Friday Focus: Vanellope

Vanellope turned one last month and her birthday theme was "Vanellope in One-derland".  Of course she had to wear an Alice dress.  This wasn't during daycare but it's so darn cute that I had to show her off.  I loved this one especially because it looks like the chair is too big and she just drank the "drink me" potion to become too small or something.  So fun!

Back at school, she finds all kinds of fun things to keep herself busy.  The Viking hats continue to be popular items.  Best $2.99 I ever spent, I think!  I love how pleased with herself she is here.  (I also really like the contrast between these pictures- it's just like the movie, with uncomfortable Princess Vanellope in fancy clothes vs. the sassy racer who's comfy in her hat and jammies.)

Here she is with Bernard.  She was trying to put the hat on his head too but all the pictures I tried to take of that came out really blurry.  It was super cute though.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

And here's her new "twin", Flynn.  He started a few weeks ago and they look really alike, especially from the back.  They're only about six weeks apart in age and they play really well together!

Spaghetti and blueberries for lunch was a big hit.  She's getting better about eating more things.  Still pretty hit or miss, but when it's a hit, she'll eat more than you ever thought possible for somebody as little as she is.

She's getting pretty close to taking steps here.  Haven't seen her do it yet, but her mama says it's happened a few times at home.  She'll stand up in the middle of the room and just look around wildly with a big smile.  Sometimes it kind of reminds me of a meerkat scouting out danger.  :)  Right now she still thinks crawling is a lot faster though, so if she decides she needs to be somewhere quick, she drops and is off like a shot. 

Vanellope is Anna's girl in a BIG way.  She tolerates me enough to be happy to come to me in the mornings, which is definitely a good thing.  Once Anna gets here though, I am chopped liver.  It's only occasionally that she decides my lap is better than the cold hard floor.  If she can't have Anna, I'm usually not an acceptable substitute unless I have food that looks good.  It makes me laugh how often the kids will pick one of us to LOVE.  A lot of them do it, and sometimes they switch.  I suppose most kids do that with their parents too though, so it's reasonable.  Spending a lot of time with two people, it makes sense that you feel closer to one than the other at different stages.

Oh, and she still hates painting.  We're starting the Very Hungry Caterpillar unit again, and I had to hold her hand around the brush while she yelled and slapped it on the paper.  Not to paint the leaf, you understand, but in violent protest of the entire process.  The end result was paint on paper though, so I'm counting it as progress!  :)

Friday Focus: Merida

We're living on borrowed time with Miss Merida these days- she's already got a June graduation date set.  A space is opening up at the preschool where her big sisters go and they're willing to take her early.  We are less willing to give her up and will miss her lots, but I completely understand the reality of wanting to have all siblings at the same location.  It will make pickup and dropoff so much easier for her family. 

So with only a couple months left, we're just trying to eat her up every day.  I love this kid.  She's so funny and her little personality is just so original.  Right now she's really enjoying the growl.  We try to set her up for success by reading lots of books and playing with wild animals- lions and tigers.  She really wants the horses and cows to growl too though.  She roars and growls at everything that moves and then falls down laughing.  I'm trying to transition it into a vroom noise for cars too- that works on occasion but mostly it's very lionesque. 

She's super lovey and will look for people who need hugs.  She likes to sneak up on us from the back and tackle our legs, and her favorite thing is for me to lie on the floor so she can jump on my back and pounce.  It makes her really happy when I pretend she's killing me and make OOF noises while she bounces.  Sometimes I don't have to pretend all that much.  She's energetic!  :)

She's our best eater- loves grape tomatoes and peas, we've discovered lately, so there's been a lot of that on the menu.  It's always nice to find veggies the kids will eat. 

No pictures for you, sorry.  :)  You'll have to just keep imagining her gloriousness.