Hello!

Mamaw gave Little Miss a subscription to Hello! magazine, the youngest version of Highlights.  We've now received two and I can report that Little Miss loves it.  Here she is reading the most recent copy with Daddy and Huck.

Multimedia Art

Little Miss' art is progressing.  She loves to paint and can fill up a page.  Now she's just starting to explore adding new materials into the mix.  She really enjoys art- I just wish that I were more creative so I could extend her without having to reference Pinterest at every turn.

She gets very focused when working on her art and the thinking tongue is almost always out.  She's also taken to working with a wet washcloth so she can wipe her hands often.  Not sure where those neat tendencies are coming from, but I appreciate her not putting her paint-filled hands everywhere.  Hopefully we'll be able to come up with another creative project soon.

Puppies Need Comfort, Too

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Little Miss has an object of affection- Tigger.  Tigger was taken straight from the dog toy basket and has never been returned.

While Huck has never complained, I did catch him snuggling with Tigger, also.

I guess Tigger brings comfort to all.

Art!

The thing I love most about my mama friends is that they provide a great network to fun things happening around town.  One mama friend pointed out an interactive art exhibit happening in town that was fun for kids.  One afternoon after nap time, another mama friend and I decided to check it out.  The thing that was neat about this exhibit was that it used lots of interesting recycled materials- milk caps, the plastic things from bags of bread, shotgun shells...yes, you heard me right.  There were LOTS of shotgun shells making really cool art.

There was this cool roller thing that the kids loved rolling that made lots of noise.  Little Miss just watched until her friend went home- then I couldn't get her away from this thing.  The way that they used the lights, the kids naturally wanted to keep it in the lighted area and go back when it reached the shadow again.  It was brilliant.

There was also an absolutely massive hanging/carpet of shotgun shells.

It was at this point that Little Miss learned that shotgun shells are slippery and not easy to walk on.

They also had these things hanging from the ceiling.  Kids could bounce and spin them.

I was so grateful that they had lots of fun stuff that the kids couldn't really hard.  This exhibit space also had really cool grounds.  It was a cold drizzly day so we didn't spend a ton of time exploring, but there was this:

If getting a picture with King Triton isn't worth a picture, then I don't know what is.  She was a bit slow to interact with the exhibit, but I do think that she enjoyed going.  I hope that we get more stuff like this in the future.

Where did my baby go?

A few weeks ago as we were getting ready to head to the library, I almost gasped looking at my baby girl.  She's not looking like a baby anymore!

This almost makes me too sad to post.  After story hour, she walked right to the courtyard and when we were finished there she found a ledge to explore.

And then, as if my anxiety over losing my baby weren't enough, she insisted on coming down the stairs herself.

Someone, please hold me.

Breakfast by Candlelight

Here's a typical breakfast at our house these days.  I started lighting candles during mealtimes to make them more special.  At night we turn down the lighting and just focus on each other at the table.    Turns out Little Miss loves it.  She requests candles to be lit at all meals now.  Many mornings I make steel cut oats for breakfast and sprinkle some frozen fruit on top.  Anything with fruit is a cause for celebration and Little Miss chows down.

(You can see the candle in the foreground.)

When she is finished eating, she stands up in her high chair, much to her parents' dismay.  We blow out the candles to signal the end of the meal, and Little Miss likes to do the honors.

No sooner do we get her cleaned up and set her down on her way, than Huckleberry comes over to help clean the high chair and floor.  This pretty much describes most meals these days.

Making Friends at the Park

If it's a decent day (meaning above the 30's, sadly), then I try to get Little Miss outside to run off energy as often as possible.  Yesterday we went to the park.  We met a friend and played with him for a while, but after he left, Little Miss wanted to continue playing.  Another girl came with her family and was immediately smitten with our Princess of the Playground.  Once the little girl realized that our Little Miss is more of a walker, less of a talker, she immediately switched into 'mama mode' offering to help Little Miss in every way possible.  I try to be more of a hands-off parent, so Little Miss didn't really understand half of what the little girl was saying and gave her blank looks.  

Finally, Little Miss agreed to sit on the girl's lap during a trip down the slide.

She enjoyed it and they did it several times together before it was time for us to go.  I hope Little Miss always makes friends so easily.

You Never Know what you Might See Outside

Like most of the country, it has been one very long winter here.  In an effort to infuse some fun into our afternoon, I offered Little Miss the chance to wear her butterfly coat as we walked Huckleberry.  She loves that coat and it's much nicer thinking about butterflies and Spring and warm things, than Winter and coats.  People in the parking lot literally slow down, stare, and smile.  Others roll down their windows and make cute comments to her.  It was too cold to hang out outside and Little Miss Butterfly wasn't ready to give up her wings just yet.  We decided to take a walk through the hallways as she pushed her bike.

No one opened their doors, but I can only imagine what they may have thought if they did.  Later that evening, we went out with Daddy and she wanted to experience flying in the air like a real butterfly.

Seeing pictures like this just warms my heart.  And isn't that what we all need on a cold day?