~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life, as inspired by the women at Like Mother, Like Daughter~

{Pretty}

The rest of the country might be experiencing record lows and dangerous winter conditions, but we have the opposite problem: we’ve had some unseasonably warm and beautiful days, and far too little precipitation. On Tuesday, the girls and I took advantage of the balmy temps and made our way to the park for a picnic lunch and some time in the sun. Outside time is good for all of us – though I do hope some extended periods of rain come soon.

(For clarification: Katie loves to swing and was having a blast, despite what conclusions you might draw from her facial expression).

{Happy}

So. Much. Happy. this week. (Though, in the interest of full disclosure, we’ve had our share of decidedly not-happy moments around here, too. Daddy going back to work after an extended time of holidays has not been easy for Katie, and thus has not been easy for Abby or for me, either).

Sugar cookies! Mixed by Katie and Daddy, cut by Katie and me, decorated by Katie and Grandma (while I convinced Abby that putting sprinkles on a banana was just as fun) and also by Katie and Daddy, consumed by all.

(Yes, those are dinosaur sprinkles. They were in my pantry. I’m not sure where I got them.)

Jonathan took the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, and spent the bulk of that time designing and building bookshelves for our living room. This is just one section of what will eventually wrap around three of the walls (as you can see, it isn’t quite finished yet). Isn’t it lovely?

Jonathan’s parents joined us for a (perfectly) quiet New Year’s Eve celebration. We ate cold cuts and cheese and crackers and veggies and li’l smokies for dinner, we toasted with Martinelli’s (“yummy fizzy juice”), we read Hank the Cowdog, we played games, and we were in bed by 10:30 (because we have small children who wake up early every day of the year). As I said, perfect and quiet.

Katie’s expression? Priceless.

(The moth she’s holding is alive, though cold. This was one of the cooler days last week, and I found him in the woodpile.)

{Funny}

This photo is grainy and out of focus, but it encapsulates one of Abby’s current favorite pastimes so well that I decided to include it anyway. Abby will drop everything she’s doing to “put on” clothes – especially clothes that do not belong to her. Usually, this involves wrapping the item around her neck like a scarf, then parading to each member of the family, pointing and babbling with a great deal of animation until we acknowledge her outfit. On this morning, Jonathan helped her put on my shirt, and she waved her hands in the air in victory.

Speaking of wearing things: on Saturday, I moved some wood up from the shed while the girls played in their sandbox. At one point, I dropped my gloves to grab a drink of water. When I turned around, Abby had pulled them on, pleased as could be.

“Look, Mama!” she said to me, coming in from the garage. “I wearing my googles!” She then wore them around her neck for most of the rest of the evening, including during her cookie-decorating time with Daddy.

{Real}

In the category of “You’d think I’d never been around small children,” or, “I really should have thought that through,” I give you a before:

And an after:

An aside: modern stain removers and laundry detergents are amazing. I was certain her cute new jumper (bought on New Year’s Eve and worn three times since) was irreparably stained. A bit of stain remover, a wash, a bit of color-safe bleach, another wash, and it’s as good as new.

Those are the {pretty, happy, funny, real} moments around here this week. How about you? Capture any contentment lately?