Happy Easter!

"M is for Mom" and other Levynnisms

Levynn's brain - and heart - were busy today.

She jury-rigged an "M" with her miniature magnetic fishing game and pointed out that "M is for Mom."

She informed us that "I have a lot of little hearts and medium-sized hearts in my big heart to share with everybody."

And as Mom was leaving for the office, Lev instructed her, "Say Happy Easter to all your people at work. Don't forget!"

Now how could she forget that?!

She writes

Look closely and you will see: L-E-V-Y-N-N. Our girl actually wrote her name for the first time a few days ago, but we got so excited about it that she ran away with the paper and hid it with her other treasures before we could take a picture of it. Today we persuaded her to do it again. She told Mom and Dad that she's been practicing her letters at her YMCA preschool. Yay!

Let's go Sox, I mean, Cubs

Dad, Levynn, and Uncle Dan (who's visiting) drove two miles to Wrigley Field and walked around the ballpark today. Dan had never seen it, and Levynn had only seen it through the car window on the run. So we figured that it would make a good afternoon excursion, even though we knew that it would be closed. Dan thoroughly enjoyed it, and Levynn just liked being out and about.

(By the way, "COMED" - the word in the marquee - is the name of our electric company. We also have photos with "DRIVE WHAT RON SANTO DRIVES" (but don't ask what he drives), "HEY CUBS FANS! WEAR WHAT THE CUBS WEAR," "THE PERFECT WAY TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY WITHOUT SPENDING ANY," "BALL PARK FRANKS, OFFICIAL HOT DOG OF THE CHICAGO CUBS," and "BANK OF AMERICA, BANK OF OPPORTUNITY."

Levynn go bragh

Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade was downtown Saturday. It was another nippy winter day in the Windy City, but we hopped on the bus and the train to get there in plenty of time for a nice spot along Columbus Drive.



We did lose that spot after waiting in line for a port-a-potty just as the parade started coming down the street - Levynn had to go really bad! - but she found a perfectly good view atop Dad's shoulders afterward.



Shortly before we started to make our way out, a military academy marched past us and seemed to be guarded by a security detail. Check out the stern-looking fella in the beige trenchcoat.



But then an all-too-familiar disaster of a haircut moved into our view along the barricade, and we realized that the security had nothing to do with the military academy. It was for Rod Blagojevich, the (most recent) corrupt governor of Illinois. Oh boy!



We finally escaped the mob and walked north, first to get lunch at the food court inside Macy's on State Street and then to see the "green" Chicago River flowing under Michigan Avenue.



We were worn out long before we got back on the bus. But Levynn and Lincoln were troopers, Mom and Dad survived, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

All you need is books

We don't detail all of the wonderful words that come out of Levynn's mouth - not even close - but we do have to report another instance today.

She and Dad were discussing options for the next activity when she suggested a pillow fight. Dad asked, "How do you know about pillow fights?" She said, "I'll show you."

She walked to her bookshelf and, from her collection of 400 or so, pulled If You Give a Pig a Party. She put it on the floor in front of Dad and started flipping pages until she came to the one with, whaddya know, the pillow fight between Pig and her friends. She pointed to the words "pillow fight" and said, "That says 'pillow fight.'"

Dad looked at Mom and asked, dumbfounded, "Did you read that to her today?"

"No."

Another bookworm?

All you need is love

Levynn, that sweet thing, was chatting with Dad the other day and decided to list some of the people that she loves. Before she was finished she said, "And I even love naughty people. When I love them, that will make them nice."

Does anyone else think that's extraordinary?