Happy birthday Dada!

Today is Neil's (late) thirty-somethingth birthday! We were talking, this weekend, about meeting/starting dating when he was 29. And 8 years later (ha! I just outted his age!) here we are. Married, with an awesome kiddo, and a house and 2 crazy dogs...

We had a quiet day of celebration - just went for dinner to a family friendly place and spent much of the time entertaining Maddy as she insisted it was time for "DOW!" even though the food had yet to arrive. Then one last nigth of quiet before the panic sets in and we have to get ready for the arrival of many family and the baptism. Tonight I looked around the house and saw those things that needed to be done... Yikes! But it'll all come together (or close enough) and we'll have a wonderful weekend of visiting. And hopefully I'll remember to take many pictures!

Many of the blogs I read have drama. Illness, struggles, sadness. It makes for a much more interesting read than this blog. Here? While it's not perfect, it's pretty damn good. We're happy. We're lucky. It's maybe not an interesting read, but it's exactly what I want my life to be.

In the chronicles of Maddy, she's learning words at a CRAZY rate. I have been meaning to write them all down... the awesome daycare lady at the awesome daycare says she thinks Maddy has as many as 50 words/sounds. Hmm...

1. Mum/mama
2. Dad/dada
3. Baba
4. Dido
5. Odg
6. Mimi
7. Baby (beee beee
8. Puppy (pup-pee, formerly bup)
9. Kitty (ki-eee)
10. Bear (bea-w)
11. Tree (twee)
12. Apple (appo)
13. Ball (bll)
14. Bubble (bubb-o)
15. Car
16. Toast (t-st)
17. Cheese (chss)
18. Milk (muk, formerly nuk) 
19. Cookie (coook)
20. Book
21. Elmo (EL-moo)
22. Dora (Dooo-rah)
23. Bird (Birrrr)
24. Hat
25. Shirt
26. Shoes (Shooooo)
27. Up
28. Down (DOW!)
29. All done (all doo)
30. All good (all goo)
31. We sit down (we shit dow!)
32. Tickle (tick-o)
33. Hi (hai!)
34. Bye
35. Please (peeeeeeeeeese, and only grudgingly)
36. This (dis)
37. That (dat)
38. Moooo
39. Oink (onk)
40. Bow wow
41. Ribbit (it's strange...)
42. Fish (pursing mouth)
43. Train (choo choo)
44. Monkey (eee eee)
45. Sheep (baaaaa)
46. Horse (neigh)
47. No (although does she understand what it means...?)
48. Eye
49. Nose (n-se)
50. Mouth (mouff) (these last 2 are not 100% yet, more like 75%)

And we hit 50! I am sure there are more that I am not remembering...

Dada is a year older and life is wonderful. I really can't ask for more. Well, maybe winning the lotto, 'cause, well... how cool would that be? But otherwise, we're awesome.

How perfectly dull.

* moar words! 51. Uh oh 52. Door (doooo-rh)