The Bunny Thief

"Mom!  He's stolen my bunny!" Rosie yelled passionately as I was going outside.

Graham ran passed with a small stuffed creature, evading her clutches, and she ended up on the floor.

"You know what?  I don't care."  (I'm a heartless mother sometimes.)

"But he said he's going to make a rabbit stew!" (Rosie often speak with exclamation marks. Periods/full stops are not her natural punctuation.)

"Do you believe him?"

She looked up with a brightly hopeful, and utterly unconvincing smile, "Yes."
 



(To further support my skepticism, she's sitting next to me, editing this post...and provided the title.)

A Quiet Sunday Morning

The little girls are makers.  Cutting out paper hearts and writing love notes are Rosie's favorite.  Gracie likes to cook, create with Lego, and do whatever it is that Rosie's doing.  Sometimes making valentines is a little tame, though, and empty moving boxes become rocket ships.

This morning they took their engineering prowess a step further and made a transmogrifier, a la "Calvin and Hobbes."





Unlike Calvin's original, Rosie's and Gracie's transmogrifier offers gender-reassignment; Graham thought that he'd like to use that function. The girls were agreeable, but before the transformation could take place Jason noticed our bouncy boy was especially bouncy and suggested Graham go jump on the trampoline for a few minutes.  As he went out the door, Graham announced, "I'll go take my gender outside."

Best moment all morning.

Bunnies over Baby

I asked Gracie if she was Flopsie, Mopsie, & Cottontail.

Rosie interjected, "She can't be Flopsie, Mopsie, & Cottontail.  They're good people."

I see what opinion she has of her sister.

"Gems from Rosie" (as quoted by Jason)

Jason:  Do you need to use the toilet?
Rosie: No, I don't think so.
Jason: Are you going to make a wet in your diaper before you fall asleep?
Rosie: Um, I got mixed up when I said I didn't need to use the toilet. I really do.

---

Then, while walking to the bathroom, Rosie announced, "When there's a wet on the grass, that's okay, but if you need to make a stinky that has to be in the toilet."

Quidditch, anyone?

Rosie just walked up to me & made an undistinguishable pronouncement.  I understood her second attempt, "I have caught the Snitch." 

When I laughed, she took a yellow marble out of her mouth.

Are They Scary

Reception for Rosie

Dressed for school, playing with her favorite guy (who is still in his pjs).

 So, this post is six weeks late.  But Rosie's going to school a year earlier than your average American child, so it equals out.

Reception, the British equivalent of kindergarten, begins at age 4.   When I type that, my American self says "That's so little!  I didn't start kindergarten until I was 5 & I was only at school in the afternoons!"

But....Rosie was so ready.  She's been going to Featherbank twice a day for most of her life.  So, she was happy to put on her uniform & head to school with Graham.

The body language in this & the next photo says so much about how Graham & Rosie are friends.

Sorry that Graham is a bouncing blur.  I absolutely love Rosie's face in this photo.

In the school grounds.

Waiting for the doors to open.

 Six hours later, she emerged, full of enthusiasm.

Holding her "I survived my first day of reception" certificate.

The enthusiasm continues.  She makes Mrs. Gunn, her wonderful teacher, laugh.  She's clearly popular because other parents come up to me & ask, "Aren't you Rosie's mum?"  I've seen her run toward classmates before the school gates open, just to have a few extra moments of playtime.  She loves to be alive and reception is a great place to do some of that living.

Karate Kid

I walked into our dining room & announced to Jason, "Rosie is amazing.  She says things that have never been uttered before."

He knew something funny was coming, "What was it this time?"

As she made her hands into "blades" she declared, "Mom, this is a perfect day to say 'Hai-ya!'";

Employment

Graham:  What's Daddy's job?

Starr:  Daddy's an instructor at the university.  He teaches philosophy.

Graham:  What's your job?

Starr: To be Mom.  Before I was Mom, though, I was an instructor at a university.  I taught people how to write.  Not how to form letters, but how to write books and things like that.

Rosie:  My job is to be a child.

Summer Tradition

Seemingly endless rain has made it impossible to take the kids strawberry picking. But we finally had enough of a pause for Rosie to get her wish. As much as she loves picking berries she doesn't actually enjoy eating them. Luckily, not everyone in my family has that problem...

(This is probably my favorite photo I've ever taken of Gracie. I want to print this on canvas & hang it in the dining room.)

En Garde!

Two children with wooden swords at Skipton Castle. What do you expect?

Unique Uno

As we were concluding a family game of Uno, Rosie threw a bunch of cards in the air.  When Jason, in exasperation, demanded, "Stop it!" she replied, "I was trying to juggle them!"

Playtime

Nostell Priory has a really terrific playground.  It's set into the woods, and the equipment is made out of natural materials so everything fits the environment. The equipment looks really simple, but is deceptively quirky.  That balance beam Graham is one has four interconnecting beams, two of which are on hydraulics, so when you get to one end it either tilts up or down. The tire swings are also interconnected, so that how much you bounce & how high you can swing is effected by the other two riders.

Rocket's Birthday

See how Rosie is skipping? When you turn four, you need to do something exciting. And if that something is hopping from light to light in front of Waddesdon Manor, you do it.



When the sky turns dark and sleet starts to fall, you eat the yummy ice cubes that fall from the sky.
(And you unknowingly have an older gentleman ask your mom if he can take photos of the cute little girls catching -- permission which was gladly given.)

Night time comes and then you blow out your multitude of candles with multiple breaths.
Celebrating just the way she wanted. Her only birthday requests were "Cake with candles on it" and "ice cream on a stick."

Rosie at Studley Royal

Rosie tilts her head, puts her shoulders up, and gives this quirky smile. It's her very own cheesy "Cheese!" photo pose. Coupled with the authentic Eighteenth Century pool (which looks like a circa-1980s-got-my-photo-taken-at-Kmart background), it should be in a retro exhibit.


We fed the birds that happy day.

Yorkshire's White Rose

Photos of Rosie on February half-term break.

Yawns' Purpose

Rosie told me today, "When you yawn outside you catch the wind."

Sleep Walking

Jason and I were in the family room watching a movie, when we see this pajama clad "sleepwalker" in the doorway. She came into the room doing a fairly good impression of a zombie. But once I started laughing, she started to giggle & assumed some new arm positions.


Now whenever she supposed to be in her bed, but wants to interrupt whatever I'm doing, I'm followed by the sleepwalker.