Oh, Faith!

Faith, oh Faith. What am I going to do with Faith?!

This girl is on a roll...

Big sister Olivia can recount several instances in which Faith has gone into her room without permission and has tampered with something like posters, lip gloss, school folders, etc.

I don't know how many times a week I come across "FAITH" in five year old handwriting on odd items around the house- a book, the dollhouse, a porch pillar, and a pillowcase to name a few.

And even more dangerous than writing utensils are, you guessed it, scissors. The most significant cutting she has done is her that of her own hair. And it wasn't just a chop- she basically cut herself a full set of bangs where she had none. A couple of weeks after this discovery, I found a huge wad of hair under her bed. It was so big I couldn't believe it actually came from her head but it must have. She also cut a 2 inch hole in the middle of her Carrie Underwood Concert T-shirt. What about glue? Well, we have a 6 inch remnant of paper that says greets us on our front door.

When confronted about these misdeeds, Faith either pleads innocent and blames it on Seth or emphatically claims that she "didn't mean to."

I am just shaking my head trying to figure this out. My first thought is that we have a case of middle child syndrome. Since Seth came along 18 months ago, Faith is no longer the baby. She is probably suffering from lack of attention and so she's trying to get that attention by doing things that will make her mom scream. My second thought is that this girl is a stifled artist looking for an outlet for pent up creative expression, and I need to get it in gear and set this girl up with some paints, play-dough, and construction paper more often than once a month. (Bad art teacher mommy!)

Until I get this figured out or the stage passes, hmmm... wonder which will come first?... I will enjoy all the good things about my 5 year old Faith. She loves to sing (like she is doing in the picture above,) she really likes Spanish lessons in school, she always tries to help others feel better, she loves finding "popcorn" words as we read together, she works hard in school and is thoughtful of her classmates, she is a very good helper at home, and she puts up with an awful lot of teasing from her big brother and dramatics from her big sister. I love watching this little gal get ready for school- backpack, bike helmet, and a kiss and then she is off on that no-training-wheels-hand-me-down bike, peddling her darnedest to keep up with the big kids.

And here she is with her friend Trinity who is also five and lives a couple houses down the street. Trinity and Faith... I have to giggle when I consider their names and their not-so-tranquil personalities. Faith always insists on walking Trinity home after an afternoon of play at our house. On the day I took the following pictures, it was cloudy with a chance of rain, so they took the umbrella and when I saw all this pink I couldn't resist a few shots.







I love you, Faith, and I hope I can channel your creative energy into something other than the exterior of the house or the linen closet.