Potpourri

I saw this the other day in a magazine, give or take a few words:

Life before children: You always feel like something is missing.
Life after children: You know exactly what was missing.

So simple, but so true.

Even on the hardest days with Ladybug, I can find reason to laugh. All it usually takes is remembering one of the following true stories:

- As I changed Ladybug’s diaper, she pointed to her stomach and asked, “What’s that?” “Your belly,” I replied. She pointed and asked again. “What’s that?” “Your belly,” I said once more. “What’s that?” came the question for the third time. “Your belly,” I answered for the third time. Finally content with the response, she yelled, “I got a belly!”

- When I take Ladybug’s shoes off before naptime, I pretend her feet are smelly. “PU!” I’ll exclaim, sniffing her toes and feigning light-headedness. She does the same with me when I remove mine. Then the other day as we went for our walk, we ran into a neighbor who was standing barefoot in her yard. Ladybug pointed at the neighbor’s feet and screamed, “PU!”

- Ladybug will often sit on my lap as I organize digital photos of the family on my computer. As a picture of me appeared on the screen, Ladybug said, “Mommy.” As an image of my husband popped up, Ladybug said, “Daddy.” When her photo came next, Ladybug was silent. “Who’s that?” I asked. “Princess,” she replied.

- As I finished dressing one morning, Ladybug came into the room and pointed at the pajamas that I had just changed out of. “Dirty,” she said, pointing at them. “That’s right. Where do dirty clothes go?” I asked. She eyed the clothes hamper in the corner and picked up my pajamas. Then she threw them in a pile on the floor. Observant little one, that Ladybug is.