The Princess and the Bulldozer

Since their birthdays are so close together, I thought I'd devote a few paragraphs to each of my girls . . .

Rachel Nicole - August 24, 2002

Within the last 2 weeks my little girl turned six, learned to ride a bike (no training wheels!) and started first grade.

I'll write more about the school thing later, when I'm not so emotional about it. She absolutely loves it, though.

With 3 birthdays in the late summer/fall, we decided they can each have a party every other year, starting when they're 5, so Rach didn't have one this year. She did get to see a movie (Kit Kittredge) and pick what she wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner.


Some words that come to mind when I think of Rachel are:







talkative

vivacious

mother hen

princess

drama queen

affectionate

bright

sensitive

colorful

imaginative

answer-girl


She loves barbies and sleepovers and going new places. Her favorite colors are pink and purple and she's always begging me to let her wear a dress. She picks bouquets of wildflowers (I think most of them are actually weeds) nearly every day from our yard, and loves making cards and drawing pictures for people she loves. She likes to help around the house and with her baby brother, unless it means having anything to do with a dirty diaper.

Her birthday always takes me back to a time of many firsts:

We had just moved here and started at the church.

We bought our first house.

We gave birth to our first baby.

I'll never forget the excitement and anticipation that led up to her grand entrance. Danny and I laid in bed at night, as all expecting parents do, feeling her kick, wondering what kind of personality she'd have, what she'd look like, what it would feel like to hold her and rock her and gaze at her while she slept.

And now she's six, and we know she'll always be our little curly-headed lunatic. I love you, Shrumshine!



Karis Hope - August 29, 2005

And now, for the bulldozer . . .

In utero, Karis was a squirmer. ALL the time. ALL night long. I should have known then that this was fair warning of the little fireball we were about to bring home. Almost all the way through, everyone thought she was going to be a boy, including Danny and me. When the doctor announced, "You have a little girl!" I thought I had heard him wrong (but of course now I'm glad I didn't!).

She's an interesting mix: part tomboy and part nurturing little sweetheart. She loves Dora and Care Bears and Polly Pockets. She loves to pummel her older siblings, throw small objects at people, destroy things, scream like a banshee, and squeeze her baby brother's face.

Her prayers always go something like this: "Dear Jesus, thank you for God, thank you for Jesus, thank you for everyone in this house. Amen."



Her favorite things to say lately:

"What smells?" and "diarrhea." (most recently said in description of a plate of fried chicken) She will adamantly tell you that she is "not a little girl. I'm a little WOMAN." She also insists daily that I put her hair into ONE ponytail in the back - not 2 on the sides. If she doesn't get her wish, she cries brokenheartedly.

Recent escapades include:

setting off the emergency alarm after church (the narthex cleared in record time!)

smashing three trays-worth of cut-out cookies Rachel and I were getting ready to put into the oven

licking all the frosting off three of the cookies (they were for school for Rachel's birthday)

biting the lower lip of a little friend because "he took my food and wouldn't share"

helping herself to several pieces of bubble gum and the hurriedly shoving them into her pocket when I looked her way


But as much as she acts like a human bulldozer, she can also be so sweet and affectionate. She loves to take my face in both hands and kiss me on each cheek at night. And she's a champion snuggler. She's sort of like what I imagine the ocean can be - stormy and tumultuous at some times, but beautiful and gentle at others. I love you, Kari Bou!