girly girl
My great grandniece, Izabella “Belle” Harman is such a sweet girl. Her grandma, Chantel Balcerzak calls her “pure sunshine” and while that might be biased, it definitely doesn’t make her wrong. Belle’s aunt, Siara Kirk says that she is the most kindhearted little girl ever. Her grandma originally gave her the nickname Tinkerbelle, but that later morphed to Tink, which also suits this little sweetie.
She is a helper to anyone who needs it. She is always wanting to help Siara when she’s with her or her grandma when she is with her. Belle is as sweet as she can be, but she is fierce in her loyalties she will defend her people with a sweet sassiness that is all her own. If you are good to her people, she will be good to you, but if you cross her people, you might want to watch out for this little “she bear!!” 
Belle’s dad, Jake Harman loves to pick on people and might even be famous for it. That is fine with Belle, but if she thinks he is getting out of hand with her grandma or Aunt Siara, “Tink” never fails to stick up for Grandma or Siara…even against her daddy. Siara tells me that “She is always on my side when Jake is being his bratty self, because we’re best friends.” Her teachers say that “she is so kind to everyone at school. A friend to everyone.” She really is such a light and joy in this world. She has also been asking Chantel to take her to church, because she loves church and God and at that age, I think that’s very special. Chantel tells me that “she is truly the head and not the tail!” She is a leader in every way. She is so generous and thinks of everyone, but herself. This year, she has wanted to get everyone gifts for Christmas…from her own money and heart.
Belle is an active, busy girl. She doesn’t want to sit in front of a video games. She wants to go outside or make 
up her own games to play. Her imagination is amazing. She takes after the women in her life…her mom, Melanie Harman; Grandma, Chantel; and Aunt Siara…girly girls all. She is beautiful, inside and out. She has the sweetest spirit. Oh…and, she is a lip gloss thief…but, who can blame her. A girly girls can’t be without her lip gloss…lets be real here. While she is a girly girl, Belle loves her daddy, and helps him with anything and follows him wherever he goes. Maybe there is a little bit of the tomboy in her after all. Today is Belle’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Belle!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Hattie Parmely is just growing up so fast. She and her sister Reagan are homeschooled on their farm by their mom, Ashley Parmely, while their younger brother attends pre-school in town for one more year, and their younger sister, Maeve is in her first year of pre-school in town. Once the two younger kids are done with pre-school, they will be homeschooled too. Hattie and Reagan got to go to Denver with their grandpa, Albert Eighmy recently, to visit their grandma, Kari Eighmy, who was taking some training for work in Denver for a couple of weeks. The girls had a great time.
It’s hard to believe that Hattie is eight years old already. She really seems more mature than that though. I think that is common with farm kids, because part of their everyday life involves the responsibilities of the farm animals, and their care. A lot of kids have chores to do, but the chores of farm kids are very different than the chores of city kids. Hattie and her siblings have witnessed many animal births, and of course some deaths too. They know firsthand what life’s all about. They have mucked stalls, bottle fed the babies, and carried feed to the animals. Of course, there is the fun stuff too. Hattie and her 
asiblings regularly get to ride their horses, play with the baby goats and kittens, jump on their trampoline, ride round on the tractor with their dad, Eric Parmely. Like most kids these days, Hattie’s driving skills began early when she got her own little car, which is too small for her now, of course. She also likes to float the river with her family, and she is getting really good at maneuvering a kayak.
Hattie and her older sister, Reagan both have their own dog. They are responsible for their own dog’s care. Hattie named her dog Lucy, while Reagan named hers Bristol. The younger children will get a dog of their own when they turn seven. That is the age their parents decided that they were old enough to handle the care of their own dog. Maeve doesn’t care too much that she can’t have a dog yet, especially since they also have several family dogs, but Bowen can’t wait, and isn’t sure he thinks it’s fair that he has to.
