Bedtime Conversations wtih Madeleine

As Madeleine and I lay snuggled in her bed this evening...

MADELEINE: Daddy?  Daddy?
ME: What's the matter?  Do you want Daddy?
MADELEINE: No.  I want you!  But I'm just calling you Daddy.
ME: Am I Daddy?
MADELEINE: No.  You're MOMMY!
ME: And who are you?
MADELEINE: I'm MADELEINE!
ME: Yeah!  You're Madeleine Emilia.
MADELEINE: Rowe!
ME: That's right.
MADELEINE: But...Daddy called me BADELEINE EBILIA BOWE!
ME: That silly Daddy.
MADELEINE: Yeah!  But...Daddy called me BADELEINE EBILIA BOWE!!
ME: He's so funny.
MADELEINE: Yeah!  But...Daddy called me BADELEINE EBILIA BOWE!!!  He called me BADELEINE EBILIA BOWE!
ME: Daddy is SO goofy.
MADELEINE: Yeah!  But...when we were at...the...the...the OLD Y, when...when...when we were at the OLD Y...he said HI to me.
ME: Daddy did?
MADELEINE: No, Ollie did.
ME: Oh.  Ollie's your friend, huh?
MADELEINE: Yeah.  And Sophie.
ME: I know.  Isn't it fun that you have friends who go to the Y?
MADELEINE: But...Ollie is Sophie's friend.
ME: Well, Ollie is Sophie's brother.
MADELEINE: Ollie is like SOPHIE.
ME: Ollie is Sophie's little brother.  She's his big sister.
MADELEINE: But...Ollie is BIG.
ME: Yeah, I think he's four.  But Sophie is older.  I think she's six.
MADELEINE: So...she's bigger than Julia!
ME: That's right.
MADELEINE: But...Julia is ALMOST six.
ME: That's right.
MADELEINE: But...Julia's FIVE.
ME: Yes, she is.
MADELEINE: And...YOU are almost FIVE!
ME: I'm thirty-four.
MADELEINE: But...Mommy, when are you going to turn five?
ME: I already WAS five.  Back when I was a little kid.  I won't be five ever again.  Now I'm a grown-up.
MADELEINE: (delighted) Hey!  Just like... Mrs. G is a GROWN-UP!

If this is the first time she magically realized that I am a grown-up, just like her teachers, then I can't imagine what she formerly thought me to be.  Maybe in her mind mommies fit in a category of their own.

ME: Yes, your teachers are grown-ups too.
MADELEINE: And...who else is a grown-up?
ME: Daddy is a grown-up, Neva is a grown-up, Tamara is a grown-up...
MADELEINE: Tamara is a grown-up?!?

Apparently baby-sitters fit in their own categories as well.

ME: Yes, Tamara's a grown-up.
MADELEINE: But...Tamara is almost gonna be a BOY.
ME: No, Tamara is a girl.
MADELEINE: But...Mommy?  When is Tamara gonna turn into a BOY?
ME: Tamara is never gonna be a boy, honey.  She'll always be a girl.
MADELEINE: Mommy?  What's that INTERESTED sound that's blowing in my ear?

Seriously.  WHAT goes on inside this kid's head?!?