Madalianna Alicea, 4, is well known in the 400 block of West Fourth Street.
When she is not flying up and down the sidewalk on her “Dora the Explorer” scooter, she is busy decorating the sidewalks with drawings of flowers.
“She is out there every day. I sometimes have to make her come in because it is too cold,” says her mother, Wanda Fassett.
Madalianna is excited because her cat, Kelly, recently give birth to a litter of six kittens.
“I love to hold the kittens,” says Madalianna, as she smiles and shows the kitten scratches on her hands. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

"She's very funny," said Eddie Thomas. Eddie Thomas, 21, hugs his daughter Emmorra Thomas, 2, on a sunny afternoon in Erie on April 20. "In Erie, you gotta enjoy it while it lasts," said Thomas. "I like to see my daughter grow up. It's great when they start acting like you, looking like you." After fixing Emmorra's sandal, he added with a wide grin, "She loves to get her hair done and she loves the park." GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

Mercyhurst intelligence study juniors, Bridget Finn, front, and Daksha Cordova, back, both 21, decorate masks on April 26, for a Mercyhurst charity fashion show organized by the Fashion Promotion class. JILLIAN BARRILE/Erie Times-News

Megan Wheeler, 22, of North East Township, files the right front hoof of Ace, a horse owned by John "Guido" Mukina of Franklin Township, at Mukina's home on April 13. Wheeler is a trained farrier, who trims, files and shoes horse hoofs, and has been working with horses for about eight years. She trains, breaks and boards horses through her North East Township business, Wheeler Training and Shoeing. ANDY COLWELL/Erie Times-News

Deke Showman and his mother Laurie Showman help deliver a calf from one of their Holsteins named Little Bear on March 7, at Showman Farms, in Edinboro. The Showmans sell raw milk. At right is Linus Zehr, 8. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

"I keep making it," said Javory Elverton. Though he has never played basketball and has never watched a game on television, 7-year-old Javory Elverton, of Erie, appears to be a natural. "I can do it with one hand, said Javory after sinking another ball through the net of his ESPN basketball game. Elverton was given the game last summer and says he practices his shooting when he is bored. He looks forward to the day he can play an actual basketball game with his brother. But that might be awhile because his baby brother, Thomeir, is just 7 months old. JANET B. KUMMERER/Erie Times-News

"That's sweet!" Tyreace Arrington, 3. Terrance McCreary, 28, raced his three-year-old son Tyreace Arrington west along East 24th Street in Erie on March 19. The youngster had laid out the challenge, "I think I could beat you to the corner, daddy." McCreary, pleased with the recent warm temperatures, said, "We're always outside. I hate sitting in the house." GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News