Our precious little girls

I (Adam) recently wrote a journal entry describing Lena and Clare. I thought I'd share it here -- it may be cool for our loyal readership.

Lena Louise (2+ years)
· Lena turns three on August 24th.
· Lena is extremely imaginative, a trait she shares with me. She is always making up stories, talking to imaginary people, and making funny voices.
· Lena, like her mother, shares a caring and generous spirit. Each time she goes to the potty, she gets fruit snacks, and she will inevitably give the last one to Mommy or Daddy.
· Lena is empathetic. Whenever another kid is crying or sad, she wants to cheer them up (even if she may have caused it). And whenever Mom or Dad is sad, she wants to give us a hug.
· Lena loves to laugh.
· Lena loves her little sister. She plays with her often, and makes Clare giggle like no one else can. She gives her hugs every 10 minutes or so.
· Lena loves watching baseball with her Dad. I hope that never changes.
· Lena loves the TV show Dora the Explorer. She gets up and dances, pulls, jumps, all with the characters. It's incredibly cute.
· Lena is curious. Like many other kids her age, one of her favorite questions is, "Why?" And she may repeat 7-8 times before she lets you off the hook.
· Lena is girly. She likes her dolls, and carries them around the house, craddling them and caring for them. She also does this with her stuff animals. Her little 'kids' are listed below, in no particular order:
o Ella is her favorite doll, it was also her first
o Manny is a monkey Lena received as a gift from Babbo (Kathleen's dad) when they visited and he took her to the Teddy Bear Factory. They made Manny together.
o Baby and Hannah. These are her other dolls.
o Sam the bear
o Frosty the Snowman
o Soft bunny
o Doggie
o White Care Bear
o Orange Care Bear
· Lena loves her mommy. She constantly talks about her mommy when mommy's not around.
· Lena loves her daddy. Nothing gives me greater joy then the sound of enthusiastic footsteps that echo through the house when I get home from work. She then runs into my arms and begins to tell me about her day.
· Lena is a miracle.


Clare Elizabeth (6 months)
· Clare is content. She can sit with her toys for hours and be OK.
· Clare is chubby, but really only in comparison to Lena. Her sister never had an ounce of fat, so while they're both petite, Clare is less so.
· Clare's head is huge (call it the curse of the big Mangum head). Again, it's small compared to Lena's massive noggin, but still, it's huge.
· Clare loves her sister. Despite the frequent maulings Lena calls hugs, Clare lights up and laughs when Lena is entertaining her.
· Clare loves to smile.
· Clare can sit up on her own.
· Clare looks a lot like Lena did at her age, so much so that I frequently wonder if I've been transported back in time and am looking at Lena.
· Clare loves taking baths.
· Clare is not a great sleeper, but has gotten much better over the past month.
· Clare loves watching baseball with her dad. Actually, Clare loves watching anything.
· Clare is her mother's little sidekick.
· Clare has bright blue eyes.
· Clare's 'birth hair' is falling out, revealing a lighter brown hair that's growing in.
· Clare is also a little miracle, and I can't imagine life without her.