JULIA: "My Book By..." and then she writes Madeleine Rowe.
JULIA: Now, that one is FINDING THE LETTERS IN YOUR NAME, and tracing those letters.
JULIA: This one you're supposed to find the NUMBER YOU ARE, and put it in that box.
(And by box, I'm guessing she means big black circle.)
JULIA: That one is...DRAWING ONE OF THOSE SHAPES, but... (pointing to the shape underneath the circle) that one is NOT the BOX, that's an OVAL.
JULIA: And that one is WRITING ONE OF THOSE WORDS.
JULIA: Okay. And, um, THAT one is finding which ones don't belong, and the SNAKE doesn't belong, because dolphins, whales, and people are all MAMMALS.
(Is it me, or does that dolphin look to be in a pretty sad state? The whale's not looking much better himself.)
JULIA: Okay. And, um, THIS one is finding which ones are WINTER ones, and the snow ball, the snowman, and the wreath are all WINTER things, and the rocket ship and the fish don't belong.
(At least the fish, as opposed to his other under-the-sea friends on the previous page, is looking pretty cheerful...)
JULIA: This one is which food you like best, an apple, peanut butter, spaghetti, or two pieces of bread, and she's probably gonna pick the PEANUT BUTTER.
(I'm really glad I had Julia there to explain what each food item was, because aside from the apple, I was pretty much at a loss. I figured I was looking at a piece of abstract art.)
Anyway, I definitely think Madeleine is going to LOVE her new activity book, even though it is currently being aired out for the night after Julia tried to glue wrapping paper onto it, only to discover she actually glued the book to the paper and had to rip it free. If all else fails, I'm sure we can photocopy the pages and staple the new, unglued pages together.
And, switching gears, I share with you the following gems that came out of Madeleine's mouth today:
#1
MADELEINE: Mommy? Can I ask you a favor?
ME: Sure, honey.
MADELEINE: (opening to a page in her "On Christmas Morning" book and pointing to the dog) Why is that DOGGIE sitting out on CHRISTMAS?
Wow. I've never been asked a favor of that magnitude before.
#2
MADELEINE: (sitting in her carseat while we waited in the left turn lane at a red light) Mommy? (pointing to the car ahead of us) That lady doesn't have her POINTER on, but WE do!
(Don't worry. The lady turned her left pointer on a minute later...)
#3
Later on, during the same car ride, while we were stopped at another red light, Madeleine overheard my cell phone call to Ethan, who was working from home today.
ME: (on the phone, to Ethan) I was wondering if you can start hard-boiling some eggs for me for lunch. I'm way behind in everything I need to do and I'm having a tough time getting it all done.
MADELEINE: (after I had hung up) Mommy? Why is a tough time DRIVING?
ME: It's not a tough time driving, I just have LOTS AND LOTS of things to do today, and I don't know how I'm going to get it all done. What do you think? How will I be able to do it all?
MADELEINE: (thoughtful) Well...Mama...maybe Daddy should ask you, because I don't KNOW!
(Sure enough, as soon as we walked in the door, Madeleine traipsed up to Ethan and asked, "Daddy? How is mommy gonna get it all DONE?")
#4
And finally - as Ethan sat typing at his computer, finishing up his work day this evening, he was suddenly greeted by the following image, standing before him:
ETHAN: I would.
MADELEINE: Okay. After you're done working, you have to do your BEST to come dancing with MEEEE! (twirling around the kitchen.)
I can't wait for the wedding of the century to begin!
The dolphin looks dead.
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