figuring out how night-time works

When we drive home in the evenings E has been paying attention to the growing darkness. A while back she cried out excitedly from her car seat that it was awake-time on one side of us and night-time on the other. I looked and indeed it was a dramatic contrast as we drove South. This week she said, "That dark stuff must be night-time," and "Awake-time is back at Erma's house." Yesterday she started looking for "dark stuff" and exclaimed when she found some. She commented on the progress of the darkness in great detail. I taught her the word "dusk" and she thought it was hilarious.

When the days were first getting that short, she used to be upset that it was dark, because of course that's associated with bedtime. Now she usually makes sure to point out that even though it's dark when we get home, it's not bedtime yet.