Conjunction junction

"I don't."
Two words may never have had more of an effect on me. (OK, aside from "ice cream.")
That was one of the things Elise said tonight -- "I don't."
For a toddler who every day seems to be uttering new words and stringing together five-, six-, seven- or eight-word sentences with relative ease, "I don't" is an example of the less-is-more theory. It's a short phrase, but come on, you've got a conjunction there. That's impressive for a 23-month-old, even if she cannot actually say "conjunction" yet. At least it's impressive to me, because I know nothing about toddler language development beyond what I observe with Elise. Which means every time she comes up with a new word, phrase or sentence, I'm convinced she's flat-out brilliant.
Another anecdote: The other day we're talking about my parents' collie and his "nice hair." Elise looks at the dog, then looks up at me, puts her hands on her head and says, "Elise has nice hair, too."
Each day there's a new "oh, how sweet" phrase coming from her.
Of course, this language development means that if we -- well, I -- don't clean up the act around her, she soon could have just as salty a vocabulary as it is sweet...