’s au-pair.
• Papaw asks Truman “Who causes the fights with you and your brother? Is it August?,” to which Truman responds, “No, it’s Ella. She causes the trouble. Everything is ok until she comes around.”
• Ella, reacting to the loss of cable and the recorded, on-demand shows menu, "Remember this used to be the mom shows? Now it's ALL CHANGED."
• Truman to Papaw at Ella’s soccer game, “Papaw, will you give me a dollar every time Ella scores a goal?”
• Andie made waffles for dinner with her new waffle maker, causing Ella to exclaim "We had WAFFLES for DINNER... and didn't have to have vegetables with them!"
• Truman, reacting to Aunt Brenna’s comment that she has eaten cereal for dinner, “That's not healthy.”
• Ella won a little back scratcher at a winter Carnival, and as she was getting ready for bed that night, observed "my back itches... thank goodness I have a back scratcher!”
• The twins, negotiating with Mom over how long they could stay and play with their friends after church one Sunday morning:
  • Tru: 10 mins
  • Andie: Ok, 10 mins.
  • Ella: No! 100 mins!
  • Andie: I’ll give you 30 mins.
  • Ella: No, 100 mins
  • Andie: 30 minutes. Final offer.
  • Truman: 60 minutes?
  • Andie: Ok, 5 minutes.
  • E & T: THIRTY!
  • Andie: Deal.
• Driving in the car, Ella asks Aunt Brenna “Are you and our Dad twins…  cause if you were, you'd be like me and Truman!”
• Aunt Brenna, reading a book about spiders, notes that "spiders live in fields and plains...,” to which Truman responds with wide eyes "on PLANES?!"
• Ella and Truman, concerned that Aaron is going to lose their place in a TV show when he turns off the TV, begin shouting “Plause it! Plause it!”  Aaron points out that the word is “pause,” to which Truman replies incredulously, “What?! It’s not PAUSE, that’s like dogs and cats have!”
• Aunt Brenna: Valentines are very special because they’re made with love.  Ella: And LOTS of hearts.
• August, while enjoying a birthday treat at the Barnes & Noble Café, offers "when I'm ten, I'm going to start eating healthy and do a little bit more exercise.  But not until I'm ten."
• August, wanting to stay after his soccer game to watch the 30-something league, "But I want to watch the old people play!"
• Brenna: What did you do at camp?  Truman: We had swimming and challenge course.  But the challenge course wasn't really a challenge.  It was just bouncy houses.
• Truman, pushing past the hostess at a popular beach-side restaurant in Florida to examine the elevated tiki hut where he would be eating, very seriously states "Yep, looks secure. But I would like it if it was MORE secure.”
• During the children’s’ sermon at Church, the pastor asks if any of the kids have nicknames.  August, without missing a beat, “January.”
• While up at the church, Tru, reacting to someone in a conversation, exclaims “oh my God!” Aunt Brenna reminds him to use “gosh,” to which he replies “I thought it was appropriate since we are in church.”
• August, upon learning that Mom was going out of town and the kids would be staying with Dad for a few days, “What?  We won’t get to eat anything good!  He’s a health nut.”
• Overheard:
  • Tru: Ugh! It stinks!
  • Aunt Brenna: Did you fart?  Because it wasn’t me.
  • Tru: Not me.
  • Aunt Brenna: Well, then who was it?
  • Tru: Probably a fart that traveled around the house. Happens all the time.
• Truman, to his hairdresser following his most recent haircut, "This does NOT look exactly like the picture."