Caroline... what can I say...

So our little Caroline has turned one and decided that she's at least as old as her sisters. She doesn't take it well when we treat her like she's one. Really, she doesn't take anything well that isn't just as she likes it. She bites and hits and pulls hair with the best of them. If that doesn't work, she will scream at top volume just to get the point across. These are interesting strategies that have yet to work, but all the same, she keeps trying.

She is also our little destructive whirlwind. In 30 minutes yesterday, she played in the toilet (very grateful the sisters had remembered to flush), pulled all of the trash out of the kitchen trash can, threw the remote and some toys into the trash can, pulled all of the tissues out of a brand new box, and came walking down the hall with her wet diaper hanging out of her mouth. I am very happy I didn't find any puddles around the house. I can't decide if I just don't remember the other girls acting this way, or if Caroline really is that naughty. Or maybe I'm just getting old...

She's also in her "ant stage." This is the stage where they pick up and move things twice their size and three times their weight. A chair? She can move that all over the place. A giant box? She really needs to pick that up and carry it all over the house knocking stuff down.

On the good side, when she's sweet, she's really very charming. She can smile a sparkly smile that makes all 3 dimples stand out. She will yell "hi" to random people in stores until they acknowledge her. (conversely, if they hi to her first, she won't speak at all.) She loves to give kisses and hugs. Today in the store, she was holding an orange, licking it, and holding it up to everyone she saw, gleefully yelling, "Num num num num!!" (translation: yummy) It was her prize until she gnawed off some of the peel and I had to take it away.

She loves her sisters and family and stuffed monkey. She folds her little hands to pray at each meal and at bedtime. She pokes herself in the eye when you ask her, "Where is your nose?" She has a lot of words and phrases, and I'm sure someday she will also learn to say Mama.

Just some memories I wanted to record before I forget. Our little Liney is a mess, but we wouldn't have it any other way.