Charlotte's To Do List

I was driving Charlotte and Happy to school/daycare yesterday and Charlotte asked what I was going to do during the day while she was at school.  There is always a list of a thousand things to do and it is a productive day if I get two of them done.  Rather than bore Charlotte with that list I asked what she thought I should do with my day.  Here were her suggestions:

1. Play with Pancho outside.

2. Take Pancho for a walk.

3. Listen to music and dance with Pancho.

4. Read books to Pancho.

5. Draw a picture of Pancho and color it.
6. Take a nap with Pancho.
7. Take Pancho to a park and take a nap outside with Pancho.

8. Play with stamps.

The zen of summer.  That is a list I can get behind.  Frog and Toad and Treebeard would all approve.

Money Well Spent

Today we got a zoo membership.  I don't like zoos but I like taking Charlotte to the zoo.

None of this is interesting.  The only thing less interesting than this was Charlotte's favorite "exhibit," which she is enjoying in the picture below.

We spent easily fifteen minutes watching these fountains.  It's only been one zoo visit, and we already got our money's worth because when you are zoo member you don't feel financially obligated to see the entire place if all your child wants to do is watch water.

What can I say?  It's been a year since I documented this, but Charlotte is still all ent.

Treebeard

Charlotte loves leaves.  She and Pancho have an affinity for sticks.  Whenever we pass a tree she reaches out to touch the trunk and will smile and laugh as she pats the bark and soaks up its texture.  At our nearby park she will roll onto her back and look up the leaves against the sky and smile, babble, and laugh as the trees sway in the wind.  Next to Charlotte's changing table, Emily put some decals up of a giant tree with birds and flowers.  Charlotte stares, laughs, points, and babbles at the decals.  She will even happily say "birdie" every now and then when we point and look at the bird decals together.  Trees just might be her favorite thing.

And to top it off, she is tree-like herself.  She is not exactly overly-mobile. Plus she is a giant, in the 95th percentile for height and weight, despite being born six weeks early.

 I have come to realize she is an ent.  And there are worse things to be. 

Ents are by far my favorite of all the critters, creatures, and characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  It's been awhile since I've seen or read The Two Towers.  But if I recall correctly ents...

• contemplate and deliberate before making a decision
• are cautious
• observe
• are as natural as nature can get
• prefer peace over war but will stick up for themselves
• look out for one another
• are fierce warriors when called to action (still waters run deep.)
• are strong, sturdy, and stable, with a tough exterior, and are not easily rattled
• are verbally intelligent and enjoy a good debate
• yet are quiet and unassuming and do not seek attention or the limelight 
• are humble.

These are all values that I respect.  Charlotte may or may not acquire these values, be it with or regardless of any influence we have as parents. But based on this one picture, it looks like she is well on her ent way.