Back to random pictures...

Being silly while getting dressed one morning!

Yes, the tongue hanging out helps in concentration. You don't wear a tiara for hanging out in the kitchen every day?

Making chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks. An unholy mess, but so yummy!

Testing out her new roller skates from Gram and Pop

Christmas Pictures, finally!

Can't believe I'm actually up-to-date with posting pictures; it's been a while!

Ready for bed on Christmas Eve in her pajamas from the Elf and with the cookies for Santa.

Her first sight of the loot on Christmas morning (note, it was still dark outside the door behind me! She was awake at 7am on the dot) - I think this picture is particularly funny because immediately after it she fell on the floor in shock to see so many things she had asked Santa for!

Checking out the kaleidoscope from her stocking

Puppy from Uncle Phil and Aunt Janice helping to open another present

The hit present of the year at the M household - the Black and Decker Junior Workbench. She built the birdhouse, randomly "drills" and "saws" the pieces of velcroed wood, built the birdhouse several times, etc. One of these days we'll have to put her to work with some real tools and see what she can do for us!

More birthday pictures

Have to get caught up on these so I can post Christmas pictures!

Tired girls - they all played so hard they were WORN OUT when it was time for cake!

The whole gang - L to R is Nicolas, Johanna, Ellie, Lauren, Douglas, Caroline, Audrey, Jeremy, Madeline, Erin and Sarah.

The super-yummy birthday cake, half chocolate and half vanilla.

Sitting on the birthday throne - this chair was what sold Caroline on having her party here in the first place!

Birthday Pictures

As close as possible to her exact time of birthday - 8:04am December 7th!

Waiting for guests to arrive at the party. Caroline was particularly thrilled that they let her flip all the switches to inflate the jumpers.

Caroline and Audrey on the slide

Caroline and Douglas racing through the obstacle course

A few seasonal pictures

Making Christmas cookies, and a little liberal on the sprinkles....

Uncle Phil gave Caroline this piano either for her first birthday or that Christmas, and it is still one of her favorite toys, except now her focus is on the mike instead of the piano and singing whatever weird songs she can make up (the one being sung in this picture was about a purple cow who needed a haircut - no, seriously!)

Our beautiful Christmas tree - can you tell where Caroline focused on hanging ornaments?

Our own little elf - she said "Mom, we have antlers I could wear?" as though I had been hiding them from her all these years.

The many and varied interests of a 5-year old...

I've always taken pride in the fact that Caroline is interested in lots of things generally above her age level. But some of them are just so odd for a newly-5-year old that it makes me laugh....

Occasionally on our way home from school we will travel the back roads, which means along Route 832. This is a very rural area, with several old homes. Driving along one day, Caroline said, "Mom, STOP! What's that little house behind the big house?" I thought she meant the shed, but she said no, it's smaller than a shed. Since no one was driving behind me, I stopped to look. She had spotted a still-standing outhouse!

I had to mull about how to explain this on her level. So I said that a long time ago, before people knew how to build houses with water pipes inside the walls, they had to go outside to go to the bathroom. She was FLABBERGASTED to consider this - "you mean they went peepee outside?" with a tone of incredulity as if I had said Tom Cruise's religious beliefs make perfect sense. :) So I explained that yes, they had to go outside. I told her to think about the last time she called me in the middle of the night for company to walk down the hallway to the bathroom. She said she knew. I said to then imagine putting on her shoes, and her coat, and maybe a hat or gloves if it was cold outside, and tromping out to the backyard to go potty. I think there is some small part of her that actually didn't believe me! hahaha

So I decided to take this opportunity to introduce her to chapter books and told her that the next time we go to the library I'm going to get a book about a little girl who lived a long time ago and used outhouses - Laura Ingalls. ;-) And now whenever we drive up Route 832, she counts the outhouses along the way!

Moving on....

I've given up on the vacation pictures - everyone has already seen them anyway! So it's back to regular life stuff.

Ready for professional Christmas pictures - I just loooooved her hair smoothed back and the headband on, since she doesn't normally wear them!

Her ballet recital - the teacher said she has excellent posture.

On the stage stretching with Ms. Leslie

The Three Musketeers of Bancroft Street - Sarah, Caroline and Erin