Art and Messiness

There is really something to be said for art and messiness. It is pretty incredible that a child can be engaged in an art project for so many hours. First, Tania decided to paint a picture for me. But we didn't have the exact colors that she wanted, so she decided to try mixing paints to make her own colors. She made a beautiful mint green, an unusual rusty pink, and a sky blue with glitter. Then she painted me the most beautiful picture. After she got tired of painting pictures, I guess she decided to try painting herself. Do you see the stripe across her forehead? She actually began painting herself so that she'd be too dirty for us to take her anywhere, and away from her dear paints. She heard talk of leavng the house to go to the beach, and she was not going to leave peacefully. I think that when we laughed about this, she decided to take it a step further. The next time we saw her, she loked like the photo you see here. She painted her hands to become puppets and made them talk in funny little voices.

God, I love this kid! Cleaning up after her is never a treat, but she sure does know how to entertain herself and have fun. I hope she never, ever, ever loses that ability.