Hattie is growing into such a little lady. She has her own style, and it’s perfect for her. She kind of a girly girl, but she can rough and tumble with the best of them. She is a good big sister to Bowen and Maeve, but they do occasionally get on her nerves, as does her sister, Reagan. It’s just the way of having siblings, and anyone who has siblings knows that is true. That’s just how it is. Today is Hattie’s 8th birthday. Happy birthday Hattie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My little grandniece, Elliott Stevens has been very busy lately. On June 24, 2022, Elliott had a life-changing event occur in her life, when she became big sister to Maya Stevens. Elliott was always a happy girl, and really, very comfortable in her life. I don’t think she even minded being an only child, but then she really didn’t know anything else, so I suppose it doesn’t really count. Now, however, Elliott has a little sister, and that have made her life even better than before. Elliott loves helping her parents, Kayla and Garrett Stevens with Maya, and she and Maya are fast becoming best friends, as well as sisters. You can see the love that shows on their faces every time they are together. Elliott has other activities too, so holding her baby sister isn’t something she can do all the time, although she would if she could. Elliott is getting to be very capable at holding her sister, and loves to make her smile, and help with her care in any way she can. Maya, looking lovingly at 
her big sister and knows that before long she will get to play with her too. It’s baby sister love for big sister.
Elliott can’t take care of her sister all the time, because she has a number of fun activities, she is involved in. She takes swimming lessons, as well as, gymnastics, and she goes to daycare, where she has lots of friends that she enjoys spending time with. Elliott is also her daddy’s best little helper. Maya will become a good helper too, but she too little right now. Elliott and her daddy build things together and paint things too, like the playhouse her and her daddy built for her. Elliott works very hard, and I know her daddy appreciates all her help. She also loves going to the park with her parents, and now her baby sister too. She loves the swings and slides the best, I think. Now that her grandpa, Mike Stevens is retired, he and Elliott’s grandma, Alena Stevens 
can go to Sheridan for visits more often. Elliott’s other grandparents, Lynette and Wes Smiley live in Sheridan, so she gets to see them lots too.
Elliott is a girly girl. She loves makeup, princess clothes, and of course…heels. She even has her own play makeup, and she loves putting it on, even if she isn’t perfect at it just yet…but then what girl starts out putting on her makeup perfectly. We all have to experiment until we find our perfect look. Elliot also loves to spend time with her cousins, Brooklyn and Jaxxon Killinger. They like to go swimming, to the park…or just hang out. It’s a good life, and Elliott is enjoying every minute of it. Today is Eliott’s 4th birthday. Happy birthday Elliott!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
There are some kids that you can take one look at, and you know without a doubt that they are feisty and full of spunk. My great grand-niece, Izabella Harman is one of those kids. Belle, has sparkling eyes to match her sparkling personality, and she has the wit and smile to match. She loves life and loves her family, especially her older sister, Alice and younger brother, Jaxx. Nevertheless, she is very independent, and her mom Melanie Harman tells me that Belle has this “random rudeness,” just like her dad, Jake Harman, but somehow, her sarcasm doesn’t bring the same reaction as it does with her dad. In fact, it’s all her parents can do not to laugh at their little girl trying to show off her rude sarcasm, and all she can pull off is funny sarcasm.
Belle is a girly girl. She loves her makeup and lip gloss, her shoes and her clothes! The dunny thing is that as much as Belle loves her makeup, she really won’t need much as she gets older. Her eyes are beautiful, and will likely need little help, but like most girls, she will probably wear it anyway…and that’s ok too. She’s definitely a princess at heart. Of course, in my opinion, girly girls are great fun, because they make so many cute and frilly outfits for girls, and if the girl doesn’t like that stuff, it’s a bummer. These days, they even have tutu skirts, which we never would have put our girls in, in my day, but maybe we missed it, because they look so cute. Pair that with a pair of leggings and a cute top, and you have a girly girl’s dream outfit. These outfits are Belle’s idea of cute, and I agree.
Belle is such a cool little kid. She and her older sister, Alice keep their younger brother, Jaxx totally entertained. All I can say is, that it’s a good thing her parents are so young at heart, because they rarely mind the loud play 
and giggles that are common when you have three kids in the house. The reality is, your kids are only this little once, you might as well enjoy it. Sometimes Jake and Melanie post some videos of the kids at play, and it is very cool to hear their giggles and laughter. They wrestle around, make faces, and then they laugh about just how funny they are. And they really are. Today is Belle’s 5th birthday. Happy birthday Belle!! Keep being you, because we love it. Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand niece, Aurora Hadlock is a sweet, slightly bashful little girl, who is a blessing to be around. She is very loving, and always quick with a hug, but don’t let one side of her fool you as to the other side of Aurora, because Aurora has a goofy, teasing, funny side that comes out to play when she gets to know people. Aurora and her mom, Chelsea Hadlock love doing things together, along with her brother, Ethan, and her dad, Ryan Hadlock. It’s fun to go camping on the mountain, and hiking the trails there. Ryan and Chelsea keep the kids busy with lots of fun activities.
