Candy and Ponies

As the Halloween candy-eating continues, I have become aware of some highly creative eating patterns on the parts of the kids.  I have long known that they both feel the need to label each individual fruit snack before eating it; the fact that fruit snacks basically all taste the same is no obstacle.  Instead, the girls like to see which character is the face of each gummy piece, name the character ("Dora."  "Backpack."  "Boots."), then finally eat said piece. 

It turns out Julia likes to do this with her M n Ms as well.  I had thought it was only a matter of labelling the color, having overheard her on several occasions announcing quietly to herself: "Green M n M.  Yellow M n M.  Red M n M," before eating each piece.  However, it turns out that there is WAY more behind the process than I ever would have thought.  Julia enlightened me today as I brushed and styled her hair in the bathroom.

JULIA: Mama, did you know that when I eat M n Ms I sort them into groups by COLOR, and then I put one color in EACH PART of my mouth.  And when I eat the oranges, I bite off one part and then see the chocolate, and then I eat the SIDES.  Mom?  Sometimes I eat off only the SHELL.  And sometimes I almost did it, but it just goes in my mouth.  Sometimes I sort them with all DIFFERENT colors, and they don't have to be in color groups if I have the BIG M n Ms. 
ME: Cool!
JULIA: And sometimes I eat all the oranges but I leave one orange for LAST to eat it that way.
ME: Oh.  Is orange your favorite?
JULIA: Well, I don't think so.  It's just like I have it like the CHAMPION, doing the hardest thing LAST.

Wow.  That is some SERIOUS thought that goes into the M n M eating process.  And what a way to bring some academic learning into the candy-eating.  Not only is she honing her powers of observation, but she's working on her math skills of sorting into groups as well.  AND she's challenging herself to be a champion to boot!

We obviously have not eaten M n Ms yet today, as it's still morning, but the subject of Halloween candy is never far from the kids' minds.  Lately, when I wake up in the morning, I find Madeleine and Julia sitting on Madeleine's floor, counting out and comparing their piles of candy, which they have dumped from their pumpkin bags.  They can honestly sit and entertain themselves simply by LOOKING at their candy.  This morning, however, Madeleine chose not to dump out her candy bag.  When I went in to peek on her, after hearing her talking from behind her closed door, I found her sitting up in her bed, wearing a pair of pink sunglasses, just chillin'.  After I invited her to come downstairs and join Julia in watching "Curious George," I headed back down, only to hear a bunch of loud thumping at the top of the stairs.  I went to investigate, and Madeleine reported to me: "MAMA?  I was WOBBLING, but I didn't FELL."

Phew.  I'm awfully glad she didn't fell.

Since awakening, the girls have been playing together all morning, with only one brief period of fighting.  At the moment, they are heavily invested in drawing ponies; or, rather, Julia is doing most of the pony-drawing, and Madeleine is busy coloring around and on the ponies.  Madeleine did attempt her own ponies, but found the results to be utterly unsatisfactory:

"JULIAAA!"  Madeleine wailed.  "How do you draw a pony?"

Julia came to the rescue.  Although I can't say her ponies are really *that* different from Madeleine's, Madeleine was overjoyed to have her sister relieve her of the difficult duty of drawing them:

While Madeleine got busy drawing cages around the ponies Julia had made (MADELEINE: [in a raspy voice:] You'll NEVER get OUTTA HERE, you ponies!  I GOT YOU!), Julia got busy making yet another book, "How Ponys Lrn To Rhyme."

Madeleine's pony prisoners.

Julia's new book: "How Ponys Lrn To Rhyme."

 "Day Bay Say Nay Lay."

"Sun Bun Nun Dun."

 "Lace Bace Nace Hace."

 "My Ly Sy Ny Thy Chy."

"Bye Bye.  Bye | Bye."

I'm hoping Julia's next book will be entitled: "How Ponys Lrn To Eat Orange M n Ms."