5,6,7,9

This is Anna. She's two and a half years old and she wants candy. Her favorite place to go is the "ice cream store," also known as any supermarket or corner grocery that happens to sell ice cream.

When I take her out to the ice cream store though, I don't buy her ice cream, I buy her kohuke, chocolate covered curd, usually with some kind of fruit filling. She can't tell the difference and, besides, what kid needs to eat ice cream in the middle of winter in Estonia?

It's impossible to sate Anna's appetite for sweets though. An hour later and she's tugging on my pants asking for candy, in English. When Anna wants anything else, she usually speaks Estonian. But with me, concerning candy, she unequivocally displays her knowledge of daddy's language.

"Issi, I want candy," she'll say, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, ten candies!"

At this I correct her. "Don't you mean, seven, eight, nine, ten candies?"

"Yeah," Anna says, "nine, ten, eleven, thirteen candies."

Usually, if I have candy, I can only give her one or two. She's typically disappointed, having asked for 14 candies, but at least the little girl is counting in English.