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There is something uber-cool about a bunch of Princesses getting together to party!  When I sent out the invitations to my 4th birthday and suggested that Princess Attire would be appropriate, I was a bit fearful that my love of regalia might not be shared. Wrong! Suddenly I was the talk of the daycare...everybody (ok...just the girls) was yakking about their favourite princesses and what they wanted to wear. I think I struck a chord.

The party was quite a success..in fact, it was soooo successful that Snow White even popped for a visit. She even sang a few songs, performed some crafts and had a bite to eat. Megan was a total show-off though...she knew everything there was to know about Snow White, Belle, and the others. Even Princess Aurora was impressed. It was a great party...

Events | Princess | girls

I get it now! He's the guy that drops off presents on Christmas Eve while I'm sleeping! Some of the kids at school explained it to me...makes a lot more sense than my previous theory of some dude serially breaking into houses, stealing food and vandalizing the Shiny Tree.

It became really concrete when we went to the Santa Parade and I could see the adulation for this guy. Thousands of people turned up, waited in the cold and endured a long parade of strange people (including some guy my paternal unit called Darth Vader) just to catch a glimpse of The Man himself. I was quite thrilled, though I'm not sure my brother is clear on just what a great guy this is. And, believe it or not, he waved to me! Looked right at me and waved...I think that means I'm special.

Christmas | Events | Discoveries

I'm still not 100 percent clear on the concept, but this is fun. We get dressed up and people give us candy. What's there not to like about Halloween?

This year I'm a cat (of course) and I look gorgeous! My bro is dressed up as a pumpkin, and a French one I'm guessing with that beret and the mustache. You wouldn't believe the chocolates and candies we scored just by showing up at a door and having the maternal unit say "Trick or Treat!". We did this all night and ended up with a whole bag of stuff! 

I love Halloween!

Discoveries

As far back as I can remember, my little brother has been a worker boy. He seems to gravitate around tools and seems to be forever adjusting, fixing, tweaking or otherwise making himself busy with some sort of manual task. I am beginning to see how this can be useful, as far as gender diversification is concerned. He's already almost the same weight as I am, even though I'm taller and he's way more interested in moving earth, sticking a screwdriver into a socket or hammering stuff than I ever was so I'm thinking that his vocation in life may be that of a worker boy.

Now that I understand his natural inclination, I seem to be better able to help him focus. For example, when we're playing and we both want the new cardboard box, I can simply remark that the old cardboard box seems to be broken and he immediately bolts for his tool box and works on fixing it. This is significant, but I need to research it further.

boys | Discoveries

So my mother is a bit of a nutbar when it comes to child safety. Not a bad thing, I'm thinking, but sometimes... Well, it's that weekend in September when my paternal unit likes to attend the Firefighter Memorial ceremony and he takes me along. I can hear my mother saying, as we depart, "you make sure she is safe every minute you are there!"

So what does he do? Parks me in front of a bunch of hairy legged police officers. Safe? Yes...but hello? Where is the fashion police when you need them? Baseball caps and bike helmets may be practical, but since when did practicality override looking good?

girls | fashion

On this day I can finally confirm that I am happy to have been born on the other side of the gender fence. As I floated calmly by, my paternal and maternal units were, quite literally, throwing my brother into the water. As documented in this photo, just moments prior to the point where one pair of hands lets go, Tom is in freefall with no lifejacket. Is this even legal? Sure, my paternal unit eventually catches him and scoops him from below...but come on...isn't there some world organization that condemns this?

I know...Tom was laughing and wanted to do it again but surely he was just being compliant to avoid further forms of torture. They may have tried this on me once, last year I think, and I screamed so loudly that some eardrums were damaged. Its stuff like this that makes it hard for me to relax in the bathtub.

Goofy parents | boys

This is the second time I try this 'ice cream' thing. The first, you'll recall, was a disaster -- cold tongue, melting chocolate, sticky hands...you get the message. Well, this time it was slightly better. I made an honest effort since, it seems, eating ice cream is a some sort of right of passage that the parental units are sufficiently concerned with that they'll actually make a second attempt.

Instintively, I know this stuff isn't good for me. Otherwise, why would it need to be so cold? And sweet? So when they offered it to me, one warm summer day on a family outing, I figured this was a Big Moment for them (this was confirmed when Paternal unit takes out his camera) so I made an effort.

