My Little Artists

Reese adores painting.

It’s hard for me.

I like things to stay clean which doesn’t often happen when you let a 3-year-old paint. She asks if she can paint almost daily. I usually refuse. I make up excuses like the fact that she won’t really be able to paint with Zoe around because Zoe will mess it up, or if it’s raining or cold she can’t paint outside which is the only place I allow painting to occur. Still, she is persistent and sometimes I just can’t bear to say “no”.

Especially when this happens:

Yes, that’s Reese…painting out on the back patio…in her underwear…which are on on backwards. That’s real life people!

I left her outside to paint and when I came back she had stripped down to her undies claiming that she didn’t want to get her clothes messy. A girl after my own heart! Why those undies were on backward is beyond me. She can often be found to have at least one article of clothing on backward or inside out these days as she is more and more often in charge of dressing herself. Of course today WOULD be the day that she happens to be wearing her ugly granny panties as opposed to the cute flowered ones.

The next week she really wanted to paint when Zoe was awake and around. I decided to let loose and let them have some fun even though I knew it would result in a mess. I poured paint on a plate and let them have at it with their fingers. I left them to their own devices and when I came back 20 minutes later this is what I found:

Oh to be young again when the funnest thing ever is painting everything from the paper to your face. They had a ball and I let go of my cleanliness complex just a bit.