This summer, the kids joined the many people in the latest fad of painting rocks and them placing them around town for others to find. The idea is two-fold really. Some people…mostly kids…keep the rocs they find like a sort of free souvenir for the hard work in hiking around to find the rocks. Others, like my husband Bob and me, re-hide the rocks we find, so that someone else can enjoy them too. Its really quite interesting. Aurora and her brother, Ethan had a great time, with their mom painting the rocks, and then setting out to hide them around the trails. Lots of people post their finds on Facebook, in the hope that the artist can see the happiness their painted rock brought to someone else.
Aurora is a girly girl, and she loves her dresses and other costumes that make her feel like the princess she is, but don’t let her girly girl side fool you, because Aurora is her daddy’s girl, and anyone who knows Ryan, knows that teasing comes with the territory. Ryan got it from his dad, and he is working hard on passing it down to his kids. Of course, it’s all in good fun, and the kids aren’t mean about, it, but they are little experts at it. Once in a while the students become the teacher, and for Ryan, that has been the case on more than one occasion, when the kids have decided that it’s time to show daddy their expertise. Ryan is a good sport though, because I’m sure he did that to his dad too. If you are going to tease, you have to be able to take a joke too.
School will be starting next week, and Aurora will be a grown up first grader. She is a good student, who loves going to school, and learning. She loves to read, and especially to play with her friends on the playground, because no matter how good a student you are, recess is still everyone’s favorite class. I can’t believe how quickly our little Aurora is growing up, Today is Aurora’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday Aurora!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand niece, Aleesia Spethman has had a very busy summer. She is part of an active family, which includes her three older brothers, who keep Aleesia very busy when she is at home. Of course, being the only girl in a house with three brothers, can have its up side, and its down side. It’s pretty hard to get brothers to play girly games, so sometimes, Aleesia has to be a bit of a tom boy, a role she has taken seriously…or maybe it just comes naturally because of her brothers. She can keep up with the boys on many of the things they do, but they still treat her like a princess sometimes too.
Aleesia is the girl her parents always wanted…not that they didn’t want those boys too. Jenny, Aleesia’s mom is very much a girly girl, and she wanted her own mini me to share her fashion sense, and all the other girly girl things with. They have a great time being girly together, shopping together, and playing the girly games that 
Aleesia wants to play, and her brothers are much too macho for. The boys are very considerate of their sister, but you simply have to draw the line somewhere. They do take her along on their adventures too, so what more can a baby sister ask for?
Aleesia loves her grandma. Every evening, after a hard day of playing with her friends and brothers, Aleesia is picked up by her grandma, my sister, Cheryl Masterson. She goes to her grandma’s house for a few hours. They love to spend time together, because Aleesia is seriously Grandma’s Girl. Don’t get me wrong, because she very much loves her parents and brothers, but she also loves her grandma very much. In fact, if Aleesia had her way, her grandma would just move in with her family, because then everything would be absolutely perfect in her world. My sister and her youngest grandchild have a somewhat unique relationship. Of course, Cheryl loves all her grandchildren, but some grandchildren are the type who just wiggle their way into your heart and take up a residency there. Some grandchildren are after your heart, and they make a sincere effort to be with you. It isn’t that the two of you do 
anything that is so out of the ordinary, but rather that you have opened your heart to their efforts to come in. I don’t know if that exactly explains how that is, but any grandparent who has been blessed with such a grandchild, knows exactly what I mean. And truly, anyone who has been blessed to have Aleesia love them a lot, is blessed indeed. I know, because I have been blessed to be one of those, and I love it. Today is Aleesia’s 5th birthday. For Aleesia, the next big adventure in her world will be Kindergarten…super fun!! Happy 5th birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My second cousin twice removed, Hazel Grace Pallas, daughter of Angel and Brian Pallas, is quite a character. I have only met Hazel and her family via Facebook, but her mom and her aunt, Elizabeth Nordquist, have posted a lot of pictures of the kids, and along with the stories they provide, I feel like I’ve known their kids forever. As I said, Hazel is a character, but she is also a Girly Girl, and could even be classed as a Diva, but that isn’t surprising, because she spends a lot of time with her cousins, Addilayde and Meadow Nordquist, daughters of Elizabeth and Aron Nordquist, and they can definitely be Divas.
