Sweet Treats

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of observing a play date between my fourteen and a half month old daughter and another little girl of nine months. Both had seen each other from their mothers arms on several occasions, but this was a chance to get down and under their own power, explore and interact.

Kiki arrived to play with Little Miss with much anticipated delight. Once she was on the floor, eyes wide and pacifier firmly installed in her mouth, she quietly sat looking to see what would happen. Little Miss walked right over and gave her a pat, followed by a very loving, gentle hug around the head. To all of this, Kiki sat quietly and did not object in the least. Then Little Miss, who has been noticing eyes of late, discovered that Kiki had eyes to point at and poke. Mom gently extracts Little Miss and Kiki continues to sit placidly where she is.

Soon the attention starts to be drawn to the toys. Kiki is interested in these as they are not the same ones she plays with every day. Little Miss picks up a toy and starts her regularly scheduled walk around the house with it. Kiki who is only crawling sees Little Miss high stepping away and begins to follow. Thus goes the morning.

The sweetest moment came just before Kiki had to leave. Both girls are standing at the gate that is erected across the hallway, blocking their access to the stairs. Both girls have a pacifier in their mouths. Kiki's is a large bulb attached to a short cord that clips to her shirt. Little Miss' is a smaller bulb with a little handle. The girls look over the gate, then back at each other and then at their moms. This goes on for a little while. As the moms watch, Little Miss removes her pacifier and offers it to Kiki who taking it, looks at it and then drops it on the floor. More looking, then Little Miss reaches over and takes Kiki's pacifier, which is still in Kiki's mouth. Little Miss looks at the new pacifier, then promptly pops it in her own mouth. Pulling it out, she looks at it to observe how different it is from her own, then pops it back in. Again, Kiki stands there placidly observing all that Little Miss does and there is no protest, no tears.

The moms, laughing at the antics of our sweet little girls, declare the play date a success and plan to do it again real soon.

As I reflect back over the exchange, I smile with delight over the world of discovery that is my Little Miss'.

Shopping for Little Miss

So yesterday the Little Miss and I went shopping for... well, what do you think? Adorable clothes, of course! I am currently delighting in purchasing clothes for my Little Miss. Yes, we are leaving winter behind and I am itching for spring to arrive with the warm weather it brings. So what better way to celebrate this transition then with new adorable outfits. And did I mention that my little girl has grown and actually needs bigger clothes? I don't want people thinking I am being totally frivolous.

So we are in the store, with it's spring offerings, and I find myself looking through all the dresses. Pink is a prominent color, all shades. (I honestly didn't know there were some many shades of pink until I started buying clothes for my little girl.)

There are dresses with lace trim, dresses with sheer skirts over satin, linen dresses in solids and prints, sun dresses and Easter dresses. What to choose?! My heart longed to purchase a light pink dress with a cottan lace overlay in white, but as pretty as it was, I just couldn't see "Little Miss" wearing it more than once or twice.

Then I came upon a beautiful sun dress with solid bands of medium pink at the neck and hem. The rest is white with multi-toned pink roses. The bodice is fitted with tucks and a sache that ties back from the sides of the waist. The shirt floats out and down to mid-calf. In short, it is perfection!

I tried it on her last night, for her brothers to assess. Not only did she not want to take it off, but her brothers all agreed that it was adorable. Her youngest brother kept swooning with comments about how beautiful she looked in it.

I plan do enjoy dressing up my "Little Miss" as long as I can, as I know that some day, in the not so distant future, she will have her own ideas of what it pretty or comfortable.

So, "COME ON SPRING"!! We're ready for you.

What is Little Miss Chalk Lines?

At minimum it's a mix of little girls, kids, chalk lines, and creative stuff. No doubt this will evolve over time as I settle in to share my thoughts.

Have you ever taken a box of sidewalk chalk and drawn on a driveway or sidewalk? First you have all those colors to choose from. Then you have the huge surface to draw whatever you want. Finally, you have the ability to create anything, and it will last until it rains.

If you've ever seen the Mary Poppins movie, you know it contains a great scene involving sidewalk drawings. Each square of the sidewalk has a theme, that is colorful and intricate. A feast for the eyes. In the movie, the characters disappear into the drawing for a day of fantasy.

I've also watched my boys attack the driveway with a box of chalk. They carve up roads and parking spots. They experiment with pictures and leave messages for company to read as they arrive.

I've also thought that "Chalk Lines" would be a great name for a line of clothing I might design some day. Perhaps it would be a line of clothes for little girls. Hence, the Little Miss part of the title.

Have you ever had the pleasure of sharing the world of a little girl? I'm in the midst of this experience now. My only little miss, is 14 months old and is sunshine and light. Maybe I am a little biased or perhaps I am just drinking in the difference after three boys. All I know is, my "Little Miss" is wonderful.