traviesa

Miss Genevieve is the epitome of the word traviesa, which means mischievous in Spanish. She is always plotting and planning her next move or comeback. She loves to pretend punch and fight (thanks to her Papa's influence). She is constantly saying one thing and doing the other. She'll say, "Mom, I just didn't want to eat all my food so I didn't." And I'll firmly ask her to return to the table to eat whatever is left on the plate only to find she has already eaten everything and placed her dish in the sink. And she does things like that with just about everything: cleaning, learning, eating, playing. She is so sneaky.

Sometimes I find myself grumbling at her constant trickery, but for the most part, I see a twinkle in her eye that reminds me she is sweet as pie. She just has a wild Gallagher streak in her that is evident nearly everyday. I see my grandpa in her. She is quick to make comebacks to anything I say to her, which is something I have always known with my grandpa. But like him, she is wise. She stops playing when she senses she should. And she showers me with so much love that it's almost overwhelming.

I love my Genevieve. I love her light brown eyes that dart away from the camera. I love the way her curly hair is always in her face. I love that you can always find dirt under her nails. I love that she loves just about anyone. I love that she roots for his sisters 100% of the time; she is and always has been their biggest fan. I love that she helps me around the house; she is often the only one tidying rooms with me, even when I plead with all the girls. So although she's silly and traviesa 80% of the time, she is gold 100% of the time.

I snapped the following pictures at Genevieve's field trip to the pumpkin patch a few weeks back. I feel they are indicative of her animal-loving, always-including personality. The little girl she was sitting next to on the hay ride was rather scared when the tractor started moving so V offered her hand without a thought, and the little girl gripped her hand for most of the ride until V got her laughing about a cow she saw pooping. Yep, that's my girl. And what is it about kids and poop?

And one more for good reason because Genevieve turned out to be a star soccer player this season. I'm not sure how or why it clicked so well with her, but she loved the sport. I was certain she would be off chasing butterflies during the game, but nope, she scored at least 4 goals a game and was always the first to attack the ball. I was and still am so very proud of her.