I didn't know they were available without the high drama feature

K has always had a strong personality, I think I've probably mentioned that constantly in previous posts. She's a really good kid, but she has a penchant for high drama that sometimes makes parenting her a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, she spends most of her time happy, smiling and somewhat calm (of course, most kids seem pretty calm when compared to her older brother C and his overflowing exuberance for life.)

I love her to pieces and I get a kick watching her in action. She always has a plan for what she wants to do next. She is quite a bossy, stubborn determined little girl. While I think this will serve her really well in life, it can be a bit trying at times from a parental point of view.

She's got a great sense of humor and a killer imagination, but I never forget that lurking under that (sometimes) calm and happy exterior, beats the heart of a true drama queen. You can see it in those beautiful hazel eyes, can't you? Something is brewing...

I know that K is not the only young girl prone to theatrics. Most of the girls we've met and played with over the past year or so also seem to express some degree of melodrama when things don't go precisely their way. Although K can at times be a little more dramatic than most, I figured that all young girls were prone to histrionics and that it was simply a manner of degree.

Imagine my surprise to note last week, that not all pre-school/toddler girls have this inner diva. Case in point, my two year old niece M. Here she is eating a snack right across the table from K (at the exact same time that K was shooting me the look in the picture above). Notice please the fact that there appears to be no mischief brewing behind those brown eyes - Just contentment with her peanut butter cracker and grapes. Hmm....

Perhaps it's no wonder then that I found myself taking so many pictures of sweet, peaceful M.

She always seems to be smiling or at the very least content with her surroundings.

It was truly fascinating.

She seemed to move at a slower pace (most of the time) than the other kids, probably because of her age. That's another reason why I was able to get more pictures of her than the other hooligans while we were on vacation. I swear most of the pictures I took of the two boys were blurry. They were in a state of perpetual motion.

But not M. Sweet, serene M.

At least not yet...

I mean really, just look at that face. I could kiss those cute cheeks forever!

Seriously M, you're killing me here.

M and her older brother A will be visiting at my parents house for a whole week pretty soon. I plan to make sure K spends a lot of quality time with M. I am hoping some of that serenity will rub off on my own sweet drama queen.

Not that I would trade my own daughter in for a new one mind you. But, I'm telling you that I had no idea a model like this existed. I thought they all came with the high drama feature standard.