To be truthful, after you get over the notion that this sticky mess is covering your cold fingers and dripping onto your beautiful dress, it's not totally unpleasant, as far as the taste buds go. I think I could get used to eating this stuff if its necessary for growth...but I think I'm going to need to brush my teeth more often.

Discoveries

I like going to the fair, truly I do. And I love the rides. Really. But how excited can I get doing circles inside a giant bee? Actually, I'm not sure it's a bee...it's a big black insect with white lips, a yellow collar, wearing a black short-sleeve sweater and purple gloves. Any insect experts out there? Perhaps its not native to this part of the world.

Not worry though, things got a bit more exciting when Tom and I got to ride a firetruck. Still restricted to the old circle circuit...I don't know if the operators of these rides know it, but it would be a lot more fun for us if we weren't constrained to a track.

Family | summer | fun

 It looked great from the spectator's side and everyone seemed to be having fun. But once I was inside the roller coaster, it was a bit more intimidating. I reached out to my maternal unit but it was too late...the thing has started to roll down the hill, apparently out of control. I clenched my teeth and tried to scream ... that didn't work too well. So I just hung on to the bar to prevent myself from getting ejected as we reached the high speed turns. Luckily no one was injured though, quite frankly, I was terrified.

Glad to be alive, I stumbled out and ran to my mother's arms. She remarked that I was pale...was I scared? Moi? Well...let me put it this way: I was longing for my diaper days for a few seconds there. Did I want to go back on for another ride? You kidding? Of course I do!

fun | Discoveries

I think I'm on the verge of making a key discovery in the differences between my brother and I. It's just a theory at this point, so I may be a bit off. But here's my thinking...

The other day I was explaining the idea of magic princesses to Tom and, while his speech is not up to par, his comprehension seems pretty good. Anyways, I explained the rules about looking gorgeous, wearing pretty clothes and the whole magic wand bit and, as an example, I turned my little shopping cart in a pink carriage with lace trim and driven by four white horses. When I asked him to try it out, he slammed the wand on my carriage and turned it into a huge garbage truck! I was devastated...

I ran to my mother and tearfully begged her to make him stop but, apparently, little boy princesses turning pink carriages into garbage trucks is something that makes adults laugh. In any case, that's when it hit me! I realised that boys have no idea how a magic wand works! It's just a theory, like I said, but I'm going to keep an eye on him....

boys | brother | girls

There are days when I should not have gotten out of bed. Today is one of them. It started off full of promise -- a day at the local flower festival. I love flowers; colour, fragrance and texture...what's there not to love! So naturally, I was bouncing up and down and couldn't wait to pile into the family motor vehicle and head off to the flower place.

If only I didn't have a brother. On the way he was pulling my jacket, hitting me with some stick-thing and generally being an instipator. I reported his behaviour but instead of stopping the vehicle and leaving him by the side of the road, my parental units just drove on and asked him to stop tormenting me. As if...

By the time we got there, I was not happy. And telling the adults that I wasn't happy had little effect. I'm thinking they stopped loving me, at least for a moment.

brother | Family

My fraternal sibling and I, one might conclude, are not cut from the same cloth. I tend to (quite naturally) avoid large noisy things that look like they could seriously harm you. Tom is attracted to them. While I loudly (some might say hysterically, but I wanted to be clear) protested on every occasion I was hoisted onto the seat of a firetruck, my brother broke out in a big smile on his first ride. 

I think curiosity is a good thing and I've discovered many new things using my natural sense of wonder. Let it be said, however, that there is something to be said about fear. I think Fear is your friend...Fear says "don't pet that dog!" or "you're jumping too close to the edge of the bed!" But when Fear speaks to my brother he seems to go deaf. Or perhaps he hears Fear saying "Tom! That big red truck is noisy and full of danger!" and Tom just thinks "yeah...." and smiles...

brother | girls | boys

Yikes! There's something horribly wrong with this! I'm a pretty liberal thinking girl but this is just not right.  I mean the kerchief is not his colour, the skirt doesn't match the headpiece and wearing a pair of fleece pants under a silky skirt just screams "I'm a toddler and I dressed myself!"