While these girls can be girly and artsy, they also love to play, and they have a great time together; as well as with Hazel’s little sister, Tenley; and their cousins, Hosea and Canaan Oltman, sons of Grace and Tzaddik 
Oltman. It’s so much fun to look at the great pictures of these close families of cousins. The moms take pictures often, especially Elizabeth, who is a photographer in her own right, so I have watched these kids grow up almost all of their lives.
Addi and Meadow, being the oldest ones, inspire all the fun around there. They play with all the kids, and really enjoy having their cousins come over. The other day, the three older girls, Addi, Meadow, and little Hazel were out in the back yard, playing in the snow. For Hazel, who is 2½ years old, I think this is still a very new experience. Nevertheless, it is one she very much enjoyed. The girls got out anything the could slide on, and they had a wonderful time slipping and sliding on the snow. When Hazel told her mom about all she did that afternoon, she simple 
summed it up as, “Swimming in the snow, Mom!” When I read that comment, I just laughed and laughed. It was perfect. To have that childhood enjoyment of the snow…untainted by the experiences of driving in the snow, and all the stress that comes with it…seemed like a dream world to me. As I was driving to work this morning, with little Hazel on my mind, I noticed that as I drove down the alley from my backyard garage, over the freshly fallen snow, it felt like I was almost floating along. Hazel’s words came to my mind. “Swimming in the snow, Mom!” I think I know how Hazel felt.
While my grand niece, Aleesia Spethman is very much a girly girl, she has an alter ego too. Aleesia has three brothers, and when a little girl is raised around three brothers, it soon becomes obvious that she will take on a few…or even a lot of Tomboy traits, and that is exactly what Aleesia has done. She is a girl, and she likes dressing up like a girl, and wearing pretty hair styles like a girl, but she can totally keep up with her brothers too. In fact, she pretty much has her brothers wrapped around her little finger…or very buffaloed, because she rules that roost.
One day, while playing with her cousin, Anna Masterson, it had rained outside, and the girls decided that this was the perfect time to try out a new pastime…collecting worms. Aleesia had a little fish container that had an 
open mouth, and after working a while, she came running up to Anna’s mom, Dustie and told her that she had some “squirmy wormy worms” in the fishes mouth. She certainly did, and one of them was probably five inches long. Of course, she let the worms go home to their mommies, because she didn’t want them to die, after all. For such a girly girl, our little Aleesia has no problem with bugs and other insects. Another time, Anna had decided to kill some hornets that had come into the back porch of the girls’ grandma, my sister, Cheryl Masterson’s house. Anna was stepping on the hornets, and it was working quite well. Aleesia decided to kill hornets too, and while she was successful at stepping on it, she didn’t understand that shoes were really needed for this project, so she got stung. Being the tough little girl she is, once she stopped crying about it, she had to tell everyone about the event. It was like a badge of courage to her, and she wanted everyone to know how brave she had been.
Aleesia has a unique relationship with her Uncle Rob Masterson too. The first time I witnessed that one, I was 
somewhat shocked that Rob was picking on her in such a fashion…until I found out that this was a mutual attack. It’s a game the two of them play, and Aleesia thoroughly loves it. In fact, she is often the one to provoke him!! Practically the instant she walks in the door, she is ready to spar with her uncle, and he is just as ready. It is quite hilarious to watch. After spending time around Aleesia, I often wonder how she could possibly be a girly girl at all. Nevertheless, she is, but she’s a tomboy too. Today is Aleesia’s 4th birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nieces, Machelle Cook Moore and her sister, Susan Cook Griffith have both always been very sweet, loving girls. They have tender loving hearts. Machelle is the older sister, and there are five years between the girls, but they are just as close as they can be. Both of the girls love to go camping and to be outdoors in general, which is nice for their families. The summers are filled with trips to the Big Horn Mountains in northern Wyoming, which is where they live.
