Friday Afternoon, Post-Daycare

Oh mommy, look at your necklace! It's just beautiful!!


Do you want to hold it?


Yes!


Be sure to hold it carefully.


Why mama? Is it very fragile?


Yes, it is.


Ok, you hold it. I don't want it to break. Mommy? Can you hold my picture? I don't want Winston to eat it.

Tap, Tap

Gretchen loves Instagram. Swipe, swipe, swipe. One finger across the screen, looking through everyone's photos. I even showed her how to "like" an image by tapping it so the little heart pops up.

A few days ago, snuggling up on my bed, she took my phone and opened up the app. After scrolling a few minutes, she paused over one image.

"Oh mama, dis one is a good one. I fink we should tap tap it."

Be my guest, little lady.

PS. Am I following you on Instagram? Leave your name in the comments & I'll be sure to look you up. I'm sofawned, just like Twitter.
PPS. I've also been playing along with the #janphotoaday meme... anyone else?

Great Minds

My yurt-talk must be catching on.

Last night, as she was falling asleep, Gretchen said: "Mama, when we move inna new house wif da chickens? Da yurt? Dat be nice."

I'm glad we're on the same page.

PS. More about these cute little butts soon, I promise.

"John's Pants"

Dees John's pants, mama.

She says this as we get dressed, as I'm shimmying her pants up and buttoning them at the front.

John's pants?

Yes. Dees John's pants.

For weeks I had no idea what she meant. Our daycare provider's partner is named John, but I couldn't quite make the connection.

Then one morning I realized that she was only saying it on days when I dressed her in jeans.

Jeans.

Jean's.

John's.

Language lessons from my 2-year-old, ladies and gents.

I figure she must think I'm mistaken in claiming her pants belong to this Jean character when in fact, we don't know anyone by that name. I must mean John, who she sees several times a week. It would only makes sense.

No, mama. Dees John's pants.

Ok, Gretchen. You're right.

It Just Takes A Moment

Under the covers, she reaches over and puts her hands on either side of my face.

I love you, mommy.

She touches my hair and wraps in around her fingers.

Hair...

She breathes...

Beautiful.

She takes her soft little palm, held flat, and with it, makes a circular motion around my cheeks. Sign language for beautiful.

In those moments, the crying, the bad days, the sad feelings and the frustrations all melt away. The "I'm not good enough"s and the "what am I doing wrong?"s all fade, and in that instant, I know exactly what it's all about. It's this. This feeling. This is all there is.

I love you too, little girl.

Conversations With Gretchen

Gretchen, what are those?

Skull-ulls!

Yes! And what are the squirrels doing?

Chillin.

Conversations With A Sixteen Month Old

Gretchen, what does a chicken say?

Bok, bok, bok!

What does a cow say?

Meeooo!

What does a kitty say?

Nee-yoww!

What does a puppy say?

Baaad dog!