That quote in the subject line is an original from my niece Lainie, when showing me her little sister's dress. I guess she was trying to distinguish it from... a dog's dress?This is Lainie. She is almost three. She is awesome because:
If you ask her who her favorite Ghostbuster is, she will tell you "Peter Venkman."
She has recently REALLY gotten into watching 3 Ninjas.
When I showed her how to make a heart shape with your hands, she said, "He ate my heart. He a.a.ate my heart."
While looking at a book of animals together I pointed to what I thought was a hamster and she correctly told me that it was a chinchilla.
Almost every time i go to visit her she is wearing a new costume as an everyday outfit...a tutu, a Super Girl costume, one of many Disney princesses' dresses. One time she wasn't wearing a "dress-up" outfit, but it was a weird combination of mismatched separates. When I brought it up to my sister, she informed me that Lainie dressed herself. She has the same style sense when it comes to dressing her dolls. Its all about the layers and clashing patterns/colors.
And, of course, one of the main reasons I love her dearly, is when my mom did her hair to match mine. She looked in the mirror and said, "I look beautiful! I look like Auntie Hollie!" Did I mention that she is one smart cookie?
This is my nephew Ian. He is awesome because:He has just turned two years old and he is already the size of an average 3.5 year old. Currently I am trying to perfect lifting him up without grunting loudly. Its a challenge, because he's a big boy (to put it not so lightly).
He is so fair (both skin and hair) that he is almost translucent. Its kind of funny to see him in my mom's (who is visibly not white) arms. Its such a contrast but you can see in their interactions with each other that they are clearly grandma (or rather gaga) and grandson.
When he is super excited to see me, he runs in place and then takes off into my arms.
He can sit through 9 innings of a Brewers game without whining!
Ian is an "intense" lover. When he hugs you, he wraps both arms fully around your head or neck and then attempts to squeeze the life out of you. Its pretty impressive that a kid that age and stature has that much strength. You can also see just a tiny amount of fear in his cousins' eyes when he goes in for a hug.
His lovey-dovey-ness also extends to ear rubbing. Apparently he treats everyone like a puppy with big flappy ears that need to be rubbed.
He is also a little bit of a food-swipper. It started at an early age. He was just old enough to walk when he first approached my plate, which I placed on the coffee table, and stole my pizza slice. From the point on whenever I was eating in front of him, it was almost a given that I had to share (he usually indicated this by walking up to me with his mouth open).
That habit has almost died out, but old habits sometimes die hard. When I recently came home from a work trip I was showing by brother my fancy box of chocolates I received as a gift for a job well done. Before I could stop him, Ian took one of those expensive chocolates and stuffed it in his face. Since it was a variety box, I read the description of the stolen chocolate and realized it was flavored with cognac. Ah the refined taste of a two year old.
Then there are the two most recent additions. Lucy:
and Gabriel:
They are babies, so I can't say much about their personalities. I can say that each one of them has already spit up on me within the two months of their existence. But aren't they cute?Hopefully they will be as quirky as their brother and sister. I also hope that all of my nieces and nephews don't lose their "weirdness" because they are trying to fit in with the other kids. I won't have any stories to tell then!
In case you were asking yourself, "I wonder who took these wonderful photos?!?" Well look no further than LightFALLING Photography by Rachel Droppers. She is great!
