Pretty Close To Perfect

This evening was almost as good of an evening as could possibly be.  I picked Autumn up from daycare and her teacher had done her hair in these cool twisting braids.  We came home to a house that smelled good b/c I had put some creamy chicken in the crockpot before I left to work so dinner was ready when we got home. 

Autumn & I ate our dinner together and then watched the news to see what the weather will be like tomorrow.  Autumn is a little ball of energy and was jumping all over the place b/c she liked the feeling of her braids swinging through the air.

I’ve been trying to be better about spending time w/ her in the evenings instead of just vegging out in front of the TV while she plays.  So, I got out the Candy Land game that she got for her birthday and we played a few rounds. 

She doesn’t quite grasp the concept of taking turns yet, or the concept of which game piece is hers and which is mine.  But, we still had fun and she was doing such a good job of concentrating on the colors.

After playing her game, it was time to take a bath.  I usually put her in, wash her hair and body, and get her our fast b/c of her eczema and the doctor telling me not to let her take long baths.  But, she was in a playful mood and wanted to stay in for a while so I let her.  She likes it when I pile her hair on top of her head after I shampoo it.  She also likes me to wrap her up tight in her towel so she can be my “Burrito Baby.”

I thought this picture of her peeking out from behind the towel was so cute.  I love it when she’s in a good mood like this and lets me take pictures so I can practice.  I used my big zoom lens tonight and was taking pictures non-stop so I can be a little bit more prepared for my Mamarazzi Boot Camp photography class next month.

Since I was being such a nice Mom (and wanted to take action pictures) I let Autumn jump on my bed (which I usually don’t do).  I was only able to get one picture b/c she didn’t want to cooperate for very long.  She got tired of me taking her picture and said, “Come play, Mama.”  So, I put the camera down and just enjoyed being w/ her.

She found some Ensigns I had sitting on my nightstand next to my bed and wanted to look through those.  She wanted to be Little Miss Independent and turn the pages herself.  She just started jibber jabbering and telling me all sorts of stories from the pictures she would see in the magazine.  It was a fun evening and both of us were super tired, so we laid down at 8:30 and it was so funny to hear her talk about all sorts of random things before drifting off to sleep.  She was saying stuff like:

The scary bat is nice. 
Papa at work. 
I go potty in big girl toilet. 
I’m home, Mama.
My feet stink.
I not have to walk.
I’m a big girl.

It’s nights like this that I need to have more of and make sure that I am cherishing.  I can’t believe she’s already 3 years old and is such a big girl.  It’s hard to remember her ever being little or small, so that’s why I take so many pictures and try to enjoy each moment…they go by way too fast.