Just found a card Buffy made to bring to Sunday School. I guess she forgot to bring it. I guess it's still good for next week.

"dear Chrch I am relly Sorry that on mothers day we codnt come on sunday we stuggled t go out of the door in time and we codnt I am very sory Love from Buffy Katie aNdreW and ragn.

"Here are some patuns (squiggle with numbers on it)

"Itsa snake and a dog"

"So, Daddy, it's like Isobel's birthday, which is the twenty-oneth of December."

"The twenty-first of December, Buffy?"

(big sigh)

"No, Daddy. The. Twenty. Oneth. Of. December."

Last week we celebrated Diwali at the girls' school. It has become an annual event, and one we absolutely love. The Indian and Sikh families of the school donate clothes and months of their lives so our children can dress up and dance around. The Year 6 children even put on a show. Well, they try to anyway. Sometimes some nameless little girls get up on stage in their pretty borrowed sparkly clothes and spin and dance and have so much fun they won't get off. They won't get off even when three Year 6 girls talk to them. They won't get off even when a further three Year 6 girls try to physically remove them. It wasn't until the audience arrived at the general consensus that her mother really should do something that one little girl finally got off the stage. (Read: was physically removed, potato-sack style.)

Such little girls did not ruin the event, however, and a good time was had by all. We definitely plan* to go again!

*assuming Buffy hasn't been banned

Last week I went to pick up the girls after school and ran into Buffy's Nursery teacher. Despite not being Buffy's teacher this year, she had a Buffy story for me. That afternoon Buffy's current teacher, Ms. S, had come into the staffroom laughing. She found Miss W to relate the Buffy story of the day. Oh yes, these are regular.

Ms. S's class were working on /i/. They read a story about Inky the mouse who had lots of /i/-related adventures. Then Ms. S opened it up to the class. Did they know any /i/ words? Buffy's hand shot up. Yes, Buffy? "INCONCEIVABLE!!"

I don't think Ms. S is as familiar with The Princess Bride as we are, but she found it hilarious. We found it hilarious, too, but for slightly different reasons. She can quote liberally from The Princess Bride. She's one of us!

In France I bought Buffy a t-shirt that reads, "I love so much". We think this captures Buffy's essence perfectly. She loves so many things so much!

Tonight I was brushing her teeth and she kept chatting to me through the toothpaste bubbles, "I love you more! I love Daddy and Katie more! And I love my friends. I love my family and my friends MORE!"

I asked, "More than what?"

She replied, "God. More than God. But I love God, too. I love God so much! I really love him."

I said, "Or her."

She asked, "What?"

I said, "Or her. God could be a 'her', we don't really know."

She shook her head vigourously, "NO! God is a he. I know it!"

"How do you know it?"

"Because I have seen him!"

"You've seen God?"

She said, "Yes. I've seen God many times."

"Oh really? What does God look like?"

Big grin. "He's got a really long stinging tail and two big stinging teeth!"

Katie and Buffy are watching Total Wipeout, which I think is called Wipeout in the States. It's a bunch of comparatively sporty people flinging themselves across a giant inflated obstacle course over pools of thick, oozing mud. They usually spend more time in the mud than leaping the obstacles above. Buffy, on her first ever viewing of the show, has been offering advice to the competitors, "No! You've got to hold on! Slow down! Be careful! Look out!"

Enjoying her commentary very much, Andrew said, "You tell 'em, Buffy!"

To which our cheeky little girl quipped, "I can't tell them, Daddy! THEY'RE ON TV!"