The Girl

This little girl of mine, I tell you what...she's pretty amazing.  Here's what she's all about right now:

• She loves, loves, loves to play with stuffed animals.  She calls them her children.  She can never have enough.  She tells me she wants to be a mommy just like me when she grows up.  I hope she'll be a better one.
• She's turned into quite the pretender.  Her favorite things to play are sleep, sleepover, campout, house, and birthday party
• She loves to decorate anything.  Usually her children.  Sometimes our furniture.  Sometimes her parents.  She decorates with paper, ribbons, and scarves.  Several times a day we hear, "I'm going to dec-wate"
• She's become a daddy's girl much of the time.  This is a stark, stark contrast to a younger Madeline.  It's been nice for all of us.  Her favorite thing to do with daddy is Super Mario Bro on the Wii.  
• She adores her baby brother.  She's a wonderful big sister - better than I ever imagined.  She's really helpful in taking care of him, too.  She can put on a diaper all by herself.  
• She sleeps!!!  I never would have thought it would take almost 4 years for her to consistently sleep through the night, but it did.  She's really easy to put to bed now, and she stays there.  It's an amazing transformation.
• She's smart.  Sometimes too smart.  Last week I walked into her room and looked on her little table.  She had written two words on a piece of paper - WHY and CAT.  I have not taught her how to write words.  I asked her how she'd written them.  She said that she saw those words on a show once.  The downside to the smarts is an increase in questioning rules and sassiness.  
• This girl draws, and she draws well.  She did not get this from me.  I draw stick people, flowers, suns, houses, and trees - and I draw them poorly.  She draws cats, reindeer, dinosaurs, santa claus, and princesses to name a few.  She picked this up while she was babysat by my sister-in-law, who is an artist.  I think it's wonderful.
• Her favorite thing to watch is The Land Before Time.  She's all about dinosaurs, along with typical girly stuff.

I just can't get over what a sweet little person she's turning into.  Here's to another year of challenges and wonders!