Color My World... and My Belly...

We are having soooooooooo much fun painting over here! We used to fuss with things like paintbrushes and clothes. Now we just put a big piece of paper on the floor and Lily Ruth dives in fingers first.

 She also likes to visit as she paints, but she is NOT my performing monkey, and will not sing when prompted :-P

I absolutely cannot get enough of her!

 The nude painting wasn't as successful as one might have hoped, as toddlers have a certain fascination with, um, themselves. Diapers are now a painting requirement...

At the end of our last session, Lily Ruth requested to 'crawl baby' through the paint. Sure! Why not? Then she wanted to walk on it and step off onto the floor. O.k.! If we're gonna have crummy linoleum, why not take advantage of it!

 I LOVE these tiny feet!

 Oh, and then there's MY footprint from having to step onto then across the paper as we slid through the paint :-O

 We covered a lot of ground...

When we're not painting, we're in the tub. Covering yourself in paint requires that you then cover yourself in water and soap :-)

I ran a bath for Lily this morning. Not a post-paint bath, but just a regular bath - because she was a dirty, slightly smelly mess. She came into the bathroom as I was checking the temperature. In a happy, inquisitive voice, she said 'baf time?' I said 'yep! Lily Ruth bath time!' 'Ohhhhhhh.' She seemed content with the situation, and appeared to loiter aimlessly as I futzed with toys and towels. I looked up a few seconds later, and she was in the process of closing the bathroom door - with herself on the outside. She looked up guiltily and shrieked 'NO BAAAAAFFFFFFFFF' as she raced down the hall.

I love it when she runs. It's as though her arms and legs belong to someone else, and they just happen to be propelling her in a certain direction. Arms wave wildly, knees fly akimbo, feet slap the floor in syncopation. I keep waiting for her to become more coordinated - or even display a sense of rhythm or grace - but she is just bouncing along in her beautifully free system of movement.

I let her race around the coffee table a few times before I scooped her up, stripped her down and plopped her into the tub.

She decided that the tub was a good place to be :-)

The two of us seem to have caught our rhythm again. We're moving through our days together in a happier way. There is less angry shrieking and lots more laughter. We talk about stuff and make choices together. Life's pretty great.