bolcanos are erupting!!!

Madeline and I were visiting with our friends Suzi and Sabine this weekend when Madeline discovered a baby toy that she was curious about. It was a barn that had letters and shapes that drop inside the roof once placed in the correct slot. Suzi was asking Madeline to recognize her letters and then asked her to name a word that starts with each of the four letters. Here's how the conversation went...

Suzi: what's this letter?
Madeline: a
Suzi: what word starts with a?
Madeline: apple!
Suzi: and this letter?
Madeline: that's a b
Suzi: what word starts with b?
Madeline: bolcano (I think she meant volcano)
Suzi: okay...how about button? or book?
Madeline: balloon!
Suzi: what's this letter?
Madeline: c
Suzi: can you think of a word?
Madeline: carrot
Suzi: great! how about this letter?
Madeline: that's a d
Suzi: and what word starts with d?
Madeline: daddy!!!

"Passionate" will never be the same again

Today the world has suffered a devastating loss. Our friend TJ lost his life in a car accident this morning and many, many people are deeply saddened by the loss. TJ is Dan's boss at work and at a mere 24 years of age he appeared to have a bit of an old soul and an acute understanding of how to make people feel important. Dan and TJ had grown pretty close lately and I too have enjoyed his and his family's company on a number of occasions. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and friends. If you're the praying type, please send out a prayer for TJ and his family.

More Madeline Insanity!!

Madeline cracks me up. It's just as simple as that. Her personality is colorful and it seems that daily I have a funny story to relay to Dan about his offspring. Here are a couple chuckle-worthy moments that happened most recently....

At night she likes to chill in our bed with me for a few minutes watching tv before she goes to her own bed. I was flipping through the channels and she saw Horatio Cane from CSI:Miami on the screen. "Oh stop there! That's my favorite!!" That right there was funny enough because how many 4 (almost 5) year olds do you know that like to watch CSI? Well, they show a shot of the city from the water and Madeline remarks at how pretty it is.
Me: That's Miami.
Madeline: What's your ami?
Me: No, not MY ami, but Miami...it's the name of the city!

The second story is golden. Madeline went to play at my friend Debra's house this past week for an evening. For dinner, some of her family was having salmon so she offered to make frozen pizza for herself and Madeline.
Debra: Madeline, do you like frozen pizza?
Madeline: Umm, Debbie, I've never really eaten it frozen before. Could you maybe cook it first?

Here's the last quip for the evening. Madeline was playing at my friend Brenda's house a few weeks ago while Dan and I met with the priest about our wedding. Brenda has an indoor pool and she took Madeline for a swim. Madeline was hanging out on a floaty of some sort when suddenly she randomly says "I'm sorry."
Brenda: For what?
Madeline: I just peed in your pool.
Brenda handled it like a pro...and with a straight face!

I'm so lucky to have such great friends...especially ones that don't take life (or children) too seriously!