And egad....there's a reason we call him Tom Droolie. For the love of Pete, get a bib and wear it 24/7! Mind you...I think I have a nice little pair of black patent leather shoes that will match that skirt.

goof | brother

It's not every day a girl gets a new car! This just came out of the blue...my parental units just came home from visiting my aunt's place and then there was this beauty waiting for me... it seems my cousin had outgrown it and his loss was my gain! I didn't realise car ownership was that simple!f

It's a wonderful little two-seater and very eco-friendly -- no gas for this baby, it's all electric. Starts like a charm, handles the country roads pretty well and has a little spot in the back for Dolly Mado. The heater doesn't work too well but I'll just bundle up when it's chilly. I can't wait till the weekend....

Discoveries | brother | Events

My new kitty cat is sooooo cute! I love her! She chocolate-coloured with a beautiful pink heart, yellow ribbon and soft lemon-shaded eyes. I'm starting to think the Easter Bunny is my friend...she left a bunch of treats scattered all over the house (okay...I had to spend a morning trying to find out where they were hidden then had to fight my brother for the obvious ones...what's up with that?). But the little kitty cat was a big surprise.

I named this kitten Brownie (because it's brown, duh!) and I plan on taking it everywhere, introduce it to my other kittens and maybe teach it to play some games. Then I will eat its head. Or maybe I should eat its leg first....I wish all my playmates were this delicious!

Easter | cats | Events

It may very be that little brothers don't make hair decisions but, apparently, adults have a need to experiment with hair, no matter what the outcome. Let it be known that I heartily disapprove of other children in this home being fawned over and photographed with a cute hair do. That is clearly and has historically always been my job.

It is at times like this that I feel that children need a strong trade union and a collective agreement that sets out parameters for who gets attention, when and under what circumstances. I just may wear this frown all day. 

Goofy parents | boys | hair

I love this photo.  Me surrounded by my boys...big and little men whose sole purpose in life is to entertain, comfort and/or protect me. I don't know who first invented the concept of brothers but I think it was a good thing, overall. There are times, of course, when brothers are better left stored in a closet. My big brothers are convenient like that...they have their own rooms, in their own homes. That way, when they get annoying, I can just go to my room for awhile and eventually they'll be gone.

The little one tends to stick around, no matter what. But I love him nonetheless...he's cuddly and maleable. I can often distract him simply by pointing to something shiny. The other nice thing about little brothers is that they don't get much choice about what they can do with their hair. This has obvious advantages.

boys | brother | Family

There is something I find comforting in the colour pink. And if it's pink, near some white and some red, I'm doubly comforted. And if there's a heart nearby...I'm just so into it. For Valentine's Day, an apparent heart-filled day surrounded by redness and pinkosity, my parental units got me this wonderful heart-filled necklace and pinky-heart hair braces. I couldn't help giggling with glee!

Somehow though, I can't imagine my little bro' getting all excited about hearts or pink, though he occasionally surprises me. He's into such a different mindset that I wonder if we're even related. I mean, he's into trucks, noisy things and checking out if Part A might fit in Slot C. Aside from occasionally borrowing my princess outfit, we seem to share few interests. What's there not to like about hearts?

To be truthful, and I wouldn't want to repeat this to his face, but I find it hard to believe that we even originated from the same mother. Same father, perhaps, but mother...not so sure.

brother | girls

Hey...little boy. You're in the frame! I don't know why we need to have him tag along on my photo shoots. Without a wrangler, he's everywhere...often ruining the shot. I brought my kittycat for some nice intimate pictures but...well, just look at the result. And, excuse me, he needs a haircut...looking a bit girlie-girl here. I mean...if he's going to be in the shot, you may as well make him presentable. And preferably with a drool-free sweater, thank you!

brother | photography

I taught my brother a trick and he got it the first time! I'm so proud of him. He's generally a bit slow on the uptake this trick seemed to just speak to him. I know that knowing parts of your body is a big milestone thing with parental units but, for some reason or other, they freak when you point out your nose from the inside. So I was teaching the little guy how to add a bit of drama to the body-part identification game and he got it right away.

In fact, I think he added his own creative touch by using both his fingers. Classic! Kudos to him...I never thought to add the second finger. Oh man..wish I could have snapped a picture of the parental units when he demonstrated his newfound skills!

Techniques | brother