The Next American Idol

This is a bit of an experiment for me, posting a little "home video" for the first time. This was one of those moments we couldn't resist, couldn't pass up, and just had to film it. I've had a tough time wrestling with this little clip -- iMovie refused to cooperate, so I'm just posting it here unedited. Pardon the bit o' blabbering in the beginning -- she lost her groove for a moment when she saw the camera.

But the point is this: this little girl is really something. The back-story is as follows -- we were getting breakfast ready on lazy Saturday morning, and Grace had no problem keeping herself occupied. Our girl is the Queen of Social Butterflies -- if she doesn't have a flesh-and-blood friend to interact with, she'll simply come up with an alternative. Sure, she might then talk to her stuffed animals or her dolls ... but why limit yourself to relational creatures? For Grace, it's just as easy to form a relationship with an inanimate, un-relational object -- she's not picky in the least. Case in point: the video below.

We have one of those Leap Frog alphabet things on our fridge, but instead of using it for its intended purpose -- forming 3-letter words, learning letters, phonics, etc. -- Grace found an opportunity to gather an audience. She quickly organized them all by color, and set her "colorful choir" up in rows. Then, assuming the role of worship leader or conductor, she began to lead her new little friends in song. They happened to be all the "new" Christmas songs she learned recently (changing the lyrics a bit as she went along), but that's OK. She had been doing this before about 10 minutes before Don grabbed the digital camera, so we only have one little item captured, but the moment was priceless. There's another clip on the heels of this one, and I'll get that one up soon as a follow-up (she's either giving a sermon to her new little "friends" or teaching them about South America -- maybe a little bit of both).

This girl really is something. For a 3-year-old, this is pretty cool, to see something so strong in her developing. Her imagination, and her insatiable extroverted desire for having people (real or imaginary) around her, is astounding to me. And it sure does provide some excellent entertainment!