my little swiper…
…enjoying the candy-coated things. ~k
Enjoying the Small Things
By Kelle
my little swiper…
…enjoying the candy-coated things. ~k
By Kelle
5.) the return of entertaining. i’ve missed the continual flow of dinner guests, of having my house ‘company clean’, of feeling the satisfaction of serving people, of setting a nice table. i need to entertain, and we’ve sworn that having people over again is our new leaf turned.
so, friday night we did. candles lit. melodious sounds of jack johnson and madeleine peyroux. wafting scents of garlic and fresh tomatoes.
the table set with our ‘good’ silverware, pressed cloth napkins, placemats that actually match.
kids running through the hallways, playing in the bedrooms.
…and laughter. lots of laughter.
…it was heaven. and, sadly, i have to admit, the last time we had this particular clan together, all at one time, was two years ago.
4.) little kids sitting at their own table. now, that’s just cute.
3.) baby bathtime gone wrong:
that is…
because she loves both babydolls and baths, my motherly ingenuity thought it would be brilliant if i combined the two into a fun game of ‘let’s give babydoll a bath.’
it started out darling…lainey smiling as she gently washed the baby’s ‘hair’, lainey smiling as she smeared lotion on the baby’s hands, lainey smiling as she tucked the doll-sized hooded towel over baby’s head…
…and then went awry when lainey drop-kicked baby across the floor, choosing rather to use baby’s bathtub as a swimming pool. she splashed, she dunked, she flung sopping wet washcloths around the room. there was water everywhere.
needless to say, i learned the lesson that water stays in the bathtub. and lainey…well, she just had fun.
2.) our families are here. both brett’s parents and my dad are down, and last night we all joined for dinner. family is heaven. (and kicking myself for not getting a photo of all of us together last night!)
1.) the emergence of more ‘cute.’ just when i think her quota has been reached…she grows more beautiful, more cute, more deliciously fun to look at.
…enjoying the many-photo-ed things.
~k
By Kelle
…where you just drop everything and say, ‘let’s go to the park. right now.’
so we did.
and we packed a little bag of honey butter crackers and cheese slices and mandarin oranges, and we ate them at the picnic tables.
we went for a swing and her happiness could not be hidden. it radiated through her toothy grin, her squinty eyes, her wrinkled nose.
we realized the park-when-you’re-walking is a whole new adventure, much different from the old park-when-you’re crawling. now, we can attempt the rope steps, the baby slide, the wood plank stairs that lead to the bridge. we can trample over the dry, sun-bleached woodchips with pride. we’ve conquered the park. …in the toddler way.
and the water park…where we used to ‘boot-scoot’ along the wet pavement, we are now walking. no, better than that…trotting. yes, she trots. trots her way through the maze of water spouts, bravely pressing her face into the ribbons of refreshing water that ripple up to kiss her warm cheeks.
…and i smile as i watch her. i know she feels big. like she’s graduated. …as she looks over at the babies in swings whose moms have to scoop them up and take them from place to place. like she remembers she was once there but is no longer. she knows she’s big. my big toddler girl.
how i loved my park date with you today. your happiness is my greatest joy. and seeing you grow only makes me look forward to tomorrow.
…and yes, you are big. and i’m so proud of you. my big, big toddler girl.
…enjoying the growing things.
~k