Sara.

I've had this post in the cache for months now, waiting for some newer pics to add before posting. But our camera is in Rochester and so are the pictures. So I'm posting anyway.
Sara is our middle child. Someone once said to me, "Poor Sara. Being a middle child isn't easy." But I've always thought that Nora had the difficult job. Sara escapes all our big mistakes. No hovering helicopter parents. But it's true that she doesn't get the one-on-one that Nora does.

Sara is a quiet, careful learner. She doesn't speak up until she's sure she's got the word. But now that she's talking I'm constantly surprised by what she's been learning in the meantime. She knows and understands the quantity of 2. She knows some of her colors. She remembers things from quite a while ago and will recall them to me.

She's a little shy, but she knows how to put her dukes up. I asked her today: "What do we do when someone takes our toy away?" She said: "Hit." I laughed so hard I could hardly stop! Her former nursery leader, a hockey player named Mitch, told us a story once, how a boy in nursery (I think it was all boys and Sara at that point) took her toy away. She gave her shrill, shrieking "MINE!!!" and the boy just stood there for a second, then handed the toy over without a word.
This used to be her signature caveman stance, with her legs all pushed up flat against her.
She loves to cuddle and hug and wrestle. She LOVES her baby brother and is such a little momma. She's always got her doll close by, wrapped in a blanket. But her favorite thing in the whole world is her dad.
Sweet, tiny, Sara. Such a lovely and intriguing little girl. And so easy, comparatively speaking. She sleeps when it's time to sleep. She's an excellent eater. And she knows how to stay busy on her own. And her lion growl is the best I've heard anywhere. Everybody needs a little Sara, I think. (: