At half way through first grade, I think an apt motto for Mary's life might be "go big or go home!" Whatever she does, she's going to do it in a dramatic way, so you can imagine that her (our) life is full of highs and lows.
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| Darling birthday card from Mary's music teachers |
Mary has a gift for music and is doing well in piano and violin--learning self-discipline and respect for authority are the greater opportunities for her in music lessons than is the actual playing of instruments. Mary is an avid reader, devouring pages by the hundreds late into the night, and she writes stories as well. She still climbs trees (climbs anything!) and has gotten by only with a few stitches and one fracture so far.
My firstborn daughter is the second Little Mommy in the house, taking diligent care of her baby brother Thomas. Often I hear a cry on the baby monitor, then it goes quiet, so I think Thomas has gone back to sleep: what actually happens is that Mary races up so fast to retrieve him that I never hear a second cry! Just like a real mother, she doesn't even bat an eyelash about changing a poopy diaper or being spewed with milky spit-up.
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| John (8) fills all the water bottles and loads them in the cooler on CCE mornings, so he labeled Mary's specially today! |
Today at CCE, a plot was uncovered that I thought was "so Mary!" When we arrived at class, I spotted her with one pink cowboy boot off her naked foot and, upon inquiring why, discovered that she had filled the boot with rubber bands because she planned to shoot off the bands (at people?) during class time. Thankfully, I had foiled what was surely to be A Very Bad Idea. Smuggling the contraband in her very shoes . . . what's next? A shiv baked into a cake?
Going up against this bright and determined little girl is not for the faint of heart, but the greater dignity due to her increasing age means my blog readers get to read fewer and fewer "Mary stories" of the challenging moments. Let's just say that Mary may have been the cause of my recent first gray hair!
Our Mary Genevieve is appropriately named after St. Genevieve who is credited with diverting Attila the Hun from attacking Paris, France, in 451. I don't think our Mary would be afraid of Attila and she certainly isn't afraid of Big Brothers . . . check out this series of photos how she protects her candle from being blown out by John.
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| Palm to the face! |
Tonight we had celebrated one day late due to Daddy's business travel, and I was pleased to see Mary's patient acceptance of the delay even in her tender years. For her dinner, she requested pulled pork sandwiches, peas, and broccoli--and the only protest I received was when she came to the table and saw I had made pasta for those more typical picky eaters in the family. I assured her that she didn't have to eat the pasta!
Then we enjoyed a family walk in the dusk before opening gifts and having her requested dessert of pears (sauteed in butter and honey) over vanilla ice cream drizzled with homemade chocolate sauce. She spent the rest of the night playing with her new Legos with her siblings and is now consigned to her bed where she can still stay up reading her new books.
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