I love anything that is magical and/or imaginative. I believe these things make life exciting and creative. the problem is, that most adults don't see life as "magical" most of the time and they sure don't use their imagination enough. Those are the things left to small children. And THAT is exactly why I LOVE getting to spend time with Parker Ann. She is at that age (will be 3 in August...) where her imagination is blossoming and it is so exciting for me to see the twinkle in her eyes as she shares this "magical" experience with me.
This past weekend, I decided that I would go pick her up on Friday and she would spend the weekend with us. Oh, I'm not that person who has schedules or plans; when it pops into my head...we just do it! And so our "Magical, Imaginative Weekend Adventure" began...
Friday night we decided to make home made pizza! Parker Ann LOVES to help cook and I had recently purchased a couple of the Martha Stewart cooking utensil sets for kids so we put them to good use.
Poppi had to show her how to roll the dough out with her rolling pin.
Of course, a good cook HAS to taste the food along the way!
We also spent a GREAT deal of time in the tree house. That's where a lot of our fun, imaginative conversations took place...
Parker insisted that I climb up in the tree house with her and stay there while she attempted to climb UP the slide!
What a "Cutie Patootie"! And yes, that would be Oreo Cookies on her face.
While up in the tree house, Parker talked about how we could sit up there during the rain and never get wet because we we inside, under the roof. We listened to the birds sing and the wind blow and it took me back to when I was a kid in my own tree house. OK...my tree house was actually in a tree with a couple of boards and I propped myself against some limbs. But the feeling was the same; just being outside and letting your mind wander to all the possibilities...
We even brought books up into the tree house. I bet you never knew how fun it could be to read books there!
And we played on the swings too!
I bought her a little chair like my big ones and she was thrilled with it! That chair moved all over the back yard during the weekend!
And Clementine watched us...
Parker LOVES Clementine! And has many conversations with her.
That night, after dinner and before bedtime, I made ice cream cones for Parker and Poppi. When at the grocery store earlier that day, she picked out strawberry ice cream for her and chocolate for Poppi!
Parker does not sleep in a baby bed any more and this was the first time she has spent the night with us since being in a "Big Girl Bed". I asked her if she wanted to sleep in CaCa's bed or with Poppi and me. Guess what she chose?! YEP! We had waited a LONG time for a grand kid to wake up between us on a Saturday morning. Even IF I woke up during the night with a big toe in my belly button!
After a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, I drug out the finger paints and dressed Parker in one of my tee shirts...
At first she asked me where her paintbrush was and I said, "We get to paint with our hands and fingers today"! I assured her it would all wash off and that she could paint on the paper OR the driveway. As you can tell, she caught on REAL quick!
But the sun was in her eyes, so she had to don her shades!
At the end of this little activity we BOTH had paint all over us! OH, but what FUN we had.
Playing with a child brings us to places in our adult lives that have been locked away for many years. It is sad that as we grow up we often times lose focus of the truly simple things that made us so happy as a child; like reading books in a tree house and feeding the birds and fish, petting a cat and feeling the wind blow across your face, imagining that you can do anything and nothing can stop you. Oh, what a carefree feeling it is to escape to a child's world if only for a few days. We should all do this once in a while and refuel our imaginative spirit...It really is "Magical" and GOOD for the soul!
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