Update on Stephanie

Some of you have been asking about Stephanie lately. Updates on Stephanie are harder than the rest of us, because Stephanie is harder to capture in words. What words could contain that self-sufficient, tender, hilarious little dynamo? Life with Stephanie looks a lot like this:

• The first is her very calmly, carefully pushing my sewing pins into the ironing board in a lovely, decorative fashion.
• Then, there's her ballet class, which she loves with a passion that both amazes and inspires (and makes me giddy with the cuteness).
• Moving on to the third popsicle of the day. She thinks she's getting away with something; I know all that is in those homemade treats is pureed mango and strawberries.
• We see Zuzu has found a nice resting space. I think that drawer in our dining table is meant for silverware; Stephanie thinks it is a crib.
• As for the laundry basket photo, need I say more?
• That last one was taken this morning. I followed the smell and found her hiding behind my desk, painting her toenails and her feet with my new nail polish (thank goodness it's the least nasty-chemicals one available). Unperturbed at my interruption, she calmly finished the job and set up her toenail drying spot as I hid the polish away. Her feet are propped on a stack of Australian animal books, and she is sitting in a pink basket, reading. This is Stephanie at 7am. Stephanie in a nutshell (and a pink basket).