It’s easy to see whose kid this is.

Trying to keep N happy during a dim-sum lunch at MuDu Noodles (yum!), I was having him figure out small words he could make from larger ones. (You know, I’d give him “happiness” and he’d come up with sip, sin, nips, spin, etc.) I gave him the word “traverse” and watched as he figured out four or five before giving up. He whined that he couldn’t come up with any more, and I prompted him:
Me: What are junipers and pinons? (Imagine the tilde over the “n” please — I don’t know how to make it show up. Obviously I’m going for “tree” here.)
N, confusedly: But there aren’t enough letters to make “conifer”, mom!

(And yes, I have been informed that junipers aren’t actually conifers, as they have berries instead of cones. You learn something every day.)