The one where I bought a gun at Walmart

For the last couple birthdays and Christmases, we let Madeline pick out her gifts for Joe and I. 

Her idea has to be reasonable (around $10-$15) but other than that, we don't place any restrictions on her gifts. This doesn't mean I immediately go out and buy whatever she says the first time I ask her. I try to let her think about options for awhile but I don't try to talk her out of it either.

This explains why Joe and I both received piggy banks this past Christmas but it also explains why I love my piggy bank so much and why it will (possibly) (maybe not) be on my nightstand forever. It was from her heart and she is still so proud of her gifts.

Joe's birthday was last month and I started the gift conversation a couple weeks earlier. When I first asked her what she wanted to buy Daddy, she immediately said, "Peter's Nerf gun."

In case you're thinking that was code for something else, it wasn't. She meant this:

You know, every mother's dream for her little girl's gift-giving repertoire.

Needless to say, I wasn't overjoyed at the prospect of spending $10 on that. But each time I asked her what she wanted to give Daddy, she responded the same way, "Peter's Nerf gun."

After a ridiculously long time, I finally had the brilliant idea to ask why. With a huge grin, she yelled, "Because Daddy could come home from work and I could hide and he could find me and then HE COULD SHOOT ME!"

Again, every mother's dream for her little girl but her enthusiasm melted my heart just the same.

So we bought the Nerf and I'm thankful for every Walmart penny we spent on it. The last several weeks have been Madeline and Joe taking turns hiding around the house, hunkered down in eager anticipation for the other to blast a piece of tiny orange foam.

Screams. Giggles. Feet pounding the wood floors. More screaming. More laughing.

It's such a joy to listen to her heart and watch it play out perfectly.