Today

I started off earlier with a blog post interrupted which sort of turned into a whiny rant about the horrors of impending toddlerhood (this time last year I was 2 days away from my due date….) now I am 2 days away from the nut house. Just kidding. Sorta .
And indeed, it was a often messy, often frustrating day. If your goal is to keep your house somewhat clean and tidy, do your workout routine, not eat the scraps of  the many, many, many, things your baby rejects, go to the toilet without someone trying to physically intervene,  type a blog post without someone unplugging your computer or closing the lid on your fingers. You know. If your goal is to do anything from your former pre-baby somewhat organized, skinny-selfed life…it can be deeply frustrating.
If however, you want to observe and soak up a magical little human being exploring her big wide brand new world on a gorgeous 80 degree day in March, it is deeply satisfying.
A little while ago I typed this status into facebook
I think this may well have been the finest day of Ella's life so far. She watched the dog almost get into several dog-on-dog encounters on our walk, she got a fur outfit when I brushed Shemly on the deck, she got a splinter in her foot on the deck (but did not cry), she chewed on a stick, she had a picnic for dinner consisting of 4 blueberries, one bite of a potato wedge, half an oreo and snuck in a pringle chip-all of which she puked up onto the grass when she choked on the pringle chip. She bum scootched across most of the soccer field at the sledding hill and she ended the day watching a fist fight at her brother's soccer game. If she manages to get a handful of dog-food to eat and a small bath in the water bowl this evening, her day will be complete. She is GLOWING with joy. #Summerisbetterthanwinter
And that was not even the half of it. There were a million twirly rides in sibling arms where she starts off like a limp noodle and then clings to them like a koala bear, uproarious laughter at me pretending to turn her off with the remote control when she starts whining, cuddles with daddy, bonding with Thumper the bunny, the breathless joy of unpacking my makeup bag and exploring the makeup brushes (seriously, she was breathless…giddy over it..)
Anyway if you want a peek into the world of an almost one year old.. here are some photos from today
Our walk. It looks like she is asleep here doesn’t it?  In fact she was just very carefully observing this fat little foot. She kept wiggling her toes. Maybe to make sure they were still there?

Then she slept. And I got to spend some time in the bathroom alone. It was blissful. Yes, some of that time involved scrubbing the toilet. Alone. I repeat, it was blissful.

After which there was some refusing of lunch and some trashing of the living room.
Followed by quality time on the deck with Shemly, sticks, fur and splinters

Then big brothers arrived home and there was some sharing of Cheerios

I love how she scoots herself over to sit on Finny’s lap. She loves the guy so much.

And then of course the infamous picnic

In short. In Ella’s world, it was the best.day.ever.  And since I got to live it vicariously through her, it was not too shabby in my world either.

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