Girl Time= Mother Nurture

I love, love, LOVE having girls. (more posts on Girl Time here) I was never much into hair, makeup, or princesses, until I held my own little princess for the first time. I was smitten. She wore nothing but pink and purple for a year, when her white-blond hair was finally long enough for me to make a little ponytail on top with a ribbon. She carried a purse and baby doll wherever she went. Add two more princesses to the mix, and, 7 years later, my life is a flurry of braids, nail polish, and "No, you cannot go out of the house like that"s. Already.

One thing I love about having girls is that their soft, nurturing side comes out so often. After our second girl, I decided they needed some "neutral" toys, so we bought matchbox cars. No sooner had I gotten them out of the box than the girls ran to their room and tucked the cars into their beds. "There, there," they said, "aren't they cute?!" I'm pretty sure lullabies ensued.

So far we've had a guinea pig, a mini sea turtle, and a few fish, all of which the girls are sure were of the fairer gender. Whenever Natalie is looking for something and then finds it, she exclaims, "Oh, there she is!!" Even the tea. Or her undies.

Crazy about my crazy girlie!

And when I walk into the restroom, Nattie has begun to take over the washcloth shelf, making beds for her dolls:

While they have their moments, most of the time my girls adorable together I overheard my two oldest talking the other day. Hannah said, "Linsey, my heart would break if I had to be without you forever!"
Linsey patted her hand, "Well, we'll just have to live next door then!" I love it.

 This is the card Linsey, 7, made for Hannah's 5th birthday last month:

"Seeing you smile makes me so happy. Seeing you grow so tall..."

It's awesome to see their heart for other people too. Our neighbor's dog just ran away, and Linsey asked if we could take them cookies. They're always asking to have people, young and old, to our home, especially if they don't have a family. And when Tom went away overnight, the girls insisted that we make him cards. Hannah dictated exactly what she wanted: "Mommy, say 'I love you.' And make sure you use a lot of words, so he really knows I do!!"

It comes in handy for me too. The other day, I messed up trying to start a movie for the girls, and I apologized. Hannah came over and gave me a big hug. "That's all right, Mommy... you're still the best Mama for us! We love you!" And I sure love them :)

Daily snuggle time in Linsey's bed