simple pleasures

I really love the physical aspect of taking care of children. I love bathing them, helping them dress, fixing their hair. There is something very gratifying in helping a tiny arm through a shirt sleeve, and in the way they lean into you when you help pull on pants.

I like it that my own physical self can be a comfort to them when they are injured or sad. Sometimes when I am busy doing something else, Ysa will want me to pick her up, and I can and do, carrying her around while I make dinner or pick up scattered toys. It makes me feel content to wipe a snotty nose clean, bandage a cut, or make a chocolate mustache disappear.

It's fun for me to pick out their clothes (when they let me). Kissing their cheeks and foreheads is heavenly. Ysa loves to snuggle in an armpit when we lie down at night to read books before bed. Garnet loves to have her back rubbed.

I know I'll miss it all when they are too big to let me help anymore.

eccentricities

Garnet writes in the air while she's having a conversation. It looks like she has an imaginary chalk board in front of her and she's taking notes on what she and/or you are talking about. I think it's really cute. The night before she was to go back to school after xmas break, she couldn't sleep. After lying in her bed for 2 hours, I just let her get up. We watched some TV about venomous snake and spider bites. Steven and I kept trying to get her to be still and not talk, but for Garnet, that's like trying to get a shark to stop swimming. Anyway, I heard her beside me whispering something while drawing in the air. I demanded to know she was whispering about over there, I was kinda cranky because I was tired. She was whispering, "19.99," the price of whatever they were selling on the commercial. This was so funny to us. So now every once in a while we will whisper, "19.99," to her. Garnet pretends not to like it, but she really does.

Ysa loves to eat, she eats all day. She's always, "hunny." We let the girls have desert night 3 nights per week. Usually the first thing she asks in the morning is, "Is is zert night?" This morning she asked Steven if it was 'zert' night and finished the sentence with a mouth chomp, like punctuation. Steven laughed and laughed. I don't think he'd noticed her punctuation chomps before, but she does it quite often. It reminds me of an old boyfriend who used to sometimes end his sentences with an odd mouth noise, like a reverse kissy action. It makes a popping sound.

I guess all little kids are weird. I just hope they don't stop being that way.