It is there, however that many of the similarities between the girls end. Machelle and her husband, Steve have two sons, Weston and Easton, while Susan and her husband, Josh have a blended family with two daughters. I have found that when a woman has just sons, her life is much different than when a woman has just daughters. That is an observation that I have made from my own life, because I also have two daughters and no sons. Boys tend to change a woman…even if 
she is a girly girl. There is simply a culture shock that comes from having a house full of men. Maybe it is the same for the fathers of just daughters, and in reality, I’m sure that is true, but since I am a woman, I can’t speak to the culture shock a man of only daughters really feels, other than outnumbered. But then again, I’m sure that the mother of just sons, feels the same way. I know my own daughter, Corrie Petersen feels outnumbered a lot. I’m sure that Machelle has the same issues, and the older the boys get, the more they like to tease their mothers. That is a guy thing for sure.
Life with boys is rough and tumble, and in many ways a little bit gross. Because that is what boys do. It is filled with spiders, snakes, bats, and toads, or at least some kind of a mixture of these and more. The mother never really knows what she might find in the pockets of her little…angels. She can never be 100% sure that they won’t completely embarrass her with their noises, because to them that sort of thing is…well, funny. For most 
girls, these kinds of things would be more embarrassing to the girl than to her parents…not so with boys. With boys, all bets are off, and their mom had better expect the unexpected…at all times. I know that those who have boys know exactly what I’m talking about.
Machelle and Susan are alike in many ways, but their lives are very different. I know that they wouldn’t trade their lives for anything, but I’m sure that they’ve had a few conversations about just how different their lives are too. I don’t think either of them could fully believe the differences unless they see it for themselves, however. Today is Machelle’s birthday. Happy birthday Machelle!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand niece, Aleesia Spethman is a child who can steal your heart. She has a smile that can light up your whole day. Aleesia has spent a lot of her life posing for pictures for her parents, so now, when someone pulls out a camera, she automatically goes into pose mode. Aleesia is such a girlie girl, and when I think of her, the word princess comes to mind. She loves to dance around the room. She loves all things bling…from nail polish to back packs that light up. She likes things that catch the eye. At three years of age, she already knows so much about who she is and who she wants to be. No, I’m not saying that she already knows what career she will choose, but she knows what kind of girl she is, and that it’s ok to blend girly with tomboy.
Now, just because Aleesia is a girly girl, does not mean that she can’t keep up with the boys. You can’t be born the baby girl in a family with three boys, and not figure out how to handle yourself around those boys. Aleesia can easily rough house with her brothers, Xander, Zack, and Isaac at one moment, and then totally turn around and run things like a queen. Even though her brothers are older than her, Aleesia is definitely the boss when it comes right down to it. Quite possibly that is because Xander, Zack, and Isaac love their sister so much, and they are so protective of her. I suppose that they let her run the show to some degree, but it’s only because they love her so much.
If there is an area where Aleesia is just like any other three year old child, it is in the area of her cartoon choices. Aleesia loves Despicable Me. Minions are her favorite people. I had never really had a chance to watch Despicable Me, until Aleesia started spending Thursday evenings at my sister, Cheryl Masterson’s house. Cheryl is Aleesia’s grandma, so it stands to reason that she would be there at times. The rest of her family goes to an event in downtown Casper on Thursday nights, and it’s a lot of walking, which is not so easy for Aleesia, so she spends the evening with my sister and me, and sometimes, Cheryl’s daughters, Chantel Balcerzak and Liz Masterson, and granddaughter, Siara Harman. We have a really great girls night. We watch movies, and we have been scanning pictures…as well as just enjoying each others company. If Aleesia had her way, we would watch Despicable Me every night, and for the whole evening, but she is good about letting us have a say in the 
movie we watch, as long as Despicable Me is on sometimes. She just can’t get enough of that show.
Aleesia is the kind of girl who draws you into her world. She giggles, smiles, and laughs her way into your heart. She likes to pose, because she knows how cute she is…and yet she isn’t prissy. She is almost an actress, because she really knows how to play a part, and she knows how to capture an audience. She’s cute, and she knows it. Today is Aleesia’s 3rd birthday. Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
