Beauty in the shadows

If I were a critic, I would say the light was far too harsh yesterday afternoon. The sun's rays created blunt shadows where there should have been soft lines. Although the critical part of me still analyzes every part of every photo I take, the mother in me sees the beauty.

Mandy loves this toy of Emma's. It is a magnetic set of shapes that we bought for Emma thinking it would keep her entertained for hours on the plane ride to Africa last year. Already Mandy has enjoyed it more than Emma ever did. She pulls the magnets apart and puts them back together, crawls around with her wand/ball and does it again.

Yesterday we enjoyed the sunshine and I taught Emma to play Simon Says. She can obey quickly when she thinks it is a game.

Mandy enjoyed the sunshine too. Her greatest loves in life include crawling after her sister, playing in dirt, chasing the kitten, and playing in dirt. Really, she would be satisfied to watch her sister run and the kitten play as long as there was a nice pile of dirt to dig through and eat. Her mommy now has a close relationship with Oxy and Spray n' Wash.

Emma had a sucker from the parade that she was guarding closely. I am going to make that candy last until the end of time. I don't exactly bribe Emma with candy, it is more like a reward system. Whatever the strategy, candy is a strong motivator.

That's a yummy sucker. She actually stopped sucking it and wanted to save it to show Daddy when he got home. She said, "I don't want Daddy to eat it. I just want him to see it." It is still sitting half devoured on the window sill in the kitchen. It is no wonder I have trouble with clutter in my house.

Cheese.

So, that is our afternoon in the sunshine. Harsh shadows aside, we had a wonderful time.