it's all getting to be so confusing

We finished Little House in the Big Woods and we've moved on to the next book in the series, Little House on the Prairie. For those who don't know the story, the Ingalls family moves from the woods of Wisconsin and travels by covered wagon all the way to Kansas. Her father was restless and courageous (and probably a little bit reckless), but his enthusiasm was obviously contagious and Laura and her sister Mary seemed to enjoy every new adventure and even look forward to more.
A few months into their new life on the prairie, the author remembers how disappointed she had felt about her father's still-unfulfilled promised that the girls would get to see a real papoose.
L. stopped me: "What's a papoose, again?" Then A. answered before I had a chance to: "I know what it is and I've even seen one."
L. "What!? No you haven't!"
I jumped in: "A.: do you really remember what a papoose is from earlier in the story?" I was kind of impressed since it had only been brought up one time in the book.
A. "Yes and I have seen one, too--it's a little Indian baby!"