Our days have been so long lately. Liam has been running a fever for the past three days and we are once again at home. It has been hard on him - this little boy of mine who wants to play and run and use his body. I have been trying so hard to expand my little sick day bag of tricks, but most of my activities were starting to become tiresome, both to him and to me.
So I picked up a much wanted item on our art list. A spin art kit. In our little town, our hardware store has an aisle with children's art supplies (isn't that great!), a lot of it by Melissa and Doug. I am usually such a fan of Melissa and Doug products, but this one I wan't too thrilled with. It doesn't rotate in a constant circle, but instead goes back and forth as the child pumps it with the handle. It is nice because it has suction cups on the bottom of the device that allows the child to use both hands to pump. It will be nice to use for art playdates, but I think I am eventually going to try and invest in an old salad spinner for this particular art project.
Liam didn't seem to mind or notice that his mama wasn't too thrilled. He was really into spinning. He got a kick out of pumping the handle back and forth. But squeezing the paint out of the bottles was hands down the best part about it for him. He was really into squeezing. Like, using one whole bottle on one little square. But that's alright - because today was more about discovering the materials. What they are and what they can do. Squeezing is a skill set that he is very interested in right now. During bath time he has an old ketchup bottle that we fill with water and he spends several minutes just squeezing and refilling. I am a fan of anything that helps to develop those tiny hand muscles.
On a mama note - I have been trying very hard to focus on the joy found within our day and once again I find myself so grateful for this space. It has been helping me to focus on those one or two moments glittering through the hard spaces of a hard day stacked upon harder days. It helps me to stop and document the laughter, the beauty, the joy that can always be found when we look hard enough.
That picture above was something that brought me great joy. It has been hard to do anything because all Liam wants to do is be close to me. When I'm working in the kitchen, he often peeks over the couch and holds out his arms for me, wanting me close to him. Before I sat next to him, I got my camera, intending to capture his sad little face, and instead that little ham of a boy lit up for me.
Smiled at me. And it made me smile.
Oh yes ~ there is always a joyful moment when we look hard enough. I just have to continue to open my eyes and my heart to them as they come along.
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