Her own person.

As was her sister Rachel a few weeks ago, Lily has been tagged. I have been thinking about posting something about my middle (at least for now) child because she is such an anomaly to me and wanted to capture the essence of Lily as she is right now. So the timing was great.

Here's seven things about Lily Rebekah:

1. If I were to pick one characteristic that describes Lily, it would be unique. I know, I know. We're all unique. But I'm telling you, this kid is really something. On a superficial level, she's different from her sisters because she has blond hair, it's curly, she's left-handed and her ears stick out. For more depth, move on to the next item.

2. Lily is inherently lazy. Her latest quote in response to my requests for her to put things away is, "Mom, why are you making me do all this work?" As if she were Cinderella or something. Another favorite of hers: feigning illness or fatigue to get out of chores. And no, her assignments are nothing any 3-year old can't do fairly easily. She also pretends that she can't put on her own clothes, shoes, and use the bathroom because a life of ease is her lifelong dream. Good luck with that one, Lils.

3. Self-entertaining is one of her greatest talents. Her grandparents gave her a few My Little Ponies for Christmas and she's been playing with them pretty much nonstop for the past 4 1/2 months. And she doesn't need anyone to accompany her. I practically have to force my way into her world, for heavens sake. She also "reads" books for hours on end.

4. Stranger danger is gonna be hard to teach this cookie. She'll talk to anyone about anything. But usually she just wants to talk about ponies...

5. Lily wears her heart on her sleeve. Her life is an emotional roller-coaster where her tears are abundant, her wails are renowned and her hugs and kisses are unfeigned. Last week during her swimming lesson, she bluntly told her teacher that she wouldn't perform a number of tasks, explaining that she was "scared". When prompted again, she laid in with the screams and violent protests. This child definitely does not care what anyone thinks.

6. Lily lives by her own timeline. She was born to teach her mother patience, I'm convinced.

7. Lily is very self-assured. She turns a blind eye to criticism, knowing full well that she is nothing short of awesome. It's kind of frustrating because she doesn't seek anyone's approval or praise so it's difficult to know how to motivate her. But in the long run, the girl is gonna be just fine.