Our LittleMum

LittleMum's response when we put her hair in pigtails is this: "I look like Mei!"

For those of you who are familiar with the Japanese animated film Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro), you'll know who Mei is. When we rented the English version of the movie, LittleMum watched it over and over again and loved it. I wish we could own it, but the version we rented is no longer available (I wouldn't want to own it anyway, as it has no original Japanese track), and Disney has not come out with its version. This Hayao Miyazaki classic is immensely popular in Japan, and when I was there as a missionary I saw Totoro merchandising all over the place. With good reason - the movie is delightful and the animation appeals to young and old. I've preordered Disney's version from Amazon.com, but they are publishing its release date as Dec. 31, 2025 (huh?). I hope we don't have to wait that long...

So are you curious? Here are some pictures of "big Totoro," "little Totoro," "Satsuki," and "Mei" (in LittleMum's words).

LittleMum's awfully cute in pigtails, but she hates Mommy to mess with her hair. As a result, most days she looks like this:
The "whiny look" is not too typical, luckily... but the "bedhead look" is pretty standard. And even better - Mommy cuts her hair. Poor girl. Hopefully she won't be scarred for life.

LittleMum is an active, delightful little girl. She's excited for her baby sister to come, but not sure yet what to expect. Neither are Mommy and Daddy. We hope that she's a loving, helpful big sister.

LittleMum's favorite pasttimes are learning ASL and signing, drawing, "reading" books, singing, dancing, bossing people around, and acting out scenes from her favorite DVDs. She loves Primary songs, especially "If you chance to meet a frown..." "I am a Child of God" and "Book of Mormon Stories." When we put her down for a nap, we often hear her singing at the top of her voice in her bedroom instead of sleeping.

I know I'm biased, but LittleMum is, without a doubt, the cutest two-year-old in the world...