Baths in the sink

Ahh, so this is why I got that extra-deep sink that I can hardly reach the bottom of.

How to Dance Like a Kid

Step 1 - Get so excited you can hardly stand it.
Step 2 - Lean on your friends for help
Step 3 - Don't loose your place!
Step 4 - All together now . . .

Step 5 - Pose like you mean it

Step 6 - Soak up all the attention!

Bye-Bye Baby

We haven't seen bottles for over a year

or diapers for the last 6 months

but now it is official.

My youngest is out of the

tiny baby stage.

She is a sweet little bundle of 2 year old thumb-sucking cuteness, but she certainly is not a baby anymore.

My little girl is so proud of being able to climb in and out of bed all by herself. Up-down-up-down. All smiles. She even tried the great childhood joy of jumping on the bed - I wasn't so thrilled with that one.

She loves having us climb into her "big bed" with her - Okay, so it is really still her crib with the side off (I can't fathom spending money on a toddler bed that gets used for only a few months) but it works just the same.

My little girl spent all afternoon moving stuffed animals from the bed to her rocking chair and back, gently talking to them and telling them that it was time to go "nite-nite." So sweet!

And yes - her room really does look like this all the time, but the rest of the house doesn't. My youngest is a bit of a neat-nik. She carefully picks up every stray carpet fiber and closes her closet doors whenever I forget. I'm keeping these photos as evidence to prove to her 16 year old self that she was capable of keeping her room clean at 2 - not that it will do me a lick of good at that stage, but a mom can dream.

Bye-bye baby, but let's wait on learning to drive for a few years, okay?

Portraits

Memorial day always brings us to the lake - my favorite place for picture taking. I love the light, I love the relaxed atmosphere that brings out the smiles in my kids, and most of all, I love that I have enough time to actually pick up my camera.

Prairie Girls

Bonnets and aprons are so quaint and adorable on little girls.  

It is enough to make me want to study westward expansion for as long as possible.    

Little Fingerprints

We have only one step separating my dining room from the rest of the house, yet we should have installed a railing; a cute little railing at exactly 2 feet high. Because we don't have this railing, my youngest, who is still very unsteady on stairs, uses the wall to steady herself.

Did I mention that this step separates the dining room from the rest of the house? The dining room is the space where people eat messy things like spaghetti or work on great finger-painted masterpieces.

There are sinks in several locations throughout the rest of the house, but to get to any of them you need to go up that stair.

I get to wash my wall a lot.

It reminds me of a favorite poem by Edgar Guest ~

Home ain't a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;

Afore it's home there's got t' be a heap o' livin' in it;

Within the walls there's got t' be some babies born, and then

Right there you've got t' bring 'em up t' women good an' men;

And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn't part

With anything they ever used - they've grown into yer heart:

The old high chairs, the plaything, too, the little shoes they wore

Ye hoard; an' if ye could ye'd keep the thumb-marks on the door.

- excerpt from "Home"

I'm keeping a few thumb-marks . . . but I'd still like that railing.

Think of a solution

I'm hungry. ~ It's hot. ~ I can't find any pants. ~ This is too hard. ~ I don't want that book. ~ I'm tired.

My new response to all of these complaints is now "I can't act on a complaint. Think of a solution and ask for it."

I know it sounds mean. Really, what kind of mother won't give their child something to eat when they say that they are hungry? This mother - the worn out kind. I have no problem with feeding the child, but the entitled, negative attitude is getting on my last nerve.

When did my children loose the ability to ask for help? We haven't always been whiners, but somehow the complaint-monster slowly invaded our house and has now infected my sanity.

Think of a solution and ask for it. I'm happy to answer questions. I'm happy to reach your pants for you. I will gladly open a window or give you an apple.

Just ask.