Grace has the most compassionate and sensitive heart for a 6 year-old. She is a bit of a homebody and gives lots of unsolicited hugs. Several of her front permanent teeth are coming in, which is painful for her. She has been spending more time lately alone in her room writing and drawing, in front of the mirror, and doing her own hair. She listens carefully to rules, and often repeats them verbatim to her sisters, especially rules regarding the handling of her library books or any school events. She's a huge teacher's pet, and I've observed her unseen on numerous occasions at school when she is leading her class down the hall in a single-filed line with one hand pointing high in the air and the other finger over her lips indicating silence. Grace loves to lay down on freshly-washed sheets and to color the first page in a new coloring book. Her favorite time of the school day is her journal time, and she has a tendency to hoard what I call junk, endless papers and homemade crafts in her drawers and in various piles on her bedroom floor. She loves to leave notes for Sam and I, especially notes of apology. I often walk into my bathroom or turn-down my bed to find an "I'm sorry" note from her. Grace is always making up some sort of craft or project for her and her sisters to do. She can be very motherly to them, saying things like, "I wonder when Daddy will get home?...well, we just need to be patient." She is kind to everyone, and comes home daily with notes from girlfriends at the bottom of her backpack that say "I love you Grace, You're my best friend."
Favorite food? Donuts
Favorite animal? Horse
Favorite color? Pink and yellow
Favorite movie? The Rescuers
Favorite place to eat? Taco Bell
Favorite song? Our rock and roll CD (50's songs like "Rockin Robin," "It's My Party," and "Splish Splash")
What do you want to be when you grow up? A cowgirl
Where do you want to live when you grow up? (after a long ponder...) Louisiana
Favorite thing to do with your sisters? Play with them
What does Mommy do? Help us
What does Daddy do? Works to earn money to buy our house
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy? Spend time with them
What scares you? Bad dreams
Madeline is a very independent 4 year-old, and can't wait to go to Kindergarten this fall. She is a big thinker, and seems to often be deep in thought. She sometimes uses her own made-up sign language, trying to explain silently with her hands that she wants grapes, for example. She clears her throat a lot and is always asking me to guess which song is in her head. She is very quick to learn and will sometimes help Grace sound out a word. Madeline is often correcting me, saying things like, "Ya know Mama, your carpool number is upside down" or "Ya know you just put honey nut cheerios on Alice's tray instead of regular." She savors desserts and sweets, and her favorite day of the week (other than her ballet day) is Grace's library day, when she takes the book from Grace's hands at the bus stop. Madeline is a good negotiator. She'll ask me, "Can I have 4 cookies?...One?...Just a crumb?" She gets a big kick out of eating breakfast for dinner and asks to go on vacation daily. Madeline will argue with Charlotte over things like what steep hill she thinks she could ride her bike up if she had the chance, and can spend hours in a day tracing; tracing is her latest passion. After I ask her to do something she often bows and says, "Yes, Your Mom-Majesty" or "Yes, Madame Bosse." (both titles she made up on her own, I swear). She is very out-spoken with people, sometimes strangers, when we're out of the house, and offers probably too much information. She's has grown both taller and in maturity so much in the past 5 or 6 months. She has a great giggly laugh and absolutely refuses to return an "I love you" that is directed to her.
Favorite food? Macaroni and cheese. Rolly sausage (breakfast links). And regular sausage (Italian). And strawberries.
Favorite toy? Paddles (a penguin)
Favorite color? Pink and blue
Favorite song? Away in a manger
What do you want to be when you grow up? A circus girl. And a pirate.
Where do you want to live when you grow up? In Huntsville
Favorite place to eat? Mexico (Mexican)
Favorite movie? Ariel
Favorite thing to do with your sisters? Go outside and ride bikes
What does Mommy do? Do work
What does Daddy do? Goes out to work
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy? Snuggle when I get frightened
What scares you? Scaredy cats
Charlotte is a confident and affectionate 3 year-old. She will often tell me what a great job she's doing and tell me that I am proud of her. She is so gracious. She says, "Thank you Mama" when I brush her hair, pour her glass of milk, make her lunch, or give her cough medicine in the middle of the night. She is obsessed with chap stick and lip gloss, and puts it on all day long. She also puckers her lips and won't touch them together for the first few minutes after putting it on, and so her speech is altered. She draws pictures of Madeline with a mad face when they are in a fight (which Madeline is never happy about), and she has no problem telling a convincing bold-faced lie. She loves to help me cook and clean. It's rare for me to do a load of laundry without Charlotte helping me sort clothes or clean out the dryer lint screen. She exchanges "I" and "me," says "Pretty please?" and "YayHoo." She can finish a her dessert or candy in seconds and chugs milk like she's in a fraternity. She is always singing or humming to herself, and if I tell her good news she says, "Really? Not jokin?" Charlotte is a good athlete and does very well keeping up with the older kids she plays with a lot. She is always losing something very special to her, and I'm daily helping her find a stuffed animal, a particular chap stick, or some trinket she misplaced. She wakes me every morning and greets me with a big smile and a hug, and each day from her nap she wakes up sweaty and wants to be held.
Favorite food? Oatmeal and grapes
Favorite toy? My seahorse
Favorite animal? Seahorses
Favorite color? Pink and yellow
What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess
Where do you want to live when you grow up? North Carolina. Or Tennessee...I like Tennessee. I'm going to live in a castle.
Favorite movie? Rudolf and Cinderella
Favorite place to eat? Costco
Favorite thing to do with your sisters? Play dress-up and do ballet shows
What does Mommy do? Some work
What does Daddy do? Do work
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy? Put on ballet shows
What scares you? Ghosts ("ghost-es")
Alice is an extremely happy 1 year-old when I'm holding her or she's being entertained. Her growling and screaming has turned to yelling and screaming, which she does all the time. She is very jealous of her sisters when one of them is on my lap, and will swat and them, pull at their hair or clothes, or head-butt them when she wants them off of me. She is comforted by sucking her thumb and holding her blankie, which she has to have when she lays down. She goes down for her naps and at bedtime very quickly and easily. Sometimes I will check the video monitor 30 minutes after putting her down at night and she will be laying on her back waving a leg or arm in the air, quietly babbling or sucking her thumb. She generally wakes up happy and likes to say "WAA HA" over and over as I change her. She has an adorable toothy grin and dimple, and is very ticklish. It takes me ten times longer than it should to get her dressed or just change a diaper because she squirms so much and tries to roll over. She signs for milk and when she's all done, but other than that she will just scream and point. Her favorite foods are blueberries and cheese, and is a very good eater in general. She blows kisses and says "Night-Night," "Hi," "Dada," "Mama," and "Sissy." She also will shake her finger at the dogs and yell "Ba Ba Ba" at them when they try to get her food. She screams, throws her face to the floor and kicks her feet when something gets taken away from her, like a chocking-size toy. She loves the ergo carrier, except when her sisters are running around, when she wants out to join them. All of her sisters are so good at making her laugh, getting her what she needs, and alerting me if she has something she's not supposed to have. She is fully in the cabinet-opening and pulling everything out stage. She can have a drawer empty or a toilet paper roll unrolled in 8 seconds. She gets so excited to see Grace when she gets home from school. I think she sees Grace as a second mother, where Madeline and Charlotte can be more pestering older sisters. Alice's favorite family activity is to dance. She really loves to dance.
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