Livia attended Elsie’s Wizard of Oz theme party last weekend. I wasn’t sure about creating a decent costume, but Renae told me how to put together a little scarecrow outfit and voila! There’s Liv in all her scarecrow-y glory. The kids at the party were super cute. There were lots of Dorothys and Glindas, another Scarecrow made an appearance and Toto was adorable with a collar and little pigtails. I wish I had snapped photos of all the work Amanda put into this gathering… There was a yellow brick road welcoming guests in the driveway, complete with the dead Wicked Witch’s legs poking out from underneath a playhouse. Each platter of food was labeled with a creative title and the cake was decorated to match the theme as well. There were millions of people there and perhaps even billions of children under seven years old and Amanda smiled her way through the whole event, looking as cool and calm a hostess you could imagine. The thought of entertaining those billions of young children makes me go into a cold sweat, but I know enough to appreciate all the work Amanda did for this amazing party. Well done, friend!

Livia hasn’t seen the The Wizard of Oz yet (perhaps due to all the nightmares this movie produced during her mother’s childhood), so I explained the story en route to the party. After learning that Dorothy is from Kansas—“We have that in common!”—Livia sighed, “I love Dorothy.” I stumbled as I tried to explain that she couldn’t love Dorothy because she didn’t know her, Dorothy’s imaginary, blah blah blah. And Liv replied, “Yes I do know her. You just told me about her!” Right you are, perceptive little one.

Later that night, Liv went on and on about “switches.” I figured she was talking about lights. But it was Jeremy who finally realized she was talking about Glinda and The Wicked One of the West. You add that to the “fire chip” title she gave nacho cheese Doritos and you have one amused mommy. I love this four year old and her grasp of the English language.