Mary

Mary Ellen is a cutie. She flirts shamelessly with her Daddy, and smiles for the camera any time one is pointed in her general direction. Although she hardly speaks, she manages to communicate fairly efficiently. When she does actually use words they are adorable sounding. Some of our favorites are:

Peas - please

Ah duuuuun - all done

E mana - yes, mama

uh huh (have to hear this to understand the sweet inflection of tone) - yes

babeeeee - Josiah

Mary loves to have books read to her, and will sit in your lap for hours if you have a supply of her favorites close at hand. She doesn't mind having the same book read repeatedly, and will even ask you to start at the beginning of whatever adventure you just finished, so she can hear it again. Goodnight Moon, Good Night, Gorilla, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, My Many Colored Days are among her all-time best loved. She will at times read to herself, which is about the cutest thing in the world. When you add a small child who can't read, with a small child who doesn't even really speak, and then try to have that same child pretend to read a book the results are comical, endearing, and altogether adorable.

Mary is Daddy's princess. She has him wrapped around his finger, with nothing but a simple kiss to seal any deal. She flirts outrageously with him, and knows that running to his lap will always protect her from whatever onslaught awaits from her older siblings. Daddy is her mighty knight.

She has a penchant for independence, and relishes when the older children are away so that she might have some alone time with the toys. Not so much because she doesn't like to share, but because she is quite content playing quietly, and without interruption. She will sit for long periods of time happily entertaining herself each Wednesday evening when she gets alone time with Nana. I think she probably looks forward to this event greatly, and were she to have any sense of time would be clamoring about it all week.

We are so thrilled that Mary joined our family. What would we do without our Mary Moo? She makes us love her each day. I know that God has an incredible plan for her life, filled with adventure she couldn't possibly dream up on her own. I look forward to watching the show.