Friday, March 12, 2010

Good Clean(ish) Fun

Elodie is quite a well-rounded young lady, thanks to the influence of her big brother. She is quite opinionated and doesn't usually appreciate my suggestions about what she should wear. She does not like to wear jeans and LOVES to wear skirts with fun tights. Some days her outfits even almost match, like her purple day above. So that part of her is pretty obviously girlie. Yet she tells me she wants to play football when she grows up, even though she sees the amount of tackling it involves when she watches Nolan and Xander play football in the family room. Do you think she's got the build for it?

She also enjoys shooting bow and arrows with her brother, who was kind enough to insist that I make a bow for Elodie after he finally got me to help him make one for himself. The hanger with tied-together rubber bands ended up working out pretty well; much better than the splintery shards of wood Xander was bringing in from the garage when he was trying to make a bow all on his own. And the quick drawing of a target was a good substitute for me and Elodie as the prime targets. If only dad wasn't gone studying all the time, he'd make a pretty good target...
And when I was distracted, she found a highlighter and out came some more girliness. "Mom, it's just eyeliner!"
Yes, she is wearing a Princess Cinderella dress, but she just "launched a missile" complete with sound effects. For the record, I always call them rockets, not missiles. Where does she learn these things?
Oh, yeah, from my little space engineer. He currently hoards toilet paper rolls and the like so he'll have the materials when an idea strikes him. I think his favorite thing I bought him lately was a roll of masking tape. I believe this was a rocket that morphed into a jet that has the capacity to scoop up water to put out forest fires. Yes, these projects do result in a trail of paper, cardstock, and tape scraps, but it is so fun to see his creativity blossom! And he's not too bad at cleaning up after himself, either! This stage of life is just good, clean(ish) fun! Do I have to send him to all-day kindergarten in the fall?

8 comments:

merathon said...

nope-- you don't HAVE to send him to kindergarten. . .sounds like you'd rather just homeschool him, right?? :)

Unknown said...

Cute, cute kids! Elodie sounds like a perfect mix of tough and princess. I'm hoping some boy rubs off on our little girl from her big brothers!
And I am really impressed with Xander's rocket making skills! Benjamin's been begging me to make a rocket for a while (He's also currently obessed with bows and arrows and is working on a reading goal to earn one. It's no wonder Benjamin and Xander got along so well. They really are quite similar!) and I might just have to use Xander's as a model.

Rachel Sorber said...

Oh, how fun. I wish we lived closer--I think our kids would be great friends. While Natalie's TP roll creations are usually things like musical instruments and sceptors, I think they'd have a good time creating together. And Elodie and Lucy both have a zest for life and a fearlessness that might get them into trouble if they joined forces. :) Wish we could hang out more. Miss you!

The Dahle Family said...

Mer--
Part of me would LOVE to homeschool him. I had geared myself up mentally for a half day of kindergarten and then I'd do enriching activities at home. Perfect balance. But this school year, our whole district is going to full day kindergarten and I wasn't geared up for that. But Xander is SO excited to go to school, and he's definitely ready. So I think he'd feel pretty ripped off if I didn't send him. I'm just not ready for this!

Marliese said...

What adorable, bright children you have! That creative play is the best. And I understand the send-them-to-school blues. That was agonizing for me with my first! Good luck!

Mirien said...

Corinne wishes she could go all day!

jessica said...

Elodie needs to meet Annie. They would have a ball...talk about a fearless warrior princess.

Marc and Miriam Deru said...

Beautiful green "eyeliner", Elodie. These pictures are so classic/telling-- you have some VERY fun kids. And they have a VERY fun mom. :)