On the most wonderful day

Some days, I lose count of my blessings and joys. Today was one of them.

Paul was out of town, so he left Little a note to tell her to be good and that he loved her. He drew her a picture of himself, and she gave it a big hug. (This was yesterday). It's always a little rough, both physically and mentally, when he's not around because the days seem longer and being a solo parent can be pretty exhausting sometimes. I think that's what made today seem so special.

We had many, many adventures. I spent all my Saint Day money on beautiful yarn from Yarns2Ewe, and Little and I had a great time running around the yarn store. She loves shopping. It helped that she found a three-year-old (who looked like she was five) to run around with (but they both behaved so well). I was impressed that they actually seemed to interact with each other for the most part.

After the yarn, we headed to Chick-Fil-A for lunch, as a reward for Little behaving so well in the store and during the long car ride where we got slightly lost temporarily. She fell asleep on the drive back, but woke up in time to get her nuggets, milk, and fruit and then play for a while. We talked to some nice people there.

Then I remembered that I had once again lost yet another portable wipes container... so we went to Babies R Us. Little kept asking where the babies were. I guess the name of the store can be pretty misleading, as they didn't actually sell any babies. But we did find what we needed, along with a few other things, including Little's Halloween costume.

There are no words for the joy this picture brings me. Costumes were on sale, and I asked her if she wanted to be a giraffe or a dinosaur or a bear or a fairy or a princess. Not interested in any of them. No to all. Then I saw the monster, and she was instantly excited. They didn't have her size, so I grabbed the next size up and told her we had to try it on before we could buy it. She complied instantly. The moment I had the zipper all the way up, she took off running through the store, crying "GROWL! GROWL! I'm a monster!" and it was all I could do to keep from laughing hysterically as I chased her through the racks of clothing. Sold. Of course she would have to be a monster for Halloween.

We made our purchases and headed home, as I realized that we had been out since 9:30 in the morning and it was near 5:00pm. We were both pretty tired, so we had some play/snuggle time on my bed.

Her babies had to join us.

After dinner and a bath, we played some more to pass the time as we waited for Paul to get home. We decided it would be a good idea to be monsters, so back on went the costume.

It was her idea to play monster hide and seek.

After a few rounds, the poor thing was tired.

We snuggled on the couch (nothing like cuddling a cute squishy monster) and told each other "Once Upon a Time" stories.

That was followed by a burst of renewed energy that resulted in jumping on the bed, and I believe that the monster suit enhances the cuteness of every movement she makes. I don't know if it's the three eyes or the four arms or the green potbelly, but I can't get over how adorable she makes it look. And she was a big fan of rolling around in it, too. So we jumped and rolled and laughed until... we heard the garage door open. And we hid. And Paul came home. And it all became perfect.

These moments can seem so ordinary, so mundane, but what a day. What a blessing.