Update on Sidney

Sidney has suddenly shown such an interest in dolls and princesses. If you know Sid, you know the past six years have been full of delight in bugs, animals and NON-people things. Her newfound love for acting princess-like, or playing with dolls is so fun, especially for Alyssa, who was made to play with dolls and try on make up. Sidney's still all about the books, movies and stories, and has an incredible imagination. One morning recently she woke up and came to my room to tell me about a dream she had, where she was looking and looking for a husband to marry and no one would marry her. It about broke my heart! We talked lots about love and marriage and boys, and she is soooooo interested in weddings and marriage now. She makes up stories about weddings, and draws pictures about weddings and even drew a great picture of my first wedding dance with Bobby - as if she was there! Her imagination is adorable - AND her memory! Just today in the car, on our way home from school, she recited an ENTIRE commercial for me about why I need some crafty cutter thing. She even knows the 1-800 number! I just might call it! Adorable. My constant comment to Sid is: " Sid, you say such clever things! People just LOVE the clever things you say!!!" so now everytime she comes up with something, she makes sure to ask me if it's "clever." It usually is. Her other word of choice is "lovely." Listening to her talk to strangers is adorable, because you can tell they're a bit taken back by the words she uses, how she calls people Ma'am and Sir (not even by my teaching, but because it's probably from a story she read or heard or saw). In fact today she had everyone in Starbucks crackin' up because she wanted to take the customer survey on the receipt and started talking about the internet. Wish I had it on video! I'm just delighted with her desire to be social and talk to EVERYONE she can. Often, like in the store, she'll ask me "mom, why isn't that lady listening to the story I want to tell her?" It about breaks my heart to explain to her that most people in the store are in a hurry! Last week at the plant nursery in town she found half a pomegranate on the ground. She handed it to a worker there, and the lady was going to put it in the trash until Sidney told her about what a treasure it was. So the lady told SIdney thank you and asked if Sid wanted a treat. She returend with a box of tootsie pops. Sidney looked in the box at about 100 suckers and said very sweetly, "no thanks Ma'am, I'm a healthy eater." The lady was totally shocked, but agreed Sid had a good idea and wished she had something healthier to offer. It was so sweet to watch Sid be able to walk away happily, without needing any sort of treat. If I watch/listen close enough, that girl amazes me every day. Here are some recent pics: