Baby Susan is found!

And now Madeline is interested in her too. There are hardly enough babies to go around! (Mommy is laughing over my shoulder as I type this, I wonder why? I really think we could use about 17 babies each.)

ballet

About a month ago, I was browsing what I like to call "My New Website" when I made an amazing discovery. There are people in the world who dance around all day wearing frilly dresses and tutus! Ever since, I tell Mommy almost hourly that I am going to teach ballet when I grow up, that I need to practice my ballet, or that we FORGOT! to take me to my ballet lessons. Mommy bought me a leotard, Beth and Miss Kim showed me how to do some of the ballet positions, and now I spend much of my day flitting about the house in my slippers and tutu. I am at least as obsessed with ballet as I ever was with baby dolls, and I haven't even had a single lesson yet!

Either my hand or my foot has to rest on the wall in this position, and sometimes I almost knock over my baby sister when she's trying to dance with me.

This is a good camera friendly pose.

Some of my other moves are a little hard to capture on camera, as I move pretty quickly.

Silly Madeline!

These are from August 26. Madeline still won't leave barrettes in her hair for very long, although once she pulls them out she brings them to someone asking for them to be put back again.

Bless us, O Lord

Madeline Soph is learning to say her prayers before she eats, just like the rest of the family. She's doing pretty well, don't you think? All she needs now is to learn to say please and thank you. And maybe to ask politely to nurse instead of walking up to Mommy and demanding "Shirt Up!"

Be ye forewarned

These days I do NOT like having my hair combed, braided, arranged in pigtails, or otherwise made to be orderly. I will wear NOTHING but a headband, even if my hair is falling in my eyes and making it hard for me to see where I'm going. If Mommy tries to make my hair look neater by affixing some additional device to my head, I comply for awhile, but as soon as I'm out of her sight for a minute I pull it all out and hide the evidence. She'll NEVER find those little rubber bands! I wonder if this means another haircut is in my future?

Just taking a stroll

Madeline has just learned how to walk holding my hand. I LOVE it and try to get her to do it all the time. Sometimes she cooperates.

Sisters, sisters

Never were there such devoted sisters.

Yes, we're on the stairs. Madeline has become quite adept at walking up the stairs and then sliding back down them on her bottom. I think she would spend all day going up and down if Mommy didn't put up the baby gate. I don't know WHY Mommy thinks she has to be there to help, Madeline and I do just fine on our own.

I am teaching Madeline Sophie how to color with crayons. She is trying to learn the rules, which include no coloring on the walls, no coloring on the floor, no eating crayons, no putting crayons in your ear, no putting crayons in your diaper, no coloring on your sister, no eating paper, no crayons out of the kitchen, no coloring on the table, no putting crayons in your sister's ear, no putting crayons on the floor behind Mommy while she's cooking, no putting crayons on the back porch to melt, no poking your eyes with crayons, no shredding paper, no throwing away crayons or paper that are still good, no crayons in the refrigerator, and no flushing crayons down the toilet. Every day Mommy seems to think of a new one. I wonder where she gets the ideas for these rules?

You can see that Madeline seems to have inherited Mommy's love of pumpkin muffins. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I, on the other hand, spent the weekend playing dressup to my heart's content. Rebekah has lots of dresses that spin!

While visiting some friends this weekend, Madeline got to play a PANIO! She thought it was really fun.

Silly baby!

No one is sure what Madeline is trying to do here, but she walked around like this for several minutes looking very pleased with herself.

Baby bunny

My new little house

We have a big box in our house that used to hold Mommy's rocking chair. Mommy got it out and made some doors and windows in it, and now I call it "my new little house." I have tea there and tuck my babies in there often. Madeline and I can both go in it at the same time! Here we are being silly and playing in it.

A couple weeks ago my Uncle Kevin came to visit me! It took me just a few minutes to warm up, but I was soon busy serving him tea, putting him down for naps, reading him stories, and showing him toys. He cooperated pretty well, I think.

Madeline liked him too.

Except that no one can hold Madeline for long these days! Here she is executing the maneuver we like to call "the slide." She can escape from anyone, no matter how skilled they think they are, so don't feel bad, Uncle Kevin.

I'm a Little Tea Pot

Here is a clip of me singing one of my favorite songs, "I'm a Little Short Teapot Short and Stout."

Mommy's helper

Madeline and I LOVE to use Mommy's new sweeper. When we hear it start up, we both come running and try to use it. It's the best when Daddy shortens the handle for us, but we make do if he's not available.

Here is Dr. Madeline checking her baby. Ba boom, ba boom, ba boom.

One of Madeline's favorite activities lately is to push babies around in strollers. She must take after her big sister. It's a good thing we have two!

Silly parents

Today I was conversing with Mommy and Daddy while we ate our lunch. Daddy turned to me and said, "Isabel, what makes boys different from girls?" I looked at him like he was crazy.
I took a long breath, and finally said, "They are special in different ways." For some reason, this caused Mommy and Daddy to burst out laughing.
"But how, Isabel?" Mommy continued.
I rolled my eyes back in my head and finally whispered "twenty pounds."
Mommy persisted. "What do you mean?" I didn't reply. If they don't know how boys are different from girls, I'm not going to tell them.