Charming

As I work hard to learn the ins and out of my camera, I tend to have many more misses than hits. But on the rare occasion, one of those misses turns out to be beautiful in its own way. Such is the case with the picture in this post... it has a very dreamy quality that I found charming. With only a few touch-ups and the addition of a lovely poem, it captures the magical quality of childhood - and the beauty of a toddler named Emma.

The poem reads:

A bright and sunny smiling face,

a mix of playfulness and grace,

a fun-loving and friendly way,

of bringing joy to every day,

her little hugs and kisses, too,

the way she works her wiles on you

and sets your heart all in a whirl . . .

These are the charms of a little girl.

(author unknown)

a sign of times to come???

Is it a bad sign that even at such a tender young age Emma is particularly argumentative with her mother? It came as a fairly big surprise to me one day when I realized that she was indeed arguing with me. Our “arguments” usually go something like this:

While riding in th car, she sees a a cow that she called a “horsey.”
“Cow,” I replied.
“Horsey.”
“Cow.”
“Horsey.”
“Cow.”

Doesn't really seem like an argument, does it? But when you consider the following conversation, you may change your mind. One morning, I walked into her bedroom wearing an Eeyore nightshirt. She looked at it and said, “cow.”
“Eeyore,” I replied.
“Cow.”
“Eeyore.”
“Cow.”
“Eeyore.”
“No! Cow!”

I guess I shouldn’t be too worried yet. But I can’t help wondering if one day the argument will sound more like this:

“Hi Mom! My friend just got her driver’s license and her parents said she could drive us to Portland for the day, so I’m going.”
“No, you’re not,” I reply.
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not!”
“YES, I AM!!”


















Oh, dear Lord, have mercy!

my favorite moment

My favorite moment is definitely the moment each morning that I awake to the sound of Emma talking to herself in bed. She has so much to say and it all sounds so important. There is nothing more precious than the sound of a baby’s voice.

My next favorite moment is the moment I crack open her bedroom door and she sees me standing there. Her usual greeting is “hi”, followed by more of whatever conversation she has been having with herself before my arrival. She stands up and begins handing me all of her essential gear… pillow, blankies (sometimes up to 3 of them), and whatever stuffed animal or doll it is that she has slept with the night before. This moment is always followed immediately by one of my least favorite moments of the day, which is trying to get me and her and all of her gear down the stairs in one piece.

Another of my favorite moments is when she has decided that she is hungry and ready for breakfast, which is basically seconds after we arrive downstairs. She likes to have the high chair pulled over to behind the couch so she can watch either Little Bear or Blue’s Clues while she is eating. And she absolutely insists on having her pillow behind her back and a blankie (sometimes two) across her lap while she is eating.

My other favorite moment is bedtime – either for a nap in the afternoon or at the end of the day. At the words “time for bed”, Emma jumps up from whatever she is doing with a cheerful “uh-huh!” and gathers her essentials (pillow, blankie, stuffed animal of the day). All family members get a big kiss and hug and the farewell “Nigh!” After she is changed into a clean diaper and pajamas, we cuddle in the rocker and she requests lullabies, by saying “dance!” from behind her soother. After a few minutes of cuddling and rocking together, she lays down in her bed with her pillow, blankies and stuffed animals and bids me “nigh nigh”, as I quietly let myself out of her room.

And my final favorite moment is each and every moment in between.

lazy days of summer?

summer days go by, lazy and slow.

lazy and slow?? get real! time flies and little girls grow up a little more every day. saying words. acting silly. making memories. turning two. life flies by so quickly it makes her momma's head spin. wish I could turn back time...

I find this a common theme of my musings: slowing down the growing process. but instead of wishing for time to slow down, I ought to make the most of each day and be grateful for each and every moment.

DANCE!

with each week that passes, Emma becomes more and more articulate. she understands more and is able to communicate better all the time. it is so much fun to see and hear her use her new knowledge to talk to us and share what excites her. in our family, music plays a very big part of our day to day lives. all of the big kids and I love to put on our favorite songs and ask Emma, "you wanna dance?" so I was delighted one day while Emma and I were out shopping when she heard music coming from a speaker in the ceiling of the store... she pointed up to the speaker and exclaimed excitedly, "dance!" to her, all music is "dance" - and how precious is that!

such a delight

is there anything more fun than having a toddler living among you? many would argue that there ARE things that are more fun than living with a toddler, but who can resist the sweetness of a little one running around, learning and discovering the world and God’s creation? each day, my breath is taken away by just how completely delightful it is to see Emma’s joy at play and how earnestly she tries new things. my heart leaps in my chest each time she runs toward me with a huge smile and throws her arms around my neck in the tightest of baby bear hugs. and I would argue that there is no more beautiful sound in the entire world than the sound of my little darling saying “mommy”… my heart just melts each time. Emma lights up the entire house with the sound of her laughter, and although she has her moments of temper and in spite of her selfish tendencies, she is a complete joy to be around. I therefore submit the following video as all the evidence I need to convince even the most skeptical among us – toddlers are a delight!!

mess maker, mess maker, make me a mess

the art of mess making… Emma has mastered it! one mess after another. before I’m able to clean the last one, she has made a new one. but she is so cheerful as she untidies, that I find it impossible to be all that angry with her. in spite of myself, I simply have to smile. to a one-year-old like Emma, making messes is like making masterpieces. so make messes my little darling. make many beautiful messes.