Greta Painting

For years I've prided myself on having responsible, non-destructive children. I've given a lot of this credit to my excellent parenting. I've enforced good behavior - eating at the table, washing hands, putting toys away. Ava would sit in one spot and look at books or play with toys for hours. (Totally my parenting, right?) Elsa was busier and more curious, but I had more time devoted to watching her. Greta has totally humbled me. I have red marker on my linen dining room chairs, black marker on blankets, pen ink on clothes, and shattered ornaments from being thrown down the stairs. I have all the excuses to why this happens -- not my lack of parenting, of course. Elsa and Ava leave their crayons and markers scattered on the table within her reach. I am busier taking care of Elsa and Ava. Our house isn't as open as our other house, so I can't hear what is going on. But the fact is, I am not as diligent. And yes, she is very very busy. She is fast, curious, and fearless. I love this about her. I realize that I've spent a lot of time trying to keep her from emptying drawers full of clothes, emptying cereal boxes all over the kitchen floor, and jumping off furniture. All things she does constantly.

I realized that I haven't provided enough outlets for her curiosity, which I did all the time for Elsa and Ava. So this morning, I taped some butcher paper to the glass doors and let her paint. She loved it. She opened the paint containers by herself and dumped paint onto the plate (mostly flinging it all over the floor). She painted her hands and smeared paint around with her hands. She stepped into the paint and left little red and green footprints allover the floor. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her. She giggled, laughed, and begged for more paint using her sign language. Clean-up wasn't too bad either. Afterwards, Elsa and Ava enjoyed painting pictures and painting hand prints while I bathed Greta. It was a joyous morning. I need to take more time to provide these kind of moments.