Madeleine the Big Girl

A few days ago, I showed Madeleine some videos from this very blog, back near its inception, so she could see herself as a baby:

Not only was she fascinated with baby self, but she was also suddenly enlightened.  It finally dawned on her that she has truly grown and advanced her skills, and, at last, it's acceptable to her to called a "big girl."  As I have mentioned in previous posts, to refer to Madeleine a big girl was to open the floor for debate.

ME: Look at you, going on the potty like a big girl!
MADELEINE: No, I'm NOT a big girl.  Julia's a big girl.  I'm just a LITTLE GIRL.

Sometimes she regressed even farther into infancy:

ME: Madeleine, you need to stop the whining.  You're not a baby.
MADELEINE: No, I am a baby!  I'm just really really a baby!
ME: No, honey, you're a big girl now!
MADELEINE: No I am't.

You'd be amazed by how drastically she has changed her tune over the last few days.

ME: Look at you, going on the potty like a big girl!
MADELEINE: Yeah, I'm a BIG GIRL!  Because... I pee on the potty, and... I talk with my MOUTH!... and... I don't drink a bottle, and I can WALK with my shoes!

And in her newly accepted big girl world, she continues to work on her big girl skills, like writing her name:

And, of course, if she's a big girl, she just has to do what her big girl role model does while coloring.  No coloring experience would be complete without belting out an original musical composition while at work:



She has been practicing her big girl skills in the pool as well, fearlessly putting her face underwater, practicing her "alligator walk" in the shallow end, and attempting to tip her gargantuan head backwards to wet her hair and often plunging accidentally underwater, only to emerge spluttering and gasping but thoroughly pleased with herself.

When not in the pool, Madeleine still has a chance to practice her skills, as she and Julia love to play "swim lessons."  Julia sits on the couch (aka "the lifeguard chair") while Madeleine carries out Julia's instructions on the rug (aka "the pool.")  Julia begins these lessons just as her very own commence, with the lifeguard tossing rings into the water and the student retrieving them.  Since we have no actual rings in our house, Julia has scavenged a bunch of circular shaped objects to act as stand-ins for the rings:

"Mom," Julia informed me.  "These rings go in a bucket, because at swim lessons, there really IS a bucket for the rings.  And Mama, do I look just like a lifeguard with my RED BATHING SUIT?"


Madeleine is a pretty good sport about the swim lessons, stuck down on the rug carrying out her sister's orders:

Although Madeleine occasionally takes charge and makes up her own activities.  And what this one has to do with swimming is beyond me:

I guess Madeleine has decided to defy her baby/little girl status by... sitting in her baby doll bassinet...??