This morning as we were getting Emma ready to head out the door for our Mother's Day adventures I was hit with a sudden realization. It suddenly dawned on me that Bill and I are one lucky set of parents.
Yesterday afternoon, Emma and I scoured the banks of the pond up to our ankles in muck, mud, and water searching for frogs, fish, and whatever other water creture we could catch in her trusty net. She eagerly touched both frog and fish, ignoring the slime (and blood from the fish). She wiped dirt and grime on her hands, face, pants, and hair and could have cared less. She played with the worms that were used for bait, weaving them in and out of her fingers, dangling them in front of her nose and face. She was unfazed by the fact that she had sat in a puddle while trying to hold onto a frog and it left the seat of her pants soaking wet. She even kissed the frog!
This morning, however, she insisted on having 2 pigtails in her hair and wanted a pink shirt - not the yellow one I picked out. She wanted her light up sneakers, not the brown and pink ones. And as we got ready to leave, she decided that she wanted to bring her American Girl doll with us for the trip. There was no dirt in sight, no worms or frogs. Just a little pig-tailed girl with a doll.
I LOVE that we have the best of both worlds. I love that she is not afraid to get dirty. I love that we go for a walk and she collects rocks and leaves to put in her pocket. I love that we go to the park and she comes home filthy, covered in sand, dirt, wood chips, and bark mulch. I love that she likes watching Nascar races with us on TV and can tell you the names of some of the drivers. She loves looking for bugs. When she is painting, she doesn't get upset if she gets it on her hands or clothes. I love that she is a dirt and grime, mud and sand, paint and mess-type of girl.
On the flip-side, she loves to play dress-up with her princess clothes and walk around wearing her plastic high-heels. She asks to wear skirts and her princess shoes with sparkles. She likes having barrettes and headbands in her hair. She loves playing with her dolls, having tea parties with her daddy, and cooking in her pretend kitchen (or in the real kitchen with me!). She likes watching the birds play in the tree from the living room window. She loves taking her babies for walks in their stroller and is obsessed with the Disney princess movies. She constantly asks to have her nails painted and is a big fan of wearing my make-up and LipSmackers lip gloss. I love that she is a girly-girl.
We could not have asked for a better combination. I think I would have gone nuts with a 100% girly-girl. That just isn't me. I love that we have a great balance and that Emma is so flexible and so adventurous and willing to explore new things both indoors and outdoors.
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