Art Time! – Painting with Stuff :)

Monday morning M said, “I have an idea!” (This is his new favorite thing to say), “Let’s paint!”  So, paint we did – I was happy to hear him request this because we used to do some sort of open art thing several times a week (we shot for once a day, but that didn’t always happen), but somehow we’ve gotten out of our art-groove lately.  I bet we haven’t had the paint out in 2 weeks.

He requested blue paint, but since there was not much left in the bottle I gave him some red too and we turned it into a color mixing lesson. 

Then I grabbed a few items that he doesn’t normally paint with – a bath pouf, an old vegetable scrubber, and a foam paintbrush.

He tried them all out:

I had him look at his paper and asked him, “What do blue and red mixed together make?”  He got it right – purple.  I was a little anxious about his answer because I’ve started to wonder if he is a little color blind when it comes to blue and purple.  Often he’s not able to distinguish between the two.  At this age it’s hard to know if he is really having trouble seeing the difference between the two colors or if it’s just that he can’t remember the color names once in a while. 

There are worse things than being color blind, I know!  So, either way I think we’ll survive, ha! :)

Here is the finished artwork:

It’s a house.  Couldn’t you tell?  It’s a “big house”.  Yep. ;)

And, he wanted more “stuff” to paint with, but my mind drew a blank!  We’ll have to do it again when I’ve given it a little more thought.  And when it’s not morning and my brain hasn’t woken up yet.

Have a beautiful day! :)

36 Months

Dear Matthew,

You turned 3 years old last week.  You are such a big boy now, and you are quick to remind us of that fact.  We are so very proud of you. 

There is hardly anything of the baby about you now. 

I’m so thankful for the rocking chair that you aren’t yet ready to give up.  Even when it’s the middle of the night and you want me to rock you, I do.  Because, although you would never admit it, you are still my baby and I know those precious moments are numbered. 

You had a wonderful birthday!  Balloons, noise-makers, pizza, presents… all the good stuff that a little boy wants.  And a cake from your mama that was built according to your specifications: dirt, a road, a fence, some trucks, some m&m’s, and lots of “shiny” parts (frosting). :)

You received your “dream machine” from Grandma – a push lawnmower that you’ve had your eye on all summer:

You’ve been a handful lately, but you’ve had a lot going on.  3 looks like a lot of fun, but we know it can be difficult too, don’t we?  There’s a lot expected of you, so many new things to learn about, endless questions that Mommy doesn’t always know the answers to, and rules, rules, rules! You are not a big fan of all the rules! :)

But, you know what?  You are doing a great job, and we will always love you and help you when you need us.

Your spontaneous hugs and kisses are so sweet.  Your silly faces and absurd jokes are so funny. 

You bring so much more joy to our lives than we ever expected.  Thank you, Sweetheart, for being you.  We love you very much.

Love,

Mama.