Dirty Little Feet

I've quickly come to learn that the messier a substance is, the more my little Penelope enjoys it- whatever "it" may be.

She will crawl around the house looking for something to get into. Opening cabinets to discover what may be inside, grabbing vegetables, peeling away skins of onions, taking chomps of raw potatoes only to realize she doesn't like the taste. When I'm not looking she even tries to crawl faster, I believe as an attempt to make a quick getaway to the next little disaster she can muster up around the house. Making her way to the bookshelf to pull books onto the floor, remove their covers, bend and rip pages, chew on the bindings...sigh...

Never satisfied with the many plastic "baby-safe," "approved," "guaranteed-to-make-your-child-intelligent" types of toys that she has; Penelope much prefers the dangerous lifestyle. Attempting to climb the stairs, then crying for someone to help her when she's stuck on top of the first step. Making her way to plugs, cables, wires, outlets, sneaking her way behind the t.v....double sigh....

We have some planters on our porch where we grow herbs and various flowers. One of Penelope's favorite pastimes is sitting in front of those planters and digging her hands into the dirt and pulling at the leaves of the plants. She is so perfectly content just sitting with her little hands buried in the soil, occasionally pulling out handfuls to examine the dark matter. If I don't watch her closely she will happily shove handfuls of soil into her mouth as well...triple sigh...

I could spend my days chasing her around the house saying "no" to this and "don't touch that," and of course if it is dangerous we are quick to keep her away and try to teach her what a dangerous situation is. Or I could very well keep her pinned up in her pack-n-play with a handful of toys to keep her occupied and confined. But there is nothing that makes me happier at the end of the day than seeing my little girl with messy hands and dirty little feet, knowing that she spent her time as she was supposed to; playing, exploring, learning, tasting, touching, feeling, discovering, growing...happy sigh...  :)