Belle

Ever since Christmas, Annie has been absolutely smitten with the new princess, "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. Well, neither of my girls had ever seen that movie, so we decided to watch it today. Annie's choice. : ) Leia Rose had been avoiding it for years, afraid of the Beast. And at the beginning when the Beast is "grumpy," she kept yelling, "I hate this movie! This is my LEAST favorite movie of all!" But by the end, she said, "I love this movie! This movies is right after Cinderella and Robin Hood, and definitely before Snow White!" (The witch in Snow White still freaks her out.)

Gosh, I just LOVE this picture of Leia, even though it makes me so sad. I took this at the part when the Beast "dies" at the end of the movie, and before he turns back into the prince. Oh, Leia Rose was SO distressed that such a good character was ending (she thought). And I couldn't deny the similarity to my first viewing of ET when I was 10. I just couldn't stop crying at the end, . . . and I remember quite vividly Dad saying, "It means you're growing up."

Did you notice that Annie was dressed like Belle all day, courtesy of Santa? : ) Here she is running to get her Belle skirt back after a diaper change.

And reaching for her Belle block book in her new princess set. (Another Christmas favorite.)