Small friends

No, this isn't a sarcastic reference to the various unpleasant insects that enrich (or otherwise) our lives in Cyprus. It's an excuse to show a few photos of some of my current favourite small people with whom I am privileged to spend time. With my own wonderful sons grown up, I'm happy to count some young children as special friends. 

I snapped this of Elisabeth (who is now three) who had fallen asleep, one evening, only to be joined by Makenzy (I think she's about four months old now).  Makenzy has no feline siblings, but seems to consider Elisabeth as another kitten... thankfully. she didn't try to wake her up:

Here's Helen, who will be five (as she informed me) in just a few days.  When her brothers play with K'nex, they produce vehicles, windmills, weapons.  No matter how gender-neutral one tries to raise children, there are some inherent differences; thus when Helen and her sisters play with the exact same pieces, they make things like crowns:

Or lorgnettes:

I have a hard time understanding how these long-handled 'glasses' can possibly help Katie to read, but she doesn't seem to have a problem:

.. although she soon abandons them.  Typical home educator, Katie went from beginner reader to fluent reader in a fairly short time, and now devours books almost as much as her oldest sister does:

.. and here's one more photo, Helen and Elisabetn playing amicably together with the K'nex, reflected in the mirror with their mother, and if you look hard I'm there in the background, although my camera is hidden by Helen's head: 

I don't take as many photos as I used to, partly because children don't change so much as they get older, and partly because they're so much part of my life now that I rarely think of it. But I'm still very thankful indeed that we know these small people, as well as their older siblings and parents.