Sugar and Spice: Mary Constance (18 mos.)

Mary and I are enjoying some girl time the last 24 hours.  (My mom/Mimi has some rare time off and took all the boys for a few days.  They are at the Ft. Worth Stock Show today.  John Paul must think he's in heaven.)  We haven't done anything special- I've just enjoyed getting to slow down and focus on her.  She is such a joy and always has been.  Jude was also an easy baby, as in content, but he was also quite serious, while Mary is both content and infectiously happy most of the time. 

She also manages, somehow, to be both sweet & spunky.  She loves to be in the thick of things w/ her brothers- she always climbs up on the couch w/ them to watch a movie or "read" (usually she holds the book upside down and babbles a story to herself) and she plants herself in the middle of piles of LEGOS when they are building.  She plays cars and knights w/ Mark, who is not known for his patience- she just rolls w/ his punches, literally. Unless he really hurts her somehow, she persists in doing what she wants to do w/out appearing to get mad at his... tough love.

At the same time, she is so sweet- sweet to all of us, sweet to her dolls, sweet to animals.  She has to get kisses from everyone b/f bed or she gets upset.  She loves to push her dolls around in the wooden stroller she got for Christmas and she could not pass Baby "Jeez" (Jesus) in the outdoor manger this past Christmas without picking him up and adding him to the stroller crew.  She has been known, though, to literally toss a doll to the side in order to grab a car and join in with the brothers' play.

She is often quiet, just taking everything in from her perch in the high chair.  She loves to sit and snack and watch me (& all the craziness) in the kitchen for long periods of time.  But she also talks more than I remember the boys doing at the same age- a new few words at a time, "that" has been the only consistent one for a while now.  She absolutely LOVES to play w/ my cell phone and pretend to talk to people.

She has crazy hair that is darker at the ends b/c it is growing in much lighter, blond even.  It is wispy and always in her face right now b/c she pulls out clips and headbands and I really am not good at getting little ponytails into a moving subject.

She likes to color and she loves to scribble w/ a pen on a pad of paper, which she is doing right now (and alternately fussing at me for ignoring her as I try to type this- so, actually, she has started getting more fussy and willful lately, now that I think about it).

She likes to sits on Mark's little potty and has asked to be changed ("peeze" w/ a bag in her hand for the dirty diaper).  She tries to wipe her own bottom & that of anyone else she catches mid-potty or mid-diaper change.  I'm thinking she may potty-train before Mark finally does.  (Please God...soon.)  She uses a fork somewhat successfully and loves to brush her teeth & hair.  It seems to me that she is more interested in these personal care/hygiene things than the boys were at the same age.  Hmmm...

She loves animals, even our hyper dog Livy who has knocked her over more than once.  She is not afraid of horses.

I have a lot of fun dressing her up in the beautiful clothes friends and family have given or passed on to us although, I am not always good at remembering what safe place I've put special holiday accessories in.  Some holiday, I called my mom crying b/c I could not find a hat I had bought for her: "I just have to get better at these girl things, Mom,"  I remember sniffing.  Below is one of my favorite dresses, from her 1st birthday in August (6 mos ago, but she is still tiny).  I have not downloaded the pics of her in a gorgeous black & white dress w/ matching COAT and hat that she wore on New Year's, for lack of another occassion!  (I really did not buy either of them.)

I love you, precious girl, and am so excited for the days ahead!  I cannot wait to see the special girl you grow up to be and cannot wait for all the special times we will share, especially the beautiful books we will read together.  I named your first doll Laura, from the Little House series, but I gave my all-time-favorite-girl-from-literature-name to "our" chicken- dainty little Josephine.  You will not have a choice about being exposed to all things Louisa May Alcott.  Maybe you will even be interested enough in crafting that we will learn to sew together.  Or maybe you will teach me!  I'm pretty sure we will cook together since you already seem interested in food (like mother, like daughter) and everyone in this family likes to eat and cook.  I was thinking of trying you in ballet b/c I always wish I myself had taken it so as to be more graceful, but I'm thinking you're more of a gymnastics or soccer girl from what I've seen so far.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying your cuddles and our tea parties and I'm probably more excited than you over finally owning one day soon...a dollhouse.