the tall and short of it

nephew:  'how come <toot> didn't grow tall anymore?'

me:  'combination of genetics and environment...'

nephew:  'that's her course?'

me:  'haha...  no...  if you'll notice, on grandpa's side, they're tall;  grandma's, short.  she got her height from grandma's side.  that's her genes...'

nephew:  'jeans...  pants?'

me:  'G, E, N, E, S...  genes...  the ones you get from your ancestors...'

nephew:  'gins...  like beer?'

me:  'G, E, N, E, S...  not G, I, N...  didn't you take that up in school?'

nephew:  'we'll have chemistry next year...'

uhm...  i think you take that up in biology...  : }