Tuesday, November 04, 2008

LL at 3

It's been a few weeks since her birthday, but I wanted to record a few things about LL at 3 years old.

She continues to be a ray of sunshine with her upbeat attitude, funny expressions, and beaming smile. Sometimes she explains her humor, saying, "I was just being a joke!"

One of her current trademarks is an assortment of different sounds effects that she peppers into her interactions with us...I would describe most of them as growls, really, but they are cute little growls. She and AG like to act like tigers, and a few times this week they have approached me on all-fours, making their best tiger noises, and at the last second LL jumps up and tells me, "I'll save you from the rescue!"

For months now she has been telling us, over and over, the details of an episode of "Gilligan's Isligans" that she watched one time. There was an Indian in the episode, and she's had a preoccupation with Indians since then (which was probably also spurred on by reading a few "Little House" books...).

Like many kids her age do, she often shocks us by seeming to absorb things she sees and hears and then repeating them with great detail. She can quote huge portions of her favorite books word for word, and she has a great memory for Bible verses and other "memory work" even when we haven't truly "worked" on it!

She has a natural way of lavishing us with compliments and positive feedback. This often makes common interactions a joy because she has such a glowing, "can do" attitude! Of course, we also recognize a need to channel this tendency in the right way...and to be cautious about our own response to it sometimes! I mean, the girl has a little song she sings to me at least a few times a week; it goes, "I love my mommy, she's so cute and smart!" Watch out! (She may have a future in politics...)

On that topic, I have been amazed by how she's soaked up the bits of this campaign season that she's been exposed to. Months ago, with no prompting from anyone, she picked up on the names of the two major presidential candidates and she drops their names all the time in her play/talk at home, and even has gotten some funny responses from strangers when she says them in public (such as when she sees a photo of one of them and comments on it in Target...or wherever). "I approve this message" spontaneously entered her vocabulary and has been said more times than any of us can count since. And here's our exchange this morning:
LL: "Do I go to school today?"
Me: "No, it's not a school day. We are going to vote today!"
LL: "Is Sarah Palin going to be there?" (first time I've ever heard her say this name, and I don't think I've said it to her...)

We are so blessed to have this fun, funny, sweet, bright, loving little girl to share our days.

Trick or Treat!

Here are some pics of our trip around the block Friday night.

SJ made no protest about wearing the bee costume (which, being just her size this year, was too cute to leave hanging in the closet even though LL did just wear it last year!). However, she was not very enthusiastic about the whole process and was truly just along for the ride. Who needs candy with such a sweet thumb?


AG and LL (aka Tinkerbell and Cinderella), in contrast, were really excited about trick or treating. Here they are, in action, just before the door opened.


Happy with their loot!


Party of 5, Halloween style.


The next photos were taken for proof, because I could hardly believe this myself. When we got back home, of course the girls had a few pieces of candy. I half-jokingly offered them some carrot sticks since we'd eater dinner earlier than usual and I didn't want them to go to bed hungry. A little while later they took me up on the offer and, for the rest of the night, the candy was a non-issue.



Now, of course, we are in the midst of doling it out one or two pieces a day...and sneakily making some of it disappear from time to time. The "treat wave" time of year has officially begun!

Fall Festivities

Last week we had some fun activities, including the fall festival at LL's preschool on Friday.


AG, SJ, and I went along that morning to join the fun. AG especially enjoyed it; she participated in everything right alongside LL.

There were relays, hand-painting, a sing-a-long, a fun craft, bouncehouse, snacktime, and storytime, but I think the hayride was the highlight!

They also carved a jack-o-lantern with T the night before.


Of course all of this was leading up to the main event Friday night...trick or treating! More about that in the next post!

Monday, November 03, 2008

Day Trip to Mimi and PawPaw's

Saturday before last we went to Mimi and PawPaw's house and had a great time visiting with them, Nana and Grandpa, and the girls' great aunts, great uncle, and three cousins.

SJ got caught up with Nanoo, her birthday buddy, at the arts and crafts show where her pottery was displayed!


SJ also loved reading her new "buuh" (one of her favorite words!)


SJ visited with PawPaw, too...


Everyone enjoyed the beautiful day out...and LL and AG got their faces painted!


Hanging out with Nana


It was a fun day! We are already looking forward to another visit at Christmas.

How many carseats fit in the back of a Honda Accord?


I thought it was pretty amazing that T got 3 in there, but then LL went above and beyond and added another one! We rode around like this for a few days last week, and it made me extra thankful for our van!