Still life

by Grace... and Madeline...

Stock Show

The girls were excited for this year's 115th annual stock show, and they wanted to wear their boots and hats. Madeline looked more like Huck Finn in her straw cowgirl hat, but was too annoyed with it to keep it on. Grace, who looked like she was on the drill team, not only kept hers on, but occasionally spun around and tipped it to people. The girls especially like the children's barn, that had foals, calves, piglets, kids, bunnies, chicks, and ducklings. We also had fun watching small children leading their miniature donkeys in a jumping contest.

Summer circus

As I was looking through pictures of last year, I came across these and realized I never blogged about our backyard family circus. Grace devoted most of her performance to singing and tight-rope walking, while Madeline trained the tigers. Charlotte was too sleepy to perform, opting for a nap instead, but I'm sure she'll be a great addition this coming summer.

Second mom

Grace pretended to be Madeline's mommy for hours last night. This was storytime after their bath.

First snow

After pouring all night just above freezing, snow began to mix with the rain as we left the house mid-morning today. After coming home several hours later, the girls ran outside to touch the first little snow of the winter.

Tea time

A new year

And a new chance to get to know the girlies...

GRACE is a great dancer and her favorite hairstyle is piggy tail braids. She is a loud sleep-talker and moves all over her bed at night. She is very proud to be able to snap, wink, and whistle. She is a very responsible girl, and on the rare occasion that she is the first one in the house awake, she will turn on the lights and open the blinds in the living room before reading or coloring quietly until someone else wakes up. She will try any kind of food and has a terrific pallet. She is obsessed with things being unattended, getting lost, or blowing away...she repeatedly asks me if I'm planning on returning the shopping cart to the correct place each time we shop. Once at the beach this year she became so upset over an unattended beach ball that we finally had to leave after several attempts to keep it with our things and trying to find someone who wanted it. Grace loves to wear very large clip-on earrings...the bigger, the better, and likes to pose for pictures with her hands on her hips. She frequently calls me "Hun" and likes to pick up Charlotte, who usually protests. She is very good at explaining things to Madeline in ways that I wouldn't think of, but Madeline seems to understand. Grace is very particular about the placement of all her pillows and dolls she sleeps with each night, and she has a fabulous memory. I am often blown-away at the details she can recall from over two years ago. She is also a wonderful big sister, and lovingly takes care of Madeline and Charlotte.

favorite color: rainbow
favorite food: carrots and hummus
favorite season: winter because I like to make snowmen and snowballs
favorite toy: Buzz Lightyear
favorite TV show: Super Why
favorite thing to do with Daddy: bowling because he's my sweetheart
what she wants to be when she grows up: a cowgirl

MADELINE enjoys calling me "Mutha" even though I've asked her not to. After finishing a picture, she immediately puts it up on the fridge or tries to tape it to the wall. She casually says, "I don't think so" when she doesn't want to do what we ask. She also says, "Great!" when I ask her how she is when she wakes up in the morning. She is very quick to say she's sorry, and will even give me a hug, put her face close to mine and tell me she won't do it "iny, iny mo." She tells everyone she sees that she's two, Grace is four and her baby is one...and then how old they will each be next year. She used to say, "Blah!" when she would see most dinner plates, but now just says, "No thank you." She is a very picky eater, and will refuse to eat many meals. She sometimes calls both Grace and Charlotte "Ma'am," and begins each song she sings with, "...and-a-one-and-a-two-and a one-two-three...." Madeline is constantly pushing her hair back out of her eyes and loves to wear bracelets. She is particular about the clothes she wears and will start to cry if I try to put a color on that she doesn't want to wear. She frequently gets up through the night so that she can get her milk cup out of the fridge and lay with Tucker (she still lays with Tucker each time she drinks her milk). Sam and I have both woken up with her in our face, and Sam was once startled when Madeline said, "Hi Daddy" from the couch as he was quietly gathering his keys to leave the house before 6am. She gladly shares what she has with her sisters, and is very thankful.

favorite color: purple
favorite food: shells and cheese...I mean, fish
favorite animal: monkeys
favorite toy: Jesse doll
favorite TV show: the Cat in the Hat and Super Why
what she wants to be when she grows up: a ballerina
what scares her the most: mean guys

CHARLOTTE's favorite foods are cheese and any fruit. She babbles her own language, but the only recognizable words are, "Mama," "baby," "Gus," "Tucker," "banana," "bye-bye," "Elmo," and "Belle." She can point to her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, face, hands, feet, knees, hair, and tummy when asked where they are. She enjoys feeding and teasing the dogs, and lifts one leg to jump. Charlotte loves to take toys from her sisters or something from my make-up drawer then run away squealing. She gets jealous when Madeline or Grace is on my lap, and she spins to dance. She loves to get down on all fours to crawl and growl like a bear. She is a good climber, and can quickly get on top of tables and counter tops. When I ask who would like a snack, Charlotte is always the first to raise her hand and say her version of a sing-songy "Me!" Her favorite toy is the doctor kit, or any toy or doll that one of her sisters is playing with. Her eyes and smile will light up the room, and she likes to quietly reach her hand up to touch my face then will kiss my chest before falling asleep when I rock her at night.