The Princess and the Daredevil

It is so fun watching little personalities emerge.  Well... big personalities in little bodies.  Mystified as we are, Elena has demonstrated that from the deep depths of her soul she was born to be a girly girl.  You can often find her with heels, a purse, a baby, dress-up clothes, or some combination of the above.  Case in point:  a princess gown (slash cape, because it's too big for her still) is appropriate everywhere, even the swing.  This is from Easter day, after the egg hunt.

Madeleine, on the other hand, seems bound to give me heart palpitations.  At 14 months, Elena was just taking her first steps... Madeleine has been climbing on the kitchen table for months now.  :)  Apparently she has a co-conspirator in her dad, who decided she was totally old enough to sit on the tire swing by herself.  She loved it!  This is why it's good to have a mother and father.  If it were just scared little mom, she'd probably be in double digits before she got up there.  :)

She says, "Hi mom!"  I say, "AHH!  Both hands!  Both hands!"

(This picture was actually an accident, because I really was reaching out 

to catch her.  But she didn't need me...)

Adorable even in her distraction

Ahhh... so far, so far!

Even farther, eek!  

(love that you can see Uncle Kyle and Elena in the background)

This was her expression the whole time: 

intense concentration 

Papa and Madeleine 

As still as she gets to take a picture,

I still love it  :)

We're never good at planned pictures, so I didn't get any of us or Grandma and Grandpa.  Oh well!  :)