Wow, Part II

We kid you not. Mom sneaked into their bedroom just before Levynn's alarm woke her, and that was her reaction.

Her alarm was set for 6 a.m. because we wanted to open some presents before Dad went downstairs to host the breakfast service. Otherwise, we would have had to wait until almost 9 p.m. to do it - after the school day ended and the last friend had left here post-"party" (more on that later).

This is one of them, a gift for both kids from Granddaddy and Susan. It foreshadows another for a later day. Stay tuned.

As it happened, we didn't finish opening presents until 9 p.m. anyway. Oh well.

Levynn's idea for a party was delightfully simple: invite two close friends (whose families we also know best) to ice cream at Ghirardelli and a couple of hours playing here at home. This friend had to stay later so she joined us for dinner at Big Bowl.

Among the presents in the second round of opening was... an Associated Press Stylebook? Yes, it was. (FYI: That's a textbook for editors. And Dad might be borrowing it.)

What's going on, you ask? Dad recently was invited to take the Tribune's copy editing test, and Mom brought home her current spiral bound copy for him to study. Levynn caught sight of it, took a look and fell in love with it. She said she wanted one for her birthday!

Again, we kid you not. We couldn't make this stuff up. Is this what it's like to have a 9